by Reporter Jennifer Gilbert

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Our parent company and DirecTV are debating what's fair when it comes to carrying our programming. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns this station, and DrecTV are negotiating a new contract to give DirecTV the right to broadcast our signal. That means at 12:01am March 1 our signal on DirecTV could go black. There are several factors involved, but like most business deals, money is one of the points being debated. DirecTV pays Sinclair Broadcast Group to run its programs, and DirecTV in turn charges its customers. The cost of producing those programs continues to get more expensive. Negotiations like this are becoming more common. DirecTV temporarily took Viacom networks like Comedy Central and Nickelodeon off the air during negotiations. Sinclair will continue to negotiate with DirecTV to reach an agreement before the deadline. Sinclair has reached hundreds of deals with DirecTV's competitors, including Dish Network during the last 18 months. Sinclair is not optimistic with these negotiations. DirecTV says these are the same unnecessary threats, posing as warnings, that Sinclair has made to frighten customers of other pay tv providers. In the meantime, remember you can watch our signal free over the air and it's also available from Dish Network and your local cable company. You can also go one step further and call DirecTV as a customer. DirecTV also says it is engaged in productive discussions with Sinclair Broadcast Group to retain its local stations.
DirecTV Customers Could Soon Lose FOX17