KIFI Local News 8 dropped from DirecTV channel lineup
Contract negotiations between KIFI Local News 8’s parent company and DIRECTV have reached an impasse. As a result, local DirecTV subscribers will lose access to the Station’s programming with DIRECTV’s service as of January 12, 2016. Despite the dispute, KIFI programming will continue to be available from the following Dish Network and CableOne, and for free, over the air. KIFI’s parent company, News Press & Gazette (NPG), has successfully negotiated and renewed carriage agreements with 10 separate cable and satellite companies over the last 3 months with no service disruption.
DIRECTV marks up the price they pay for local broadcast signals and re-sell those signals to their subscribers. The Station, of course, must pay top dollar in a competitive market for its award winning, national network, syndicated, local news, sports, weather, and public service programming. The core dispute between DIRECTV and the Station involves the price DIRECTV is willing to pay the Station for the right to re-sell the Station’s signal.
DIRECTV pays another, considerably less popular program provider more than 5x the rate the Station is asking for the right to sell the Station’s signal to its subscribers. Given KIFI and our owner News Press and Gazette’s investment and commitment to providing the community the most comprehensive and compelling national network content, premium sports, local news and information, the Station’s price proposal, in comparison to what DIRECTV pays for less popular national produced programming, is very fair and reasonable.
It is NPG’s hope the current impasse will be resolved and the disruption in service for DIRECTV’s subscribers will end. We will keep you informed of the progress of the negotiations. In the interim, however, you may wish to make plans for an alternative means of receiving the Station. Please visit LocalNews8.com to review frequently asked questions asked by viewers subjected to DIRECTV’s service interruption.
