DirecTV viewers in dozens of cities lost access to Scripps stations on Tuesday night just as Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final dropped the puck, leaving some fans unable to watch the Vegas Golden Knights face the Carolina Hurricanes on their regular channel. The company told customers the contract with Scripps had expired and pointed them to the, Hulu or Disney+ apps instead.
The blackout hit 54 local stations across 36 markets, including Buffalo, Detroit, Nashville, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tampa-St. Petersburg. For viewers searching for abc streaming or another way to catch the game, the timing made the dispute impossible to miss: the loss of local stations came during one of the sport’s biggest nights, when many people expected to turn on their usual broadcast and find it gone.
DirecTV said on social media that Scripps was demanding the highest rates it has ever received from a station group, a move DirecTV said would push costs higher for consumers and businesses already under pressure. Scripps pushed back through chief executive Adam Symson, who blamed DirecTV’s management for the stalemate and said the distributor was putting profits ahead of local news and local sports.
Symson said DirecTV was run by private equity and that it had “MBAs running the numbers,” adding that he did not think the company cared about the work local stations do or what viewers actually want to watch. He said DirecTV was “screwing with the consumer” rather than reaching a deal that would keep broadcast television, local journalism and local sports on the air.
The dispute leaves a familiar question hanging over both sides: how long those stations stay dark. DirecTV and Scripps were still at odds over carriage and payment terms, and there was no public sign Tuesday night of a quick restoration for viewers who lost access in the middle of Game 1.
