KAYU and DirecTV battle: it’s not over yet
Those of you subscribers to DirecTV might want to get ready for "KAYU Blackout, the Sequel." It could happen.
Back in late January, the parent company of Spokane Fox affiliate KAYU agreed to return the station to the DirecTV lineup. That was done to give viewers access to the Super Bowl. The cease-fire came after a full month of signal blackout, a period in which the two sides took regular potshots in the media at the other.
They finally OK'd a four-week grace period, scheduled to end this week, to work out an acceptable retransmission rate between KAYU's owner (Northwest Broadcasting) and DirecTV.
It's now more than four weeks and Friday is the deadline for reaching a settlement, said Jon Rand, VP of Northwest Broadcasting, in Spokane.
The dispute comes down to how much Northwest can convince DirecTV to pay per household to carry the KAYU local affiliate signals.
The discussions have continued but both sides say they haven't come close to concluding the deal.