Dish’s ongoing carriage headaches could get worse in the near future with Lilly Broadcasting stations now threatening to pull their signals from the satcaster’s lineup if the two sides don’t sign a new pact.
The Lilly stations have posted a notice at their web sites that alert Dish subscribers that the current carriage agreement might not be renewed. The notice does not say when it will expire, but the two companies last signed a carriage pact on November 30, 2017 after a seven-week blackout. (Lilly has roughly 10 stations in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. You can see a list here.)
“Lilly Broadcasting and DISH have an agreement which allows DISH to provide our programming to their subscribers. There is a possibility that this agreement may not be renewed,” the new notice states. “We have found it necessary to alert all DISH Network viewers they need to prepare to find our local content through alternative sources to view our quality programming uninterrupted.”
The TV Answer Man has asked Dish for a comment and will report back here if we get one.
Meanwhile, Dish could lose 164 Nexstar-owned local stations tomorrow night in a separate carriage dispute. In addition, Dish is involved in several other carriage battles which have led to long-term blackouts of dozens of local channels, including ones owned and managed by Cox Media/Apollo and Mission Broadcasting. The satcaster also has long-time fights ongoing with HBO and the Sinclair-owned 21 regional sports channels, among others, which have also triggered blackouts.
Eighteen other stations managed by Cox Media are also threatening to remove their signals from Dish. One station says they could be removed as early as today.
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— Phillip Swann
