Q. I haven’t had my CBS station on Dish in months. Is there a chance this fight will end anytime soon? How much longer can it take? Is the station gone forever? Dish and WHIO seem to really dislike each other? — Teresa, Dayton, Ohio.
Teresa, Dish last July lost 14 local network affiliates due to a fee fight with Cox Media, which manages the stations. (Apollo Global Management owns the stations, but hired Cox as its management team.) The stations include WHIO-TV, the CBS affiliate in the Dayton, Ohio area.
Update: Dish has settled its fee fight with Apollo/Cox.
Since the dispute began, both sides have occasionally issued stern statements suggesting the other is to blame. This is customary in long-term carriage disputes and should not be regarded as evidence they will never settle.
But Dish CEO Charlie Ergen actually said something last week that would suggest the two sides will never settle. In a conference call with financial analysts and journalists following the release of Dish’s third quarter report, Ergen said this:
“I would say in general when somebody has been down for three, four months, it’s not likely they’re coming back,” Ergen said in response to a question about the Cox Media stations. ”Because what happens is you lose the customer — if there is really somebody who want to watch that particular network and they’re gone. All right. they’ve gone out and found another — they put an offer intend on place, they’ve found an another alternative to find it, they are online finding it, they’ve got the Hulu or they’ve gone somewhere else, they have gone to a competitor. If we weren’t willing to pay the price that they offered four months ago, we’re certainly not going to pay the higher price today than what we offered before because we don’t need customers who want to watch it.”
That is an alarming statement if you’re hoping for your local station to return to Dish’s lineup. Ergen is saying there is little reason for his company to pay Cox now because many Cox viewers have likely cancelled Dish by now because they can’t watch a favorite local channel.
I understand what Ergen is saying. But I don’t believe him.
First, many Dish subscribers are bound to two-year programming agreements that require termination penalties ($20 a month for every month left in the contract) if you cancel early. Consequently, a Cox viewer is not likely to cavalierly drop Dish just because a local channel isn’t available.
Second, WPXI-TV, the Cox Media-managed NBC station in Pittsburgh, suddenly reappeared in Dish’s lineup this week. The companies did not offer an explanation, but the ongoing controversy over Pennsylvania’s election results could have been a factor. Dish subscribers in the Pittsburgh area can now get news about the vote count from all their local stations. (WPXI says the reinstatement is “temporary.”)
Regardless of the reason, however, it shows that Dish and Cox are still talking and amicably so.
Third, Dish is negotiating a separate agreement with Cox Media for 18 different local stations managed by Cox. The talks have been extended several times, more evidence that Dish and Cox are still talking and, again, amicably so.
I suspect Ergen last week was just posturing to gain leverage in the negotiations. That doesn’t mean a settlement is imminent, but I think it does mean it’s still a serious possibility. (You can see a list of the Cox Media stations here.)
Teresa, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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When dealing with re-trans disputes you have to filter it through the lens of reality and not truthiness. Sides pointing fingers at each other is just a show. The signals themselves are actually free. The re-trans fees that the local channels want more and more of is free money that they have grown accustomed to. Dish is a for-profit company and understands that paying above a specific rate is financially illogical. The FCC can clear this issue up in 5 seconds by proclaiming free signals are free. The lobbyists for the conglomerates that own the local stations will not allow it because that invalidates billions of dollars in free revenue.
It was congress about 1993 that set in motion Retransmission Fees after a lobbing effort, by the National Association of Broadcasters . FCC was not a party to this action
Why, in these retransmission fee disputes, between cable/satellite providers, and OTA stations costs, are never mentioned? Would it not be helpful, if the consumer knew which what each side is offering, and give some input on how much their willing to pay for retransmission fees?
Re-trans fees are headed to the neighborhood of $16 billion or more. The negotiation info will not be available to the general public as it’s considered private. The fees are passed onto to you which raises your cable bill.