Utah Jazz: Fans may lose out as KJZZ, DirecTV bicker

The Jazz and KJZZ-TV are in a spat with DirecTV that could result in the national satellite TV provider's Utah customers not being able to watch 16 of the team's games later this season.

Both the Jazz and KJZZ are entities of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies.

According to a press release from the team and station, a retransmission agreement between DirecTV and KJZZ was scheduled to be suspended at midnight tonight.

The reason, according to KJZZ general manager Chris Baum: DirecTV refuses to pay for KJZZ's programming, which until the end of 2008 it had been receiving for free.

"They've made an offer to offer nothing, essentially," Baum said Wednesday night. "They've offered to continue under the current circumstances, which we refuse to do."

That means that, at least for now, none of the local independent TV station's programming — which also features locally-produced "KJZZ News at Nine," "PowerHouse," "The Joseph Smith Papers," high school sports and other shows — is available to DirecTV subscribers who already pay to receive KJZZ and numerous national networks.

And that includes all 16 Jazz games KJZZ will air throughout the remainder of the 2008-09 NBA season, beginning with next Wednesday's home game against the New Orleans Hornets.

Jazz games, Jazz/LHM Group spokeswoman Linda Luchetti said, are "one of the strongest things KJZZ has to offer."

"DirecTV has ... deemed that the 16 premiere Jazz games produced in High Definition and aired by KJZZ are of no value to their customers," Baum said in a statement released to local media on Wednesday afternoon.

"Although DirecTV profits from KJZZ programming by way of monthly satellite fees to their subscribers, it has never paid for programming created or provided by KJZZ," Baum's statement added. "We have established fair and reasonable agreements with the other satellite providers as well as many local cable companies. We are shocked by their decision."

DirecTV had the following response:

"The station's demands are unreasonable," Los Angeles-based DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said via e-mail Wednesday night. "DirecTV customers have access to the vast majority of Jazz games on the (local) regional sportsnet. We are open to further discussions, but without an agreement, we have no legal right to carry the station as of Jan. 1."