Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019 | 3:08 p.m.
DirecTV subscribers in Las Vegas can once again watch KLAS Channel 8.
According to a news release from DirecTV parent company AT&T, Nexstar Media Group, which owns the local CBS affiliate, has agreed to a new multiyear retransmission consent agreement.
The deal — the terms were not disclosed — took effect today, AT&T spokesman Scott Huscher said.
“Nexstar’s long-standing commitment is to provide exceptional programming and service to the local communities we serve across the United States,” Keith Hopkins, Nexstar’s senior vice president of distribution, said in a statement.
“This agreement will allow us to continue delivering our stations’ leading network and sports content as well as local news and other programming,” Hopkins said.
Las Vegas resident and DirecTV customer Leslie DiOrio said she had become increasingly frustrated by the impasse, which took effect July 3.
She said she was pleased by today’s news, with the NFL regular season set to start Sept. 5. CBS is one of the main networks that broadcasts NFL games.
“I’m a Broncos fan and my husband is a Bears fan,” DiOrio said. “We didn’t want to pay for an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription, so this is great. We’re looking forward to having all our shows and football back.”
KLAS was removed from DirecTV’s lineup last month after the contract binding the service provider to Nexstar expired. The new agreement means that 125 stations in nearly 100 markets are back on the air.
A CBS spokesperson said the company was pleased the impasse was resolved.
CBS is scheduled to air 10 Oakland Raiders games this season. The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas and will begin play in a new stadium behind the Strip next year.
A separate impasse between more than two dozen CBS-owned stations and DirecTV that blacked out the network’s programming on the service was settled in early August.
That blackout affected 17 markets, including Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami, according to reports.
According to its website, Nextar owns, operates or provides services to more than 170 television stations nationwide, including in Phoenix, San Francisco and Salt Lake City.
