Key Points
- Gray Media says Dish Network demanded an unprecedented contract provision during negotiations, leading to the blackout of more than 200 local television stations.
- The broadcaster claims Dish violated federal “good faith” negotiation requirements tied to retransmission consent agreements.
- Dish argues Gray sought higher carriage fees, highlighting ongoing tensions between broadcasters and pay TV providers over rising distribution costs.
Gray Media pulled more than 200 of its local television stations from satellite provider Dish Network after the pay television company made an unusual demand to the broadcaster during recent negotiations over a new distribution contract, the broadcaster complained this week.
In a press release on Wednesday, Gray Media said Dish Network was violating its legal obligation to negotiate toward a new distribution contract in good faith by insisting on a “materially-adverse provision in the new agreement that is unlike any provision in any distribution agreement with Gray’s roughly 400 other distribution partners.”
Gray Media said the condition was “unprecedented in the several-decade history of the pay TV industry across any cable or DBS (direct broadcast satellite) operator and any broadcaster,” and that the proposal was “flatly inconsistent with marketplace conditions in clear violation of Dish Network’s federal statutory obligation to negotiate retransmission in good faith.”
Gray Media did not say what the onerous term was that Dish Network proposed. Reached for comment on Wednesday, a spokesperson said the broadcaster is “not providing the details of the asked provision.”
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allows broadcasters like Gray Media to receive compensation in exchange for the distribution of their local TV stations on pay TV platforms like Dish Network. But the terms of those agreements must be reasonable, and the FCC requires all sides to negotiate those agreements with good faith provisions.
The term “good faith” has never been legally defined, which has led to numerous complaints filed at the FCC by pay TV companies against broadcasters when programming-related blackouts occur. It isn’t clear if Dish Network or Gray Media intend to file a complaint with the FCC in the near future, though