About 5 million DirecTV subscribers in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and 16 other U.S. cities are able to again watch local TV stations that went dark early Sunday. Bankrupt Tribune Broadcasting pulled the programming after failing to reach an agreement with DirecTV, but late yesterday the two sides said they now have a contract for the next five years, and shows ranging from “American Idol” to Major League Baseball returned to the 23 Tribune stations affected by the blackout. Tribune, which owns more than one station in some of the affected markets, had said federal law prohibited DirecTV from carrying its shows without a contract.
Keeping quality programming onboard is a priority for DirecTV as it moves aggressively into “second screen” distribution. The company has a robust iPad app, and is now beta testing DirecTV Everywhere, which will allow users to watch select shows on the road, without a connection to their home Wi-Fi. So far, the company has not announced plans to actually livecast using DirectTV Everywhere. Satellite competitor Dish Network also has a second screen app, as do cable operators Time Warner, Cablevision, and Cox, but so far DirecTV is the only provider allowing viewers to watch on a wireless device away from home.
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