An impasse in negotiations for a carriage agreement between DirecTV and Hearst Television has resulted in NBC5 being pulled from DirecTV packages.
Hearst Television is the parent company of NBC5, the local NBC affiliate that covers the Burlington and Plattsburgh area.
The impasse was reached on New Year’s Eve, according to a release from NBC5.
Neither DirecTV or Hearst Television would comment on the specific details of the negotiations, though both said that talks were ongoing.
The number of DirecTV customers affected by the impasse isn’t available because DirecTV does not release those numbers.
In a release, Justin Antoniotti, NBC5 president and general manager, said the negotiations with DirecTV had “been thwarted by what appears to be a strategy of unrealistic proposals and out right delay by a national distributor that does not seek to serve their subscribers or local communities.”
Antoniotti also stated that "Hearst Television will continue its good faith efforts to reach a deal that is both fair for our viewers and recognizes the value that NBC5 has invested in its local news and programming."
The release also said the company expected “fair compensation from any business that seeks to profit from our service and valuable programing.”
According to a statement from DirecTV, they “asked Hearst Television to allow our customers to keep watching WPTZ and WNNE while we try to finalize this behind-the-scenes business agreement, but they refused.”
DirecTV’s release also said that Hearst Television was asking for “a significant increase in fees just to allow those same families to watch shows available for free over-the-air and that the broadcast networks typically make available for free online and through new digital apps.”
According to the release from NBC5, DirecTV customers and all other customers can still watch the over-the-air signal as long as they have an antenna that can get signals from Hearst Stations.
