DISH TV Loses Cox Local Channels in Carriage Dispute, Sling TV Customers Not Impacted
On Monday, Cox Media Group (CMG) announced that its channels in nine local markets would go dark for DISH TV satellite customers as the two sides could not agree to a new carriage agreement. In a statement, DISH claims that Cox is “demanding a massive fee increase and holding viewers hostage.” CMG owns a number of ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBS affiliates that are carried by DISH TV.
In response, CMG issued a statement via its WSB-TV affiliate in Atlanta saying, “Despite our efforts to negotiate in good faith, Dish still refuses to do a fair deal and has now blacked out 13 CMG stations, including Channel 2. They go dark only if Dish so chooses. CMG is hopeful that Dish will abandon its well-worn path of blacking out TV stations to the detriment of consumers in favor of meaningful negotiations toward a fair deal.”
Though DISH also owns and operates the live TV streaming service Sling TV, those customers are not impacted by the carriage dispute as the streamer only carries FOX and NBC-owned-and-operate affiliates. However, as CMG referenced in its statement, this is not the first time that DISH has had a service disruption for channels in the midst of a retransmission fee negotiation. In February, the company ended a four-month stalemate with TEGNA to bring 64 affiliates back on air.
A little over a year ago, DISH filed a bad faith complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against TEGNA and claimed that viewership of TEGNA’s affiliated stations had declined over the past three years, despite the station owners attempting to raise DISH’s retrans fees.
While no FEC complaint has been filed, DISH’s statement on the CMG dispute did use similar language.
“Cox’s refusal to negotiate in good faith and subsequently forcing a blackout of its stations for DISH customers is deplorable,” DISH TV group president Brian Neylon said. “Cox is demanding an exorbitant rate increase … Broadcasters like Cox put profits ahead of the public interests they are supposed to serve, even when its viewership has declined for years.”
The statement goes on to claim that despite Cox viewership declining on DISH TV over the past two years, CMG is attempting to increase rates by nearly 75% and require DISH subscribers to pay for the channel, whether they want to include local stations in their bundle or not.
“Cox Media Group is simply asking Dish to pay a fair rate for the quality local news and entertainment programming we invest heavily in,” CMG said in a statement, “in addition to the prime-time and sports programming we pay to secure from our networks.”
The channels and markets currently impacted according to DISH are:
Atlanta WSB | ABC
Boston: WFXT | FOX
Charlotte, N.C.: WSOC | ABC
Dayton, Ohio: WHIO | CBS
Eugene, Ore.: KLSR | FOX
Jacksonville, Fla.: WFOX | FOX
Orlando, Fla.: WFTV | ABC
Pittsburgh: WPXI | NBC
Seattle: KIRO | CBS
Sling TV
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service that helps users save money with the option of two distinct plans. The $40/month “Sling Orange” plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $40/month “Sling Blue” plan offers about 40 channels, including Fox and NBC local channels.