Echostar’s premium live television service Dish Network has dropped two Central Oregon TV stations over fees paid for carriage of those channels.
The move leaves customers in Bend, Oregon without access to two major network affiliates — KBNZ (Channel 7, CBS) and KOHD (Channel 17, ABC) — unless they use an antenna or switch services.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the stations said the channels were dropped “despite our good faith efforts” to continue negotiating toward a new contract for their continued availability on Dish.
Like other pay TV providers, Dish is required to pay local and national TV broadcasters for the privilege of redistributing their channels on their systems. Over the past few years, Dish and others have taken a hard stance against broadcasters that demand more money for the same set of channels, arguing that the fee increases ultimately lead to higher bills for customers and encourage them to cancel their satellite subscriptions.
Such is the case involving KBNZ and KOHD, which were acquired by Bend Broadband several years ago from their former parent company, Zolo Media.
In a statement on a webpage for Dish customers, the company says it was “not able to come to a mutual renewal agreement with Zolo Broadcasting, and without a contract in place we are required to remove their channels from our service.” It isn’t clear why Dish referenced the former parent company of both stations, instead of the current owner of the outlets.
“In our case, Zolo Broadcasting is asking Dish to pay significantly more for the same programming you enjoy today,” the statement continued. “We feel strongly about fighting for a fair rate to ensure you get the best possible value from Dish. Our goal and priority is to reach a fair agreement to bring their local channel back as quickly as possible.”
Customers who are impacted by the dispute can watch their local CBS and ABC affiliates by installing a conventional over-the-air antenna, or by switching to DirecTV or TDS Telecom.
