Colorado Springs residents who rely on DirecTV to watch NBC affiliate KOAA may be out of luck for the foreseeable future. The station, owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, is the latest victim in a string of contract fights between media conglomerates and cable and satellite TV providers.

In the latest scrap, DirecTV accuses Scripps of asking for too high a price to retransmit its content. The satellite TV provider, which has headquarters in Englewood and El Segundo, Calif., claimed on Sunday the rates are the “highest rates” it has ever seen and may “dramatically raise costs for consumers and business already struggling with affordability.”

It declined Scripps’ demands and said it sought “a more reasonable agreement.” Scripps then chose to pull more than 50 stations from DirecTV, according to the company’s news release. Retransmission rates are what a TV station, or in this case the corporate owner of several television stations, charge a company like Comcast or DirecTV to carry their programming, according to the FCC.

“We understand customers are frustrated by temporarily losing their usual access to Scripps stations and the local news, network programming, and live sports they provide,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV in a Sunday news release. “Unfortunately, Scripps is demanding the highest rates we have ever seen for programming that remains available for free over-the-air and through many station, network, and third-party streaming apps.”

Scripps blames DirecTV, saying the company has “removed KOAA’s trusted locally produced news” from its lineup. A KOAA story, posted just before 7 p.m. Sunday, said the corporations are working hard to restore programming. KOAA is a Gazette’s media partner.

Though now owned by Scripps, CBS affiliate KKTV is not affected by the latest contract issues. It remains available under a separate and ongoing agreement with Gray Media, staff within DirecTV said.

For customers impacted by the latest in a string of fights between cable and streaming companies and media conglomerates, KOAA offers several solutions. One is to fall back on using an antenna to pick up the broadcast.

“Our signal is always free and available over-the-air,” KOAA’s story said. Its content can also be found on other online streaming services like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV, though these require separate subscriptions.

KOAA encourages DirecTV customers to call 1-866-KEEPUS-6 (1-866-533-7876) and tell the company they want the station restored to their lineup.

In a statement shared with The Gazette, Scripps accused DirecTV of using its subscribers as bargaining chips in negotiations. The company said DirecTV is using heavy-handed tactics that have “become synonymous with pay-TV operators” that only ends up hurting their own subscribers.

“Scripps has been engaging in good-faith negotiations with DirecTV to establish an equitable agreement that serves both companies and, most importantly, consumers,” the statement said.

DirecTV customers can claim a bill credit if impacted by the latest dispute. To learn more, head to www.directv.com/tvpromise/.

The spat between DirecTV and Scripps is not the first time customers in Colorado Springs were hit by negotiations hitting an impasse. Between March 31 and May 5, no Scripps-owned TV stations, including several in Colorado like KOAA and KMGH in Denver, were carried by Comcast, the cable giant. A dispute between DISH TV and Gray Media, which owned KKTV at the time, was resolved May 1.