Legislators From Eight States Have Now Called on AT&T to Negotiate in Good Faith and Restore Nexstar’s Stations and Programming

United States Senators John Thune of South Dakota and John Kennedy of Louisiana join Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal as well as legislators from West Virginia, Ohio, South Dakota, Massachusetts, New York and Alabama in issuing letters urging direct broadcast satellite service provider DIRECTV and AT&T U-verse to immediately restore carriage of Nexstar-owned stations.

In his July 8, 2019 letter Senator Thune stated, “I strongly encourage AT&T/DIRECTV to provide carriage of KELO-TV and KCLO-TV through August 2, 2019, as requested by Nexstar, so that the parties can continue negotiations without impacting consumers’ ability to view their local news coverage in the affected broadcast markets.” Similarly, in a letter directed to AT&T’s CEO, Senator Kennedy cites the probable impact to consumers in Louisiana at the height of hurricane season, stating, “I am concerned that your failure to reach an agreement is negatively impacting Louisiana families. I am especially concerned about customers losing access to up-to-date weather information in the event that the tropical depression currently forming in the Gulf of Mexico turns into a hurricane.” In closing, Senator Kennedy requests of AT&T, “I encourage you to accept Nexstar’s offer of a short-term extension while you resolve your differences.”

In New York, U.S. Congressman Anthony Brindisi issued a public statement calling on “…cable giant AT&T to negotiate in good faith with local broadcasters to continue to deliver local programming to their viewers. As thousands of Upstate New Yorkers lost access to their local television station this weekend, Brindisi went to bat for the local viewers. Local television provides critical programming for folks all across our district,” Brindisi said. “These blackouts are a public safety issue. Many New Yorkers use local television to find out about breaking news, traffic accidents, and important weather events. These blackouts need to end.”

Effective 11:59 p.m. CT on July 3, 2019, AT&T/DIRECTV dropped the network and local community programming for Nexstar-owned stations impacting viewers in 97 markets across the country. The action follows AT&T/DIRECTV’s refusal to accept Nexstar’s offer for an extension which would have allowed viewers in Louisiana as well as all other affected markets to view their favorite network shows, special events, sports, local news and other programming while the parties continue to negotiate.