After negotiations and an interim agreement in mid-October, negotiations this weekend went sour and KTUU was dropped from GCI's lineup on Saturday.

This means the NBC affiliate KTUU will not be transmitted by GCI to at least 22 villages throughout Alaska, leaving approximately 7,000 rural viewers without the longtime familiar newscasts.

Spokesmen for GCI blames the failed negotiations on KTUU’s demand for too much money for their programming. Meanwhile, KTUU is blaming GCI’s acquisition of rival station KTVA as the reason for the grounded negotiations that attempted to stave off the expiration of the GCI-KTUU broadcast agreement that took effect at midnight on Friday.

GCI states that KTUU is for the first time asking for significant fees for transmitting their signal to the bush. GCI, in a statement said, “KTUU is not telling the whole story about its so-called “free” offer. First, KTUU, unlike other broadcasters, is not paying its fair share for getting its signal from Anchorage to your community. KTUU has invested in no infrastructure in rural Alaska, yet demands that GCI deliver its channel from Anchorage to rural Alaska for free. They want to be treated differently than every other broadcaster and network user while they collect increased advertising revenue. Second, KTUU has sought considerable fees for GCI to continue to carry the channel beyond 2014. We are ready to resolve these matters now with KTUU to provide longer-term predictability for both companies’ viewers. We hope KTUU will come back to the table for a real discussion.”

This weekend, GCI began broadcasting Starz Kids and Family Network to the affected communities. Further north on the slope as well as Kuparuk, WGN will take the place of KTUU broadcasts.

KTUU news and latenight KTUU programming will still be seen on ARCS or the Alaska Rural Communications Services. The network can still be viewed online through its streamed content and also through Dish and Direct TV in communities where it has been discontinued through GCI.