DirecTV and television station owner News-Press & Gazette have reached an agreement that means KTVZ and KFXO in Bend have returned to DirecTV subscribers’ channel lineup.

DirecTV began retransmitting the broadcast signal at 7:17 Pacific Standard Time on Saturday night, spokesman Leland Kim said.

“We’re glad to have reached an end to this unnecessary blackout,” Kim stated in an email. “But we also believe this nine-day disruption should never have occurred in the first place and that broadcasters like News-Press & Gazette, licensed to serve their communities like Bend, must end these intentional blackouts and return their focus to putting viewers first instead.”

News-Press & Gazette, based in St. Joseph, Missouri, had stated the retransmission fees it sought from DirecTV, owned by AT&T, were on par with the rates paid by other pay-television services. In addition to its Oregon stations, News-Press & Gazette owns or operates 42 TV network affiliates in California, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Missouri and Arizona.