Contentious negotiations between Dish Network Corp. and broadcaster Media General may leave Dish subscribers without some local channels.
The current contract that allows the Dish satellite network to rebroadcast WSPA (CBS channel 7) and WYCW (CW channel 62) and channels in other markets will expire at midnight Sept. 30. If a new retransmission agreement is not reached by then, Dish will be prohibited by law from carrying stations owned, operated or serviced by Media General. But negotiations are at an impasse, with Dish accusing Media General of requesting too-high fees, while Media General says Dish is being unreasonable.
Such disputes occur regularly between broadcasters and rebroadcasters.
Media General did not respond to specific questions, but sent a statement saying, “Media General has successfully completed agreements with the vast majority of other cable and satellite operators. Dish is so far refusing to reach a similar agreement. We continue to negotiate with Dish to reach a fair, market-based deal before our contract expires.”
But Media General is asking for five times the fair market value, according to Sruta Vootukuru, Dish director of programming.
“We know what the market trend is and what fair market value is,” Vootukuru said. She would not discuss amounts in detail but said there is no justification for high costs. “The only folks benefitting in the whole deal are the broadcasters, because they get free spectrum [from the government].”
She said Media General is trying to extract fees as high as possible before it is acquired later this year by Young Broadcasting, a broadcaster with which Dish has a long-term agreement in place. She said Media General refused the offer of a short-term extension of the existing contract until then.
Vootukuru said the dispute is emblematic of an entire system that favors broadcasters. She said current rules under the Federal Communications Commission do not take into account the changing media landscape or have provisions to keep broadcasters from demanding overly high rebroadcast fees.
The issue remained unresolved at press time.
“In the event that our stations are no longer carried by Dish, our viewers may continue to watch their local news, lifestyle and sports programs, as well as top-rated prime time and syndicated programming, over-the-air via antenna or by switching to an alternative pay-TV service provider,” Media General said.
