Cox Media Group and Dish Network have resolved a redistribution dispute that kept around a dozen local broadcast stations off the satellite platform for more than a year.
The dispute started in November 2022 when Dish Network’s carriage contract with Cox Media Group expired. Without a new deal in place, Dish Network was forced to pull Cox Media-owned channels from its satellite platform, depriving customers in Seattle, Atlanta, Boston and six other metropolitan areas of at least one local television channel.
On Sunday, the dispute was resolved, with customers reporting access to their local stations once again. The stations that are once again available to Dish Network customers include:
- KEVU (Channel 23) in Eugene, Oregon
- KIRO-TV (Channel 7, CBS) in Seattle
- KLSR (Channel 34, Fox) in Eugene, Oregon
- WAXN (Channel 64) in Charlotte, North Carolina
- WFOX (Channel 30, Fox) in Jacksonville, Florida
- WFTV (Channel 9, ABC) in Orlando
- WFXT (Channel 25, Fox) in Boston
- WHIO (Channel 7, CBS) in Dayton, Ohio
- WJAX (Channel 47, CBS) in Jacksonville, Florida
- WPXI (Channel 11, NBC) in PIttsburgh, Pennsylvania
- WRDQ (Channel 27) in Orlando, Florida
- WSB-TV (Channel 2, ABC) in Atlanta
- WSOC (Channel 9, ABC) in Charlotte, North Carolina
The issue was resolved with little notice and few details after the fact. Financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed, but a source familiar with the matter said Cox Media’s agreement with Dish Network is for three years.
The agreement does not extend to carrying local stations on Dish Network’s streaming TV service, Sling TV, which offers only ABC, NBC and Fox-owned stations in some of its programming packages.
Cox Media Group is majority-owned by Apollo Global Management, with Cox Enterprises holding a minority stake in the company. Dish Network is owned by Echostar.
