Dish said last night that it has again extended its carriage agreement with the local ABC affiliate (WLNE-TV) in Providence, Rhode Island, avoiding a blackout for now.
The deadline for a new pact is now 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 6. If a new agreement is not reached by then, Citadel Communications, which owns WLNE, could pull its signal from Dish’s lineup.
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Dish and Citadel are fighting over how much the satcaster should pay to carry the ABC affiliate.
The current agreement between the companies was first scheduled to expire last Friday night, but last week they agreed to a temporary extension that expired last night.
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To illustrate its frustration with negotiating carriage deals with local broadcasters, Dish has said it’s offering customers nationwide $10 off their monthly bill if they agree to drop their local channels from their programming package.
Dish says it will also install an antenna for free for any Providence customer with qualifying equipment and programming plans. The customer must live in an area in Providence where he or she can receive the local channels with an antenna.
— Phillip Swann
