Sinclair Broadcast Group today warned that it’s not likely to reach a new carriage agreement with Dish Network and that it could lead to a significant channel blackout next week.
The broadcaster said its current agreement with Dish Network expires on August 16 and if no new agreement is reached by then, it would lead to all Sinclair broadcast TV stations and Tennis Channel no longer being carried by Dish. In total, 108 broadcast TV stations—including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates—are expected to be dropped.
“We have tried unsuccessfully to reach fair and customary terms with Dish Network for the renegotiation of our retransmission consent,” said Sinclair General Counsel David Gibber. “Given the status of these negotiations, we feel it is important to alert Dish Network subscribers to the real risk that some of their favorite stations will no longer be available through Dish Network… We apologize to our viewers for the inconvenience this may cause although our programming will continue to be available either through other program providers or via over-the-air antenna reception.”
RELATED: DirecTV, Dish hit with massive channel blackouts
Sinclair encouraged subscribers in potentially affected markets to contact Dish Network and provided 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 addressed the potential blackout during today's earnings call and said he was "disappointed" that Sinclair put out a press release with a week left to go in negotiations. But he said 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.
"We're empathetic to Sinclair because they have to compete against their own content providers. We've had a long-term relationship with Sinclair. It's been good and we've been able to work through issues at least as tough as this one over the years," he said.
In December, Dish Network’s carriage agreement with Nexstar Media expired and resulted in another large-scale blackout that led to in 164 local broadcast channels going dark on the satellite service.
Nexstar called out Dish for what it said is a pattern of bad behavior in negotiations.
“Viewers across the United States have expressed their outrage at Dish Network for its documented long-term practice of putting its paying subscribers in the middle, rather than reaching agreements with broadcasters and content providers at fair market rates,” said Nexstar in a statement.