topic Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels in Among Friends

Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

Group 5 minus 1 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 13:38:04 GMT

Those channels are not available and have been for about 3 months. The channels are local ABC and NBC. We called 4 weeks ago and were told we would receive a money back discount on our next statement. Statement came yesterday and no money back. We called and DH was on the phone w/Direct TV for 20 minutes trying to get some sort of answer. We finally did. Any one else having this prob? The first person we spoke to was difficult to do business with-I believe he asked the same questions several times.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

CrazyKittyLvr2 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 13:51:47 GMT

We lost NBC a few weeks ago. I am not happy although the only shows we watched were the Chicago (PD, Med and Fire) shows.

I will not be happy of we lose ABC as we prefer it for local news and we watch more on that channel.

I guess we can do some sort of antenna for them but I don't want the hassel.

For what we pay a month I want all the major ones but they are driving the bus so to speak.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

KingstonsMom — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 13:54:57 GMT

DD and her hubs finally got fed up with the Direct TV games and switched to Comcast Xfinity.

They're saving over $120 a month, with a great channel selection!

They got their favorite channels back and now they can watch tv even if it's cloudy or raining, which they couldn't do with Direct tv.

DH and I also have Comcast Xfinity and we love it!

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

judy0330 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 14:18:36 GMT

This happened to a friend of mine too -- several times. She went back to Comcast.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

Meowingkitty — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 14:31:19 GMT

We have a choice of 3 in Phoenix. Cox, DirectTV and Dish. They all suck. We’ve had 2 of the three. We recent dropped DirectTV and chose to stream because they were going to raise our rates $65 a month. Even a retention specialist wasn’t willing to give any breaks. So we said bye bye. Now we have more quality channels (I was paying for over 60 channels of nothing but infomercials, QVC and HSN are included in that number) and I was sick of it. Now we have HULU Plus and tons of free channels for $45 a month.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

Group 5 minus 1 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 14:30:20 GMT

Because of our location (deep,deep in the woods) we cannot get cable-only satellite.

Although,we do have an antenna.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

Group 5 minus 1 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 14:31:43 GMT

Can't stream,either. We have low speed internet.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

ZoetheCat — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 14:57:37 GMT

@Group 5 minus 1 wrote:
Those channels are not available and have been for about 3 months. The channels are local ABC and NBC. We called 4 weeks ago and were told we would receive a money back discount on our next statement. Statement came yesterday and no money back. We called and DH was on the phone w/Direct TV for 20 minutes trying to get some sort of answer. We finally did. Any one else having this prob? The first person we spoke to was difficult to do business with-I believe he asked the same questions several times.

This was largely the reason we gave up Direct TV and went to Comcast a couple of years ago. At least a couple of times a year we would lose a local channel, sometimes for a couple of weeks, but usually for a few months. On one occasion, we lost the local station a month before that channel was set to broadcast the Super Bowl. I live in Massachusetts and the New England Patriots were playing. I called Direct TV several times, and I actually felt terrible for the people answering the phone. I could hear the frustration in their voices. We got the channel back the day before the game. Truly a first world problem, but New Englanders are serious about their sports, as are many people all over the country.

Every time this happened, Direct TV would blame the local networks, citing increased costs to broadcast their programming. This may well be true, but the bottom line is that I’ve never had this issue with Comcast and, in my opinion, it’s just not worth the hassle. As a bonus, we were able to bundle cable, phone and internet and are paying less overall. Another big bonus is we now have Create TV, which Direct TV did not offer.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

RedTop — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 17:48:16 GMT

I am in southern WV, and have had DirecTV for about 20 years. We have always been happy with our programing, and are willing to pay a reasonable price for it. We are rural, and took down our antenna years ago because we were no longer able to receive any local signals.

