By George Stahl
Dish Network Corp. filed a complaint Saturday with the Federal
Communications Commission, accusing station owner Sinclair
Broadcast Group Inc. of failing to negotiate in good faith on the
next retransmission contract between the companies.
Dish alleged that Sinclair, one of the nation's largest
broadcast station owners, is refusing to discuss retransmission
consent for Sinclair's stations unless Dish also agrees to allow
Sinclair to negotiate for 32 stations that Sinclair doesn't control
and are in the same markets as Sinclair stations.
A Sinclair representative was unavailable for immediate comment.
In an earnings call earlier this month, Sinclair acknowledged that
it was in talks with Dish.
Sinclair also noted then that the retransmission rights for 75%
of its subscriber base was up for renewal over the next 12 months,
giving the company an opportunity to reset the fees it receives
under those deals.
Dish said the retransmission consent contract between the two
sides expires at 11:59 p.m. EDT Saturday. According to Dish, no new
contract could produce the "largest local channel blackout in
retransmission consent history" and block Dish customers' access to
153 local channels in 79 markets.
Until recently, Dish said, the two sides had been making steady
progress in their negotiations.
Write to George Stahl at george.stahl@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for "Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc."
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US8292261091
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires