The DirecTV-Tegna carriage battle will not be producing as many headlines as Charter’s negotiations in early September. But the negotiations round DirecTV and Tegna supply a window into the altering dynamics in sports activities media and counsel that among the leverage in these disputes may very well be transferring again to the distributors.

At the top of November, Tegna stations went darkish on DirecTV. Tegna owns round 68 native broadcast stations that function as associates of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, relying in the marketplace.

For the previous a number of many years, one of these dispute would have been resolved rapidly — and nearly at all times to the good thing about the printed stations. That’s as a result of distributors like DirecTV knew they’d lose too many subscribers in the event that they blacked out NFL and school soccer video games.

In this dispute, although, the lack of NFL video games hasn’t phased DirecTV — no less than not but.

The first weekend that Tegna stations went darkish, some DirecTV subscribers had no entry to late-season NFL and school soccer championship video games.

It is beginning to seem like NFL video games usually are not the hammer they as soon as had been in these negotiations.

I requested DirecTV’s chief content material officer, Rob Thun, about this altering leverage quickly after the Tegna stations went darkish. Thun laid all of the blame for the shortage of NFL leverage on the technique of some broadcasters to make the sport obtainable on their direct-to-consumer streaming companies.

CBS video games, for instance, stream on Paramount+. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” streams on Peacock. Fox has made it a degree to not stream its NFL video games — a call that might have helped Tegna. But Tegna has solely six Fox associates, and people are in smaller markets.

Thun sounded assured that DirecTV might face up to school bowl season, particularly since ESPN carries many of the bowl video games. And he stated the NFL playoffs didn’t concern him — once more — as a result of the printed networks will make these video games obtainable to their very own streaming companies, to not point out the truth that Peacock will carry an NFL playoff sport solely.

Thun says he isn’t even daunted by the prospect of not carrying the Super Bowl in February. That’s as a result of DirecTV nonetheless carries Nickelodeon, which can carry the sport. Plus, followers have the choice to stream the sport on Paramount+.

If DirecTV is ready to get by means of January — and the NFL playoffs — with out Tegna stations, it will be the clearest sign but that leverage in these negotiations has swung again towards the distributors in an enormous manner.

John Ourand might be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on X @Ourand_SBJ and browse his weekly newsletter and take heed to his weekly podcast.