DirecTV (NYSE: T) has restored service after a two-hour outage knocked both HD and SD channels offline across the nation Tuesday.
"All channels have been restored," parent AT&T said in a statement. "We apologize for the inconvenience."
According to numerous reports, the blackout occurred due to problems on the ground and were not attributable to solar flares or satellite malfunction.
Affected channels included the popular ESPN HD, CNBC and the Fox Business Network.
Taking a page from the Sterling Cooper advertising playbook — which says if you don't like what people are saying, change the conversation — AT&T announced Wednesday that its DirecTV platform will host the first live 4K broadcast of a sports event at April's Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
The broadcast will be viewable by DirecTV customers subscribing to either the "Ultimate" or "Premier" tier, with an authorized 4K account. They'll also need the latest Genie HD DVR (model HR54) and a "DirecTV 4K ready" TV.
"Golf's premier event deserves the best viewing experience that 4K UHD on DirecTV provides," said Dan York, chief content officer of the AT&T Entertainment Group. "Once you see it in 4K on DirecTV, it's going to be tough to see it any other way – unless you're there in person."
For more:
- read this DirecTV press release
- read this Deadline Hollywood story
- read this DSL Reports story
- read this MarketWatch story
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