Circle City Broadcasting and DIRECTV Reach Retransmission Deal, Restoring WRTV, WISH-TV and WNDY-TV

Circle City Broadcasting and DIRECTV reached a retransmission agreement on Nov. 5 that restored Indianapolis' ABC, CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates to the satellite service, according to Yahoo. WRTV returned after a little more than two months off the air, while WISH-TV and WNDY-TV had been withheld for more than seven years.

How the DIRECTV and Circle City Deal Restored WRTV

DIRECTV communications director Thomas Tryer told IndyStar that customers began to see the channels return on the afternoon of Nov. 5. The terms of the agreement are unclear. Circle City Broadcasting did not respond to a phone call and an email requesting comment, and station ownership has ignored multiple requests for comment on IndyStar's reporting since Circle City purchased WRTV at the end of March.

The dispute began shortly after Circle City acquired WISH and WNDY in 2019. Dish Network and AT&T, formerly DIRECTV's parent company, declined to pay retransmission fees for WISH and WNDY, and Circle City owner DuJuan McCoy sued for racial discrimination, alleging the providers refused to pay him despite reaching retransmission agreements with Nexstar, the stations' previous owner. Dish maintained that it does not pay fees for stations that are not affiliates of the "Big Four" networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. A judge dismissed the suits in 2023, but the stations remained off DIRECTV until now.

WRTV went dark on the service months after Circle City acquired the station in an $83 million deal with the E.W. Scripps Co., which officially closed March 31. The addition of a "Big Four" station to Circle City's portfolio spurred renewed retransmission fee negotiations, though the talks devolved into a public back-and-forth after the parties failed to reach an agreement. Circle City alleged that DIRECTV refused to budge on a rate "consistent with the market value," per a statement to social media, while the satellite provider maintained in a statement that Circle City's ask was "nearly double" what WRTV's previous owner received for airing the channel.

DIRECTV pulled the plug on WRTV on Aug. 24. Public messaging about the blackout from both camps conflicted: Circle City warned DIRECTV customers that they would lose access to broadcasts like NBA basketball games and Super Bowl LXI, while DIRECTV insisted those broadcasts would still air on the service through channels still in its lineup like ESPN. During the blackout, Circle City encouraged local DIRECTV customers to switch to XFinity/Comcast or Charter/Spectrum, which aired Circle City channels, and viewers who submitted proof of their switch would receive a "free gift" under the "Make the Switch" campaign. It is unclear what the gift entailed.

Circle City Broadcasting's Station Portfolio

Circle City Broadcasting owns three television stations, WISH-TV, MyINDY-TV 23 and WRTV-ABC, plus digital, entertainment and podcast brands, according to akta.pro company records. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Houston. Before the WRTV-ABC deal, Circle City held two television stations in the Indianapolis market (DMA #25): WISH-TV (CW) and WNDY (MyNetworkTV). WISH-TV produces more than 90 hours of local news per week, more than any television station in Indiana, and is described as one of the highest-rated CW affiliates in the nation.