Q. I can’t be angrier that I no longer have my ABC channel in Baltimore. I have Dish. Do you know when these greedy companies will get over themselves and make a deal so I can get my station back?! — Natalie, Baltimore.
Natalie, as you know, Dish on Saturday night lost approximately 60 local network affiliates in 42 markets due to a fee fight with their owner, Scripps. The markets affected include New York, Milwaukee, Phoenix, San Diego, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Baltimore where your local ABC affiliate, WMAR-TV, is located. You can see a complete list of the Scripps stations here.
Dish is notorious for playing hard ball in carriage negotiations so normally I would say you might need to wait a few weeks, or even a few months, before it reaches a deal with Scripps. However, despite the name-calling that’s going on between the two companies, there are two reasons for hope that this dispute will end sooner than later.
1. They were likely close to an agreement when the blackout began.
The original agreement was scheduled to expire on Friday night (July 24), but Dish and Scripps agreed then to extend the deadline until Saturday night. The 24-hour extension usually portends that the companies are close to resolving their differences, and believe that an extra day will make the difference. That didn’t get a deal done in this case, of course, but they wouldn’t have agreed to the extension if they weren’t close. And if they were close on Friday, that would suggest it shouldn’t take much to end their disagreement.
2. The NBA starts on Thursday.
Pro basketball returns to the court on Thursday night and ABC will offer Sunday broadcasts starting August 2. Scripps owns 17 ABC affiliates, including ones in Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Waco, Tulsa and Tampa, among others. With interest in live sports never higher thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, Dish would incur the wrath of dozens of thousands of fans in those ABC markets. That should spur the satcaster to be more aggressive than normal in negotiations.
So there is cause for optimism that Dish and Scripps will end this scrap sometime this week. The one reason for pessimism is Dish, or to be more specific, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen whose penchant for playing poker at the negotiating table is legendary. Despite the aforementioned reasons for seeking a quick resolution, Ergen and Dish could still extend the talks past what might seem necessary to try to squeeze an extra penny or two in savings. (The pay TV provider pays the programmer to carry its signals.)
Natalie, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@swanniontv
Currently looking for an alternative to Dish that will provide me with all local channels, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC
This company is putting the lives of Floridians in danger! We should sue! This is the middle of Hurricane Season and we no longer have a local channel for emergency procedures and instruction s .Shame on both DISH AND SCRIPPS.
We are NOW in August, and still NO ABC. Will we get a discount in next bill due to this issue?? DiSH just took their money, and we are NOT getting the whole package that we paid for. NOT HAPPY at all
We are unhappy DISH customers ONCE AGAIN! They continue to take money from us, offer less programming and THEY DON’T CARE!! We have lost our Fox Sports Ohio STO and the NFL Channel, so we can no longer view the sports that were included in our original sports package with DISH. We once had MGM movies. Not anymore! DISH takes away whatever they want for as long as they want or just forever. We continue to pay for services we no longer receive, and YES, THEY COUNT ON the fact that it will be a pain to switch to another company. We lost our FOX 8 local station a few years ago, and that lasted for months. Now it is our Local ABC/ WEWS station. We have no say, no choice and no one that cares, BECAUSE THEY CONTINUE TO TAKE OUR MONEY! Our Fall TV season will be starting soon, No Connors, No Grey’s Anatomy, No, Million Little Things, No General Hospital, No local news (I LOVE MY LOCAL MORNING NEWS) and no end in sight. I guess I will have to look at “Making my home a Spectrum Home!”
Meanwhile, I will start withholding the DISH part of my Phone/ TV Bundle. I guess that will send a message, and I’m sure it will not end well for me, but I guess that will make the switch easier in the long run.
I am missing channel 7 ABC in Denver,Co. This is in my package I pay for. So my package is not complete & I feel I should get money back or look at other services.
First we lost the local Fox Sports, so no local baseball or basketball games. Then we lost the NFL channel. Now we lost ABC. And my bill is still the same amount! How is that legal? I’m being billed for products that I dont receive. Dish is terrible. Time to switch back to DirectTV!
