DirecTV, Scripps channel dispute ends, 54 stations back on systems
The E.W. Scripps Co. and TV provider DirecTV reached an agreement returning 54 local broadcast stations to subscribers in about 40 markets across the U.S.
The new multi-year agreement, announced late Friday, July 10, ends a five-week carriage dispute between the satellite and streaming TV company and the Cincinnati-headquartered media company, bringing the stations back to millions of viewers.
Scripps' stations had been blacked out since May 31 for DirecTV subscribers in 36 cities including Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Tampa-St. Petersburg.
Both sides had claimed the higher ground in the dispute with Scripps describing DirecTV as being "heavy-handed," while DirecTV charged Scripps with "seeking record retransmission consent rates."
Scripps confirmed the return of its stations to DirecTV subscribers in a statement to USA TODAY. "We thank our viewers for their patience and look forward to continuing to serve them on DirecTV platforms with the essential local news, weather, sports and entertainment programming we know they value," the company said in the statement.
In a news release, DirecTV's chief content officer Rob Thun said the concentration of local TV stations among a few companies leads to "unbalanced negotiating."
"We're grateful to our customers for their patience. Like them, we are frustrated that broadcasters use blackouts as a tool to force us to accept unwarranted rate hikes that consistently exceed normal, inflationary increases, and by a lot," Thun said. "At a time when affordability matters more than ever, families are too often asked to pay more while receiving less."
What Scripps-owned stations returned to DirecTV with end of dispute?
Among the 54 Scripps local stations back on DirecTV's satellite, streaming and U-verse services are:
- ABC stations: Among the cities getting local ABC stations back are Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, and Buffalo, New York.
- CBS stations: Nashville, Billings, Montana, and Omaha, Nebraska.
- Fox stations: Salt Lake City and Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, Michigan.
- NBC stations: Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colorado., Lexington, Kentucky, Milwaukee, and Tulsa, Okla.
- Independent TV stations: Denver, Kansas City, Mo., and West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce, Florida.
In addition to its local TV stations, Scripps also owns national network Ion (it sold Court TV to Law&Crime studio and network in February 2026).
Back in December, Scripps unanimously rejected a $622 million takeover bid from competitor Sinclair, saying it was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DirecTV, Scripps channel dispute ends, 54 stations back on systems
Reporting by Mike Snider, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 11:58 AM.