We work hard to keep you connected to your favorite content. You expect the best for your entertainment dollar and we’re here to help deliver the value and quality you deserve.
We know that you have a lot of choices when it comes to TV service, so we work hard to provide the best experience at a great value. Network costs are the largest part of your TV bill, so we negotiate with Networks to get the channels you want at a fair price – to keep your bill as low as possible. So, what exactly goes into doing this?
We hope you stay because we negotiate on your behalf to give you the Networks you want at
a fair price. Even on those rare occasions when Networks do pull their signal, they’re usually dark for only a short period of time.
Networks do this to try to get you to switch providers and get us to agree to their demands,
and they do this with every TV provider: there were 8 blackouts in 2010 which grew to 77 in 2025. And though there have been more than 2,400 programmer-imposed blackouts nationwide since 2010*, we haven’t had a channel blacked out since 2019.
When disputes happen, it can be frustrating but know that we’re always fighting hard to keep your costs at a reasonable price.
*Includes digital subchannels. © 2026 American Television Alliance. All rights reserved.
November 2025
Fubo customers lost over 35 channels when NBCU blacked them out because Fubo wouldn’t agree to NBCU’s, “pricing and packaging that are egregiously above those offered” to other providers. This dispute is still active.
November 2025
Zolo Broadcasting removed two stations from DIRECTV viewers, “to force them to pay more in the coming years, even though the stations aren’t as popular as before”. The stations have been dark for over three months at this point.
October 2025
TU’s 11 networks were pulled from YouTube customers for two months due to, “unjustified fee hikes” based on their ratings.
October 2025
Disney yanked their 19+ networks after demanding “costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers.” The networks were dark for 15 days.
January 2025
Optimum customers lost Nexstar stations for over a week because they were demanding, “the highest rates of any broadcasting group” and charging high rates for NewsNation – even though, “90% of customers never tune in.”
January 2025
MSG Network pulled their network for over two months because they were trying to get, “exorbitant programming fees” in addition to making all Optimum customers pay for their network – instead of only those who want it.
October 2025
Monumental proposed very high rates for its ratings, forcing Hulu + Live TV to drop the network to keep their customers’ rates from increasing. This happened at the same time YouTube TV dropped them, too.
October 2025
Monumental proposed very high rates for its ratings, forcing Hulu + Live TV to drop the network to keep their customers’ rates from increasing. This happened at the same time Hulu + Live TV dropped them, too.
We know that you have a lot of choices when it comes to TV service, so we work hard to provide the best TV experience at a great value. Network costs are the largest part of your TV bill, so we negotiate with Networks to get the channels you want at a fair price – to keep your bill as low as possible. So, what exactly goes into doing this?
A large part of your bill is the ever-increasing fees that the Networks demand to allow you to view their channels, and each channel charges a monthly fee per customer. We negotiate dozens of contracts each year, most of which go smoothly. But sometimes a Network will demand a big increase in its fees, which we think is unfair to you. In these cases, it’s our responsibility to take a stand to help protect you from excessive increases in your monthly bill. This is typically when a Network will black out its channel to try to get you to force us to pay more.
When disputes happen, it can be frustrating but know that we’re always fighting hard to keep your costs at a reasonable price.