Dish Network has restored around three dozen local television stations licensed to Mission Broadcasting following a year-long dispute that kept those channels off its satellite platform.
The channels — 27 in total, covering 25 metropolitan areas — were pulled from Dish’s satellite platform last January following the expiration of a carriage agreement between it and Mission Broadcasting.
All Mission Broadcasting stations are operated through a shared services agreement with Nexstar Media Group, which negotiates carriage of those signals with cable and satellite television providers.
As is typical during these disputes, the issue centered around fees Dish was expected to pay for the right to redistribute local channels to its subscribers.
Nexstar-owned stations were not impacted during the dispute. But the situation left millions of viewers unable to access one or more local ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC station licensed to Mission while both sides were locked in battle.
On Wednesday, Mission said the situation has been resolved, and the channels have been restored to Dish’s satellite platform. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the agreement is expected to keep Mission channels on Dish for at least three years, according to a source.
The channels covered by the agreement include:
- KAMC (Channel 28, ABC) in Lubbock, Texas
- KASN (Channel 38, CW) in Little Rock
- KASY (Channel 50) in Albuquerque
- KCIT (Channel 14, Fox) in Amarillo, Texas
- KFQX (Channel 4, Fox) in Grand Junction, Colorado
- KHMT (Channel 4, Fox) in Billings, Montana
- KJTL (Channel 18, Fox) in Wichita Falls, Texas
- KLJB (Channel 18, Fox) in Davenport, Iowa
- KLRT (Channel 16, Fox) in Little Rock
- KMSS (Channel 33, Fox) in Shreveport, Louisiana
- KODE (Channel 12, ABC) in Joplin, Missouri
- KOLR (Channel 10, CBS) in Springfield, Missouri
- KPEJ (Channel 24, Fox) in Odessa, Texas
- KRBC (Channel 9, NBC) in Abilene, Texas
- KRWB (Channel 21, CW) in Roswell, New Mexico
- KSAN (Channel 3, NBC) in San Angelo, Texas
- KTVE (Channel 10, NBC) in Monroe, Louisiana
- KWBQ (Channel 19, CW) in Albuquerque
- WAWV (Channel 38, ABC) in Terre Haute, Indiana
- WFXP (Channel 66, Fox) in Erie, Pennsylvania
- WLAJ (Channel 53, ABC) in Lansing, Michigan
- WNAC (Channel 63, Fox) in Providence, Rhode Island
- WPIX (Channel 11, CW) in New York City
- WTVO (Channel 17, ABC) in Rockford, Illinois
- WUTR (Channel 20, ABC) in Utica, New York
- WVNY (Channel 22, ABC) in Burlington, Vermont
- WXXA (Channel 23, Fox) in Albany, New York
- WYOU (Channel 22, CBS) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
“Mission regrets the inconvenience experienced by its viewers, and thanks them for their patience,” a spokesperson for Mission said in a statement on Wednesday.
While the agreement covers Mission-licensed stations, the dispute involving White Knight Broadcasting stations continues. Like Mission, White Knight allows Nexstar to operate its stations through shared services agreements. It was not clear if an agreement covering White Knight stations was expected anytime soon.
