WIVB and WNLO back on DirecTV after the announcement of an agreement between their owners – The Buffalo News

This is good news for fans of Buffalo Bills and CBS in prime time who subscribe to DirecTV.

The national dispute between the owners of the satellite service and Nexstar, the owners of WIVB-TV, the local subsidiary of CBS, and WNLO-TV, a subsidiary of CW, is over and local channels have resumed service in the area. west of New York.

The two parties are arguing over how much money AT & T, the owner of DirecTV, should pay to Nexstar to transport its stations in 97 markets in the country. They announced Thursday that a multi-year agreement had been reached. No financial details of the agreement have been announced.

The retransmission agreement was signed a week before the start of the National Football League season and a few weeks before the prime time entertainment programs of CBS and CW broadcast new episodes of recurring series and previews of new programs.

Since July 4, WIVB and the other Nexstar stations in the country have left DirecTV, which means that about 90,000 households in western New York State have not been able to watch CBS programming and news bulletins from WIVB since.

However, these viewers could look in other ways, including live with the powerful antenna and via CBS All Access for $ 5.99 per month.

The start of the NFL season and the new television season should increase pressure from both sides to reach an agreement.

WIVB, the local CBS affiliate, is scheduled to host 14 of 16 Bills regular season games.

"Our customers want more choice and value, and we're excited to make it a reality with this new agreement with Nexstar and its many local channels," said Rob Thun, Executive Vice President of Content and Programming at AT & T Communications.

"Nexstar's long-standing commitment is to provide exceptional programming and service to the local communities we serve in the United States. This new multi-year agreement will allow us to continue to broadcast the leading content of our stations on networks and sports, as well as local news and other content. programming to AT & T subscribers in our markets, "said Keith Hopkins, senior vice president of Nexstar Media Group, in the same release.

The statement also said that both parties regretted "the inconvenience suffered by customers, viewers and advertisers, and we thank them for their patience as the new agreement is being finalized."