But we wanted to watch the morning weather forecast again.

The media gods have hit close to home here in Bangor and are at it once again, arguing over money and distribution, and you the consumer will literally pay the price.

Satellite television distributor DIRECTV, a company owned by AT&T, and Tegna Incorporated, the parent owner of WLBZ TV2 here in Bangor, had been hard at work negotiating carrier rights until last night. Apparently, the two companies have grown tired of each other as WLBZ TV2 is no longer available this Wednesday morning via DIRECTV.

Yes, now once again it's the consumer's problem. It's a situation that we've grown used to over the years with cable, satellite providers, and other now media giants.  In this instance we must learn to live our lives without New Center Maine, The Nightly News with Lester Holt, The Today Show, Saturday Night Live and the Kelly Clarkson Show.

Unfortunately, DIRECTV and AT&T U-Verse have not come to an agreement with Tegna to keep our stations available on their services. Our company has successfully negotiated multi-year deals with hundreds of cable and satellite providers across the country without disruptions to service,” Tegna spokesperson Anne Bentley said in a statement, and posted on DallasNews.com

In the midst of an ongoing pandemic, Tegna is demanding the largest rate increase we have ever seen and intentionally blacking out its most loyal viewers. We challenge Tegna to return its local stations immediately while we finalize a new agreement and pledge to pay Tegna retroactively whatever higher rates to which we eventually agree, said a spokesperson for DIRECTV, and posted on the same site.

The two companies will eventually come to an agreement, and then your DIRECTV bill will increase. Soon you'll only be able to afford macaroni and cheese for dinner because you'll want to watch the weather forecast over and over again on News Center Maine in the morning.

In the meantime, you'll have to watch NBC programming on other sources like the new Peacock streaming service for another $4.99 a month.

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