DirecTV Inc. subscribers in 19 U.S. markets have lost access to certain programming, after Tribune Broadcasting said it failed to reach a settlement with the satellite television provider in their contract negotiations. As a midnight deadline approached Saturday, Tribune Co.announced that it was pulling all of its stations off of the satellite TV provider in a dispute over retransmission fees.



"This situation is extremely unfortunate," Nils Larsen, Tribune Broadcasting president, said in a statement late Saturday night. "We don't want anyone to lose the valuable programming we provide, but we simply cannot get fair compensation from DirecTV and we cannot allow DirecTV to continue taking advantage of us."



Tribune Co., which owns numerous broadcasting and newspaper properties, including the Chicago Tribune, is seeking retransmission compensation from DirecTV to carry its 23 local television stations and WGN America. Contract negotiations broke down last week, with Tribune Co. threatening to pull the plug on programming.



The 1992 Cable Act gave broadcasters the right to seek retransmission consent fees, although most initially chose to leverage that right into new cable channels. Now broadcasters usually favor cash from distributors, with monthly fees typically ranging from a few cents to $1 per subscriber.



The Tribune has never received any fees from DirecTV to carry its local stations, but has been compensated for WGN America programming, according to executives.



Negotiations on Saturday played out with all the drama of a good TV show.



First, DirecTV issued a statement announcing that an agreement had been reached and the blackout averted. Later, Tribune Co. said the deal was not done. The disagreement seemed to hinge on terms for WGN America, Tribune's national cable network.



In its press release, DirecTV said it had accepted financial terms that Tribune management offered, ensuring that programming wouldn't be cut off when the existing contract expired.



"We accept the rate proposal Tribune set forth on Thursday for the local channels and look forward to completing this agreement," said Dan Hartman, DirecTV's senior vice president of programming. "While we have been negotiating in good faith for two months, we believe Tribune's viewers and our customers are best served by making sure the local stations remain on our service without disruption first and will then negotiate a separate agreement for WGN America."



Tribune Co. then issued a statement denying that an agreement had been reached, prompting DirecTV to answer with yet another statement which both reiterated its contention and expressed growing frustration:



"We're extremely perplexed as Tribune management and DirecTV had a handshake deal on Thursday with an agreed upon rate for their channels. Their actions are the true definition of 'bad faith' in every sense of the term."



Stations affected include local CW and Fox affiliates, potentially cutting off shows such as "American Idol," "Glee," "New Girl" and "Gossip Girl." Baseball fans would also take their lumps, with DirecTV subscribers losing access to the Cubs and White Sox via WGN America, the Mets via WPIX-TV in New York, and the Phillies on WPHL-TV in Philadelphia.



DirecTV has 19.9 million subscribers, making it the nation's second largest provider of multi-channel video programming distribution behind Comcast Cable. Tribune Co. Chief Executive Eddy Hartenstein is a former CEO of DirecTV.



Contributing: Tribune wire services