Potential Elimination of Local TV Channels: Dish Network-Sinclair Broadcast Group Standoff
Are you a Dish Network enthusiast? Buckle up, buttercup!
Say goodbye to your favorite local TV stations or risk seeing themDisappear!
In a shocking turn of events, Dish Network's ongoing carriage dispute with the broadcasting powerhouse, Sinclair, might lead to the removal of over hundred local TV stations from the service. As the Aug. 16 negotiation deadline looms, both sides are refusing to budge, finger-pointing like typical drama queens. Dish chairman Charlie Ergen summed it up neatly, "It's about money, babes."
According to ol' Charlie, Sinclair wants a hefty fee increase for their channels, using viewers as pawns in their game. If they don't get their way, an estimated 3.5 million subscribers in 38% of the good old US of A could be left high and dry.
Not ready to give up without a fight, Sinclair's General Counsel, David Gibber, issued a warning to Dish subscribers: "If things keep going south, your favorite stations, like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and CW affiliates, could vanish, along with local news, popular syndicated programs, sports programming, and live events." Tennis Channel is also at risk, Gibber added.
In a classic case of he-said, she-said, Sinclair accused Dish of having a "demonstrated track record of dropping local and national programming that viewers love." Dish, on the other hand, claims that Sinclair is "trying to bully their way into an unreasonable fee increase."
Dish TV group president Brian Neylon further stated, "Sinclair wants us to cough up nearly a billion dollars in fees for their channels. That's a massive increase, despite declining viewership."
Now, if you think this is Dish's first rodeo, you'd be right. ol' Charlie Ergen is no stranger to standing his ground in disputes, as he demonstrated during the drawn-out and expensive 2019 dispute with HBO and Univision over sports programming.
So, what does the future hold? When asked by Deadline if there's an end in sight to this latest battle, Ergen hinted that Dish might have the upper hand. "We don't have any customers calling us about RSNs today," he said. "If the local channels were to go down, we'd have more than one customer calling us the next day saying, 'Where's my local channel?'"
Keep your fingers crossed, Dish Network subscribers. This could be a tough pill to swallow, y'all.
P.S. Just to keep things fair and balanced, let's talk a bit about retained disruptions in the past:
Sinclair Broadcast Group has had its share of retransmission disputes with service providers. Disputes like the ones with DirecTV and Sling TV primarily revolved around retransmission fees for Sinclair's stations and sports networks.
Dish Network has also had its own fair share of disputes, particularly with providers like Viacom. Sinclair's past challenges with other providers suggest the potential for future disputes in the pipeline.
TL;DR: Dish Network's ongoing retransmission dispute with Sinclair could potentially lead to the removal of local TV stations. Sinclair's steep fee increase demands could affect up to 3.5 million subscribers in 38% of the U.S.
- The Dish Network's ongoing renegotiation with Sinclair may result in the disappearance of over a hundred local TV stations, including popular channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and CW affiliates, and even the Tennis Channel.
- Charlie Ergen, Dish Network's chairman, claims that Sinclair is demanding an unreasonable fee increase, using viewers as bargaining chips in this power struggle.
- Sinclair's General Counsel, David Gibber, has warned Dish subscribers that, if a resolution isn't reached, they might experience a loss of local news, popular syndicated programs, sports programming, and live events.
- Dish TV group president Brian Neylon pointed out that Sinclair is seeking nearly a billion dollars in fees for their channels, despite declining viewership figures.
