DirecTV customers lose The Weather Channel

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — About 20 million DirecTV customers
nationwide lost The Weather Channel because of a dispute over fees
between the channel and the satellite service.
The two companies
pointed fingers at each other late Monday as a midnight EST deadline for
renegotiation of carriage fees paid by DirecTV to The Weather Channel
passed without an agreement.
In a statement, David Kenny, CEO of
the channel’s parent company, The Weather Co., said it offered DirecTV
the best rate for its programming. Kenny accused the satellite provider
of putting profits ahead of public safety.
"We are not looking for
a large fee increase," Kenny said, just a "fair deal" that allows for
continued investment in science and technology to deliver weather news
and stories to viewers.
DirecTV called the loss of The Weather
Channel "regrettable" but added that it would continue to provide
weather news on its WeatherNation channel.
According to a statement from Dan York, DirecTV chief content officer, the two sides haven’t stopped
talking.
DirecTV
is discussing an agreement to return the channel to its lineup at "the
right value for our customers," York said. The Weather Channel did not
immediately respond early Tuesday to a request for comment.
At a
news conference Saturday, David Clark, president of The Weather Channel,
asked viewers to urge Congress to intervene in the business dispute.
The channel is part of the NBC Universal stable of networks and is owned by Comcast Corp., the nation’s
largest cable company.
"Yes,
it is a privately held company and a for-profit" enterprise, Clark
said. "That’s OK. What also happens to be true is that we have a mission
to serve."
DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said that the
satellite service launched its own service, WeatherNation, in response
to consumer complaints about the amount of reality programs that The
Weather Channel airs instead of weather forecasting.
Local weather
information also is available on local network affiliates offered by
DirecTV, and during severe weather, the system also makes its emergency
channels available for weather programming, he said.
____
AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

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