Dish vs. Sinclair: How Long Is That Short-Term Extension?
TV Answer Man, I keep waiting to hear if Dish and Sinclair have a deal for the local channels and the sports channels. I know they said they have a short-term deal, but how long is that short-term deal? When will we hear something on the negotiations? — Tom, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Tom, as you noted, Sinclair and Dish on Monday night agreed to a “short-term” extension in their current carriage pact that will allow Sinclair’s 112 local TV stations to stay in Dish’s lineup for now.
“We have agreed to a short-term extension with Dish to continue conversations. We will continue to update our viewers as this develops. Sinclair stands willing to continue to negotiate in good faith and to enter into a longer extension to allow for the continued carriage of our channels to Dish subscribers,” Sinclair’s David Gibber said in a statement.
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But Gibber nor Dish have said how long that short-term extension is. Based on past carriage disputes, a short-term extension could be as short as several hours or as long as several months. We know that the Dish-Sinclair extension is at least 60 hours or so because it’s now Thursday morning and the local Sinclair channels are still on Dish.
Neither Dish or Sinclair will say how long the extension is so we’ll just have to wait until they provide more information. It wouldn’t surprise me if the extension is for at least a week considering that the two companies have several thorny issues to address, including whether Dish and its live streaming service, Sling TV, will resume carrying the Sinclair-owned Bally Sports regional sports networks.
The TV Answer Man will monitor this situation and report back here if anything significant changes. Until then, 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
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