I live in AZ and we do not have ABC or CW. I agree we should be getting reimbursed because we are not getting what we paid for. With every thing else that is going on we certainly do not added stress by greedy Scrips and Dish
Over 3 weeks and still no ABC. This is ridiculous! They gave me a measly $5 credit when I wanted out of my contract. I hate Dish and am counting down the days…
Pls reach an agreement do we can get our local channel back
We would like to get what we pay for.
I will stay with DISH as long as I can, partly because DISH Chairman Charlie Ergen is the only one, to my knowledge, with the guts to stand up to these bullies, including Scripps! Yes, I’m temporarily missing out on a lot of programming,here, in AZ. But, to change providers would cost a huge amount up front, not to mention in the long term. DISH has always been honest and responsive in dealing with me and I can not say that about any other provider I’ve had. The blame for this particular situation rests clearly on the greediness of Scripps.
I’m sure Scripps is broadcasting with other providers. This tells me Dish is the problem!! I’m getting a little sick of it! Get your act together!
Get a USB plug in antenna, plug it into the back of your Hopper. The Hopper will recognize the OTA (Over the Air Antenna) and start scanning for local channels. You may need to adjust your antenna’s direction to get the best picture. If you are very rural, this may not work without a very powerful OTA antenna.
Once The OTA channels are programmed you need to set your DVR to record off the new OTA feed for anything you regularly watch and you’re good to go. Scripps can pound sand as far as I’m concerned, I could care if it ever comes back on “officially”, the OTA picture is great, and its a liberal hack network anyway. :- )
Why are they charging EXTRA for Local channels ?
Local Channels collect their money from commercials,
(There are PLENTY / Tooo many of them)
They DON’T Charge EXTRA if you have an ANTENNA.
NEVER did, WE Paid for the Antenna.
They already get a fee from Cable or Satellite providers
They should be ashamed of asking MORE.
They act like it is a privilege to watch TV
This is an Issue where the FCC should get involved.
This is a Utility and a couple of Executives
think they can charge extra because their
salaries are not high enough or
their Jet needs to be replaced.
Have them get another job.
For some reason TV executives think
TV is a Luxury and they can deny the service
to the public. It is NOT,
TV is NO different than Water, Electricity, Gas, or Phone.
Can anyone imagine being Cut OFF from the NEWS,
(the Presidential Conventions) especially now.
Weather forecasts, (Hurricanes, Floods, Fires, etc.)
We live in the USA, NOT No. Korea where a
Dictator controls what you see and hear.
This is WRONG.
What would the Public do if their Electricity was Cut OFF ?
TV Fees and Charges NEED to be REGULATED.
It has been proven time and time again,
WE can NOT trust Utilities to regulate themselves.
Look at AT&T. (Land Line Phone Service)
They got UN-regulated, and Prices went thru the Roof.
AT&T Lost Millions of customers. (Brilliant Plan)
Now people are Forced to carry their ONE CELL phone around.
No more having a phone in each room. (Good old days)
It is like having to carry a lamp from room to room around the house.
(Remember when there was only ONE Old Wooden
Wall phone on the wall in the Hall) We have gone backward.
The FCC has to change the way TV is billed.
Set a “reasonable” fee for TV Providers and
Cable and Satellite Companies,
Make them the SAME every place in the country.
NO more Different fees because of where you live.
and NO MORE BLACK OUTS.
Cable & Satellite Companies can offer LOWER Rates.
Having Cable and Satellite Companies
NEGOTIATE for your service needs to STOP
Another thing that is a SCREW Job is the TV BOX charge.
This is like the Phone company used to
FORCE everyone to RENT their phones.
It took Judge Green to STOP this abuse.
Phones are inexpensive to manufacture, just like TV Boxes.
Charging a HIGH monthly fee is INSANE.
This is a Major problem with your TV bill.
Offer the Boxes for Sale (at a reasonable price)
ALL Boxes will work with ANY Cable or Satellite Company.
or for rent at a reasonable price with a LIFETIME Warranty.
Some Cable Companies charge a monthly RENTAL
then have the Balls to Charge you ( $ 100.00 +) to FIX them.
I want channel 7 to settle with dish we shouldn’t have to pay more it’s the same programming.