Tegna this morning announced that it has filed a counter-complaint of ‘bad faith’ negotiating against Dish with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The two companies have been engaged in a dispute since October 6 when their previous carriage agreement expired, blacking out 64 Tegna-owned local stations in the Dish’s lineup. On October 18, Dish filed a complaint with the FCC against Tegna, charging the broadcaster with negotiating in ‘bad faith.’ The FCC has yet to act on the complaint.

In a statement regarding its counter complaint, Tegna said today: “As we speak, millions of Dish customers are being deprived of valued local and national news, weather coverage, NFL and college football and top-rated entertainment shows. Instead of working to restore our programming, DISH is abusing the FCC’s processes and, more importantly, wasting their customers’ time with baseless complaint.”

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The company added: “We welcome the FCC’s review of Dish’s conduct, but our main focus remains on reaching a fair, market-based deal, just as we have with DISH’s competitors over the past several years. We yet again call on DISH to engage in serious negotiations with us to restore its subscribers’ access to our stations’ valued programming.”

Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said yesterday that he doesn’t believe the current negotiations between his company and Tegna are ” serious,” adding that the companies are far apart.

As of 7 a.m. ET today, Dish has not responded to Tegna’s counter-claim.

The TV Answer Man will continue to monitor this dispute and report back here if anything substantial changes. Until then, happy viewing, and stay safe!

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— Phillip Swann