After the original deadline for a new broadcast channel carriage agreement between Sinclair and Dish Network passed Monday, the companies agreed to an extension.
“We have agreed to a short-term extension with Dish to continue conversations," said David Gibber, senior vice president and general counsel for Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a statement. "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’s subscribers.”
Dish Network said in a statement that at this time it is continuing to negotiate with Sinclair "to work toward what we hope will be a long-term agreement that is fair for all parties, especially our customers."
Last week, Sinclair warned that it was not likely to reach a new carriage agreement with Dish Network and that it would result in 108 broadcast TV stations—including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates—along with the Tennis Channel being dropped from the satellite TV service as of August 16.
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Sinclair encouraged subscribers in potentially affected markets to contact Dish Network and has been providing them with contact information for DirecTV, Dish’s satellite TV competitor, for subscribers looking to switch providers.
Dish accused Sinclair of demanding nearly $1 billion in fees for their television channels and said the massive increase is coming despite declining viewership. “Sinclair is making these outrageous demands, turning its back on its public interest obligation and putting customers in the middle of its negotiations," said Brian Neylon, group president for Dish TV.
Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen said he was "disappointed" that Sinclair put out a press release with a week left to go in negotiations and pointed out that Dish customers still have other ways to get those channels, which he said are being watched less on his company's satellite TV service.