Dish Network Loses 226 Local Stations In Carriage Dispute
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Buy Me a Coffee!
Dish Network subscribers tonight lost 226 local channels when it could not reach a new carriage agreement with their owner, Gray Media.
The stations tonight posted viewer alerts at their web sites saying Dish has lost their signals. The old agreement between the companies expired this evening.
“DISH Network customers lost access to (the station) on Tuesday, March 10 after a renewal agreement was not reached. This means DISH customers no longer have access to your favorite networks shows, as well as your local news, weather and sports…If you’re a DISH customer, you can still let them know you want (the local station) and the shows and news you love returned to their lineup by contacting them at 800-333-3474.
Dish tonight has issued a statement:
“Gray Media is utilizing its market dominance to demand “retransmission consent” fee hikes that are disconnected from the reality of declining viewership and the availability of free and low-cost streaming alternatives. Gray Media also introduced “last-minute” demands regarding stations they don’t yet own, stalling negotiations just hours before expiration. DISH remains ready to restore these channels immediately if Gray Media agrees to a fair, market-based deal.
“It is deeply disappointing that Gray Media is using its viewers as bargaining chips,” said Kevin Covell, Senior Vice President, DISH Video Services. “We offered a fair agreement to keep these stations on the air, but Gray Media walked away. Gray Media chose to black out their own viewers, rather than reasonably negotiate, in an attempt to extract significantly higher fees.”
While the stations say Dish has ‘pulled’ the channels, the satcaster can not legally carry them without a carriage agreement.
Gray Media has local channels in 113 markets including Louisville, St. Louis, Memphis and Nashville. The vast majority of its stations are based in small or mid-sized markets.
To see a list of Gray Media’s local channels which have been removed from Dish, click here. Note: The number of local stations (226) affected comes from Dish.
Please consider making a donation to The TV Answer Man site here at the Buy Me a Coffee site. Any donation size is appreciated and will help me continue to provide these articles to you.
Have a Question? Ask The TV Answer Man!
Have a question about a cable/satellite service, streaming service, TV product, or favorite show?
Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com.
Discover more from The TV Answer Man!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
It really sucks all the local stations were dropped. It’s not worth having Dish any more. Am looking for a different carrier to get my favorite channels back!
If you cant get my regular channel back which is KWQC NBC then I will have no choice to cancel my DISH!! It is the ONLY station I watch.
Are we not paying extra for the locale channels. It seem to me that we had to pay for the locals. If we are not going to get the locals then I want a discount or my money back for the locales. I thing the locals we 10 to 12 dollars extra a month.
Our dish package was to include the local channels. We went with the package we have in order to get what we watch. It seems to me that if dish is cutting what we paid for, then we deserve a price adjustment discount! I’ve been with dish a long time.. Not thrilled.
I heard Dish was the one that dropped Gray Media, because they tried to push something and Gray didn’t want it. Actually when we went with Dish we got the package where we could have all our local channels especially channel 12. I WANT SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT WHOEVER IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Norman, in carriage disputes, it usually takes two to tango. Wouldn’t assume one side is at fault.