In early July we lost our FOX 59 channel, which carried the game shows we watched every morning, the local news we tuned to 3x a day, and the majority of our evening entertainment. Losing access to our local news connection has been a major impact for us, and we are furious. Only the loss of the western channel would have made my husband fuss more than he’s fussed over this.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

mspatmac — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 17:54:41 GMT

I had DirecTv for over 15 years and was pretty happy with it. Great customer service and direct access to cs reps. As it grew larger it got more impersonal and more expensive. IMO it went to heck in a handbasket once AT&T took over. Prices increased, service declined and I lost CBS. I called Dish and I am so glad I did! I now have their service, all channels I wanted and saving $100 a month. I no longer would recommend DirecTv to anyone.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

hckynut — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 18:52:08 GMT

@Group 5 minus 1

Over time we had this problem with 2 of the Major National Networks. The locals were not responsible, it was those Networks that could not reach a contract settlement with our Satellite Network. The local stations had no control over what DirecTV and the Major Network were negotiating.

During the 1st one, with ABC Network, I installed an antenna to our TV sets and watched the locals over-the-air broadcasts on the ABC shows. It was ABC negotiating with Dish Network that was the reason for the locals not broadcasting via our Satellite Network.

An antenna was a simple and cheap solution. This is why every Cable and Satellite Network drops or changes networks your receive with their service. Of course the programming one chooses can also be a factor. We can choose to drop our local programming with Dish if we choose to not buy the package that includes them.

I have seen this topic in the Electronics Forum many times over the years I have been on this Bulletin Board.

hckynut

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

lilac lover — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 19:33:00 GMT

@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:
We lost NBC a few weeks ago. I am not happy although the only shows we watched were the Chicago (PD, Med and Fire) shows.

I will not be happy of we lose ABC as we prefer it for local news and we watch more on that channel.

I guess we can do some sort of antenna for them but I don't want the hassel.

For what we pay a month I want all the major ones but they are driving the bus so to speak.

We lost NBC on July 4! We watched Red, White and Boom on July 3rd and BOOM....at midnite NBC was gone! Did not expect it to be off this long and now that football is starting, my husband is getting upset. Like you, we watch ABC quite often and especially for the news so we have our fingers crossed that we don't lose it, too!

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

GAQShopr53 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 19:38:03 GMT

We are on the east coast and the same channels have not been available for months. Directv keeps stating they are negotiating with the broadcaster but I doubt this. I called to cancel services and they gave a discount that I can live with (at least for another year). After that I will be switching.

I started off with Comcast and got tired of all of the service interruptions and outages...did not want to keep paying for services that I was not receiving. I do have Comcast internet and phone services and like the internet but don't care for the phone (voice) services.

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

hckynut — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 20:18:27 GMT

@lilac lover wrote:
We lost NBC on July 4! We watched Red, White and Boom on July 3rd and BOOM....at midnite NBC was gone! Did not expect it to be off this long and now that football is starting, my husband is getting upset. Like you, we watch ABC quite often and especially for the news so we have our fingers crossed that we don't lose it, too!

@lilac lover

Might keep your husband from losing it if he reads my other post. Unless you live out in the toolies and cannot get an over-the-air broadcast, he/you might consider what I did each time we lost Major Network programming via Satellite.

I love hockey, but not enough to get very upset over certain unavoidable situations. Usually I find a way to deal with things like those that are not that serious a situation in my life.

hckynut

Re: Direct TV and absence of 2 local channels

FrostyBabe1 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 20:19:40 GMT

Nexstar Media Group is very likely to blame for the loss of local network broadcasts. They own over 170 stations nationwide and are feuding with Direct TV and AT&T U-verse TV. If the local station that you lost was cut off in early July, and you have TV service from the previously mentioned providers, it's probably part of the Nexstar empire.

My local NBC station, WOOD-TV out of Grand Rapids is part of this, and boy, are their affected viewers HOT. They keep posting notices on Facebook telling people to call Direct TV and AT&T and DEMAND that the station be returned, but it's Nexstar that's the culprit.

Here's a map that'll help show if your local station is part of the group:

https://www.nexstar.tv/stations/