The Reason You Can’t Watch WGRZ In Western New York

Last night some people in Western New York lost access to Buffalo's WGRZ Channel 2.

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The reason is that there is currently a contract dispute between Verizon Fios and the station's owner Tegna.

According to a press release from Verizon, several stations across the country along with WGRZ were pulled from the cable company's platform.

"As of January 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET, Tegna failed to agree to fair terms of its contract with Verizon. Unfortunately, Tegna has a reputation for this type of practice with providers, which ultimately results in pulling content from viewers,"

It isn't only Verizon Fios customers that lost access to WGRZ, right now there are more than 60 Tegna stations in 53 different markets that are in a retransmission dispute with Dish Network meaning that those stations will not be available on Dish Network.

Retransmission consent is the legal term for when the owner of an over-the-air broadcasting TV station like WGRZ or a group of TV stations like Tegna negotiates a contract with a service provider like Verizon Fios to carry their content on their platform.

If you have Verizon Fios and still wish to view WGRZ Channel 2, you can buy an over-the-air broadcast antenna and get access that way. You can also watch WGRZ via the TV station's website or mobile app.

Verizon Fios customers were alerted about the loss of the channel from the Verizon platform via email.

There is no date for service to be returned to the Verizon Fios platform as both sides continue to work on an agreement.