For viewers, hearing the two words “Retrans fees” can conjure up nights spent not being able to watch their favorite network shows or local news because their cable provider/satellite provider/network/sports network/local channel can’t agree on how much showing the program is worth.

Now, DirectTV is looking to avoid paying millions in retrans fees by adding an integrated antenna into its set top boxes to grab over-the-air signals for free. According to an article in Multichannel news, “retrans fees could top $6 billion annually by 2018, with satellite TV service providers paying an estimated $2 billion of that bill.”

In an e-mail message, DirecTV spokesman Darris Gringeri said no dates for testing are scheduled at this point and that the satellite giant has always had integrated tuners in some of its set-top boxes. He added that the company is “just exploring any options that could help get programming costs under control.”

Multichannel News has more details on DirectTV’s plan. Click here to view the article.

In a court case that may spell trouble for companies looking to charge a fee for the right to broadcast their content, an appeals court today upheld an earlier decision not to issue and injunction against internet streaming TV startup Aereo.

A group of 17 broadcasters including ABC, CBS, NBC Universal, Disney and Warner Brothers filed two suits against Aereo more than a year ago. One suit was an attempt to stop the service from streaming the broadcasters’ content to its subscribers.  The other seeks monetary damages for what they claim are copyright violations.

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a two-to-one ruling, compared Aereo’s streaming device to the DVR provided by Cablevision to its subscribers,

“After a lengthy discussion of the facts and analysis of that decision, the district court concluded that Aereo’s system was not materially distinguishable from Cablevision’s Remote Storage Digital Video Recorder system, which we held did not infringe copyright holders’ public performance right.” Read more

Gannett and DirecTV have reached a new retransmission agreement, keeping Gannett’s stations on the air for DirecTV subscribers.

The two parties faced a November 30 deadline to renegotiate their carriage contract. Gannett began warning viewers of a possible service interruption on its 23 stations last week.

Financial terms of the deal, which was agreed on in the early hours of Saturday morning, were not disclosed.

Gannett Broadcasting and DirecTV are continuing negotiations toward a new retransmission deal ahead of the November 30 deadline.

Gannett said in a statement that the company will continue to work with DirecTV “right up to the deadline.” The station began running crawls and PSAs on its 23 stations informing viewers of a possible blackout.

“Over the past weeks, we have been in intense negotiations with DirecTV to reach a fair, market-based deal,” the statement reads. “Gannett has never had service disruption with a major carrier. However, with the Nov. 30 deadline approaching, we have a responsibility to inform our viewers of the possibility of a signal disruption, which is why we have begun running crawls and PSAs on our stations.”

DirecTV also issued a statement, noting the company hopes “Gannett will not resort to any unnecessary blackout.” Read more

Gannett released a simple one sentence statement announcing an agreement with DISH Network this morning:

“Gannett and DISH Network have reached an agreement regarding DISH Network’s continued retransmission of Gannett stations.”

Midnight last night was the deadline before viewers in 19 cities would lose access to the Gannett owned ABC, NBC, CBS and MyNetworkTV stations on the satellite TV provider’s network.  Carriage continued into the overnight hours before an agreement was made this morning. No details of the pact have been released.

The sticking point was the use of the auto hop function known as “The Hopper,” a feature allowing viewers to skip commercials on recorded programming which could adversely affect revenue for stations.

A retransmission feud between DISH Network and Dispatch Broadcast Group, the parent company of WTHR in Indianapolis and WBNS in Columbus, has taken a nasty turn.

The stations were pulled from DISH’s lineup on Friday at midnight after the two parties failed to agree on a carriage agreement. In a video that has been broadcast on WTHR in a loop since the blackout began, a DISH spokesperson says Dispatch “has blocked this station from the DISH lineup by not renewing its contract with us at fair and reasonable terms.”

“Dispatch has demanded a massive price increase in exchange for the rights to your local channels, a price that would translate into substantially higher costs for you,” the spokesperson says (video after the jump). “We can’t allow that to happen.”

In a statement on its Facebook page, WTHR said DISH’s claim “just isn’t true.” Read more

Hearst Television and Time Warner Cable have agreed on a new retransmission consent deal, ending a viewer blackout that has been ongoing since July 10.

“We have reached a long-term agreement with Hearst Television and our customers can expect their signals to be restored to our cable systems shortly. We thank our customers for their patience and their willingness to stick with us through another unnecessary broadcaster blackout,” a statement from Time Warner reads.

“We appreciate the support and patience of our viewers, advertisers and local communities served by our stations, and we regret the inconvenience they’ve experienced over the past 10 days,” said Hearst TV president and CEO David Barrett. “This process has been an important step to insure the ongoing vitality of our local TV service in communities across the country.” Read more

Despite extending talks for more than a week past the original expiration of their retransmission consent contract, Time Warner Cable and Hearst were unable to come to an agreement by midnight yesterday, leaving 13 stations unavailable on the cable provider today.

“Time Warner Cable has reached hundreds of agreements with other broadcasters without broadcaster blackouts, but Hearst’s demand for a nearly 300% increase is way out of line,” a Time Warner statement released last night reads. “That kind of outrageous increase is unfair to our customers and unsustainable for our business.”

Hearst has statements informing viewers on each respective station’s website. Read more

Louisville Fox-affiliate WDRB, along with its MyNetworkTV sister station, WMYO, is back on Insight Cable, which is owned by Time Warner Cable.

WDRB’s owner, Block Communications, reached a new carriage agreement with Time Warner this week, ending a blackout that began last Friday.

“I couldn’t be happier to have this process completed,” WDRB president and general manager Bill Lamb said in a statement.  “I know the last several days have been trying for our viewers who are Insight subscribers, and we’ve shared their pain. It’s good to know that–despite our differences– both sides were ultimately able to finally reach a fair resolution.” Read more

Two stations in Louisville have gone dark on Time Warner Cable, after the stations owner, Block Communications, was unable to reach a new retrans deal with the cable operator.

Fox-affiliate WDRB and MyNetworkTV-affiliate WMYO were pulled from Time Warner after Block’s previous carriage agreement expired on May 31st.

“WDRB has tried very hard to reach an agreement with Time Warner but the deadline has passed,” the station announced in a post on its website today. “After much negotiating, Time Warner has decided to reject our repeated offers leaving many of our viewers without a local TV station you like.” Read more