DirecTV and Scripps Dispute Leaves 54 Stations Dark, Impacting Stanley Cup Final Viewers

Many DirecTV subscribers eager to catch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night, featuring the Vegas Golden Knights against the Carolina Hurricanes, were met with an unexpected disruption. A notification appeared on their screens, indicating that the contract with Scripps had lapsed.

This notice also suggested that viewers interested in watching the Stanley Cup Final or the NBA Finals tune into the ESPN, Hulu, or Disney+ apps instead. The blackout affects 54 local stations across 36 markets nationwide, including Las Vegas, with other impacted cities such as Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Tampa-St. Petersburg.

In a statement on social media, DirecTV explained, "Scripps is demanding the highest rates DIRECTV has ever received from a station group, which would continue to dramatically raise costs for consumers and businesses already struggling with affordability." The company added that when it rejected these demands in favor of negotiating a more reasonable deal, Scripps chose to withdraw its channels from several significant markets.

Adam Symson, CEO of Scripps, attributed the breakdown in negotiations to DirecTV's leadership. In an interview with Awful Announcing, he remarked, "They’re run by private equity. They have MBAs running the numbers. I don’t really think they care about the work we do in the local communities and that local people actually rely on, whether it’s local news or local sports."

Symson criticized DirecTV for not prioritizing consumer interests, saying, "Rather than rationalize their lineups and end the carriage and payment for a bunch of zombie channels owned by bigger multibillion-dollar conglomerates that have leverage over them, they are screwing with the consumer and what the consumer actually wants to watch, which is broadcast television, local journalism, and local sports.”

This ongoing dispute is part of a larger trend affecting local broadcast access in the era of rising media costs.