Dish Network couldn’t muster much optimism for its negotiations with Tegna, explaining that the companies are still “far apart” on an agreement to restore the broadcaster’s channels on the satellite TV service.
During Dish’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Chairman Charlie Ergen said no “serious negotiation” is currently happening even though the NFL is already halfway through its 2021-2022 season.
“So having said that, we remain available to have an honest conversation about where things go. We know what the prices we pay everybody else is. We know the prices in the marketplace. We know the ratings. So, we know the economic value,” he said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript, who added that Tegna has been a great partner and that Dish would prefer to keep the company’s channels up on its service.
RELATED: Dish Network dispute with Tegna begins yet another channel blackout
Dish’s comments about potential deal talks with Tegna seem incongruous with new accusations made by the broadcaster, which on Friday filed a counter-complaint against Dish with the FCC.
“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 complaints,” said Tegna in a statement. “Our response and cross-complaint show that it is Dish which has acted in bad faith, not only by obstructing negotiations over many months but also through the distortions it has presented to the public and the FCC.”
Dish last month filed a complaint with the FCC and accused Tegna of turning its back on its public interest obligation as a broadcaster after a dispute over retransmission fees led to a TV channel blackout affecting nearly 3 million Dish TV customers in 53 markets.
“Tegna’s demands were both unreasonable and inconsistent. This behavior negatively impacts Dish subscribers, and we expect Tegna’s bad behavior to only get worse as the programmer looks to sell its stations to the highest bidder. As a result, we have filed a formal complaint with the FCC to address Tegna’s blatant disregard of the Commission’s rules,” said Andy LeCuyer, Dish’s senior vice president of programming, in a statement.