In 2023, NBC (and its related channels, including CNBC, MSNBC, Telemundo, and others) were temporarily removed from DIRECTV due to a carriage dispute between the satellite TV provider and NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast. This issue primarily centered around contract negotiations for the renewal of distribution rights, which led to a blackout of NBC programming for DIRECTV subscribers.
During the dispute, customers who subscribed to DIRECTV were unable to access NBC channels, including local NBC stations, national cable networks, and streaming services affiliated with NBCUniversal. The outage affected millions of customers and lasted for several weeks.
The blackout was resolved in the latter part of 2023 when both companies reached an agreement, allowing NBC content to return to DIRECTV. The specific details of the agreement were not fully disclosed, but such disputes are relatively common in the pay-TV industry when content providers and distributors can’t agree on terms for carrying channels.
