The companies are negotiating on whether DirecTV can carry KTVB. Unless they cut a deal this month, the local NBC affiliate says DirecTV customers won’t get to watch its shows starting Nov. 1.

What’s the problem? Channel 7, owned by Belo Corp., says DirecTV underpays for the ability to offer customers KTVB’s local programming and NBC shows.

“They pay channels with far fewer viewers more,” KTVB President and General Manager Doug Armstrong told the Statesman.

Armstrong wouldn’t say exactly how KTVB knows that, but said they "have a pretty good idea" what DirecTV pays around the country. He named ESPN, TBS, USA and Fox News as higher-paid channels.

"Traditionally, DirecTV has undervalued broadcasters, particularly KTVB," he said.

KTVB thinks a deal can happen. Armstrong said the company has ironed out the same kind of pay-related disagreements with Cable One and Dish Network.

DirecTV says KTVB is using scare tactics to get more leverage in talks. A warning shot is “something [Belo Corp.] did during similar talks with Time Warner Cable and Dish Network last year,” said Darris Gringeri, a spokesman for DirecTV. “None of those customers ever lost access to Belo stations, and we expect the same positive result here.”