Some people get married and come to Hawaii for their honeymoon, but KITV sportscaster Jahmai Webster just got married and he and his new bride are soon to leave the islands.

Webster has accepted a job at KMGH-TV in Denver.

Station officials told him they need him right away, given the start of football season.

Webster will be covering the Denver Broncos, as well as professional teams in every major sport, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, and "there’s even Major League Soccer there," Webster said.

Career-wise, it’s a quantum leap.

"As much as I love Hawaii and covering UH and high school sports, I’ve been dreaming of taking it up a notch to the professional team level. That’s big for me," he said.

The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Webster also have a more personal agenda, however.

Both Webster and his new bride Joanna (formerly Senteno) are from California and had been homesick. He has been here four years, she for three, and given their plans to marry and start a family, "we needed to be closer to family," he said.

His last day at KITV will be Sept. 21, and his first day in his new TV digs will be Sept. 29.

"Jahmai joined our team a little more than four years ago and quickly won our hearts," said Chuck Parker, KITV news director. "He was a perfect fit here and is one of the most likable people you could ever know."

Webster’s cheerful demeanor was part of KITV’s primary election night news coverage, and it’s not all sports guys who can tackle hard news. "Some of those experiences made me tougher," Webster laughed.

Prior to his KITV gig he worked in Texas for two years, and had "zero visits" from family members. His first month here, however, "I was hosting somebody every other weekend," he laughed. While his family is "pretty excited that I’m coming back to the mainland, they’ll miss the fact that they can come to Hawaii and stay for free."

DirecTV blacks out channels

DirecTV customers are not able to watch KGMB-TV or KHNL-TV or any of the CBS or NBC network-affiliated programming the stations carry.

A dispute between California-based DirecTV and Alabama-based Raycom Media, owner of the local stations, has 53 Raycom stations blacked out in 37 markets, including the state of Hawaii.

Every link in the chain that brings programming to your TV gets paid. Local stations pay networks or syndicators for programming, and sell advertising to help offset the costs. Owners of local stations then charge cable, satellite and wire-line companies for retransmission of that programming content, and those companies sell subscriptions to viewers like you.

If all a viewer wants is local broadcast stations, he may be able to receive those signals over the air for free, via an antenna, but that generally is not a viable option for most Hawaii residents.

In a statement Monday, the satellite TV provider accused Raycom of "denying DirecTV customers and some of its own most loyal viewers access to its local broadcast stations unless they pay more than double just to receive the same broadcast shows that remain available over the air for free."

On its website, Raycom posted a statement from President Paul McTear: "This is frustrating for DirecTV customers who rely on Raycom stations for information and entertainment. We share their frustration and are committed to doing everything we can to resolve this issue and have been for the last 12 weeks of discussions."

Talks are ongoing, according to company spokesmen.

Meanwhile, the $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV by AT&T is expected to close in May, about 12 months after the deal’s announcement.

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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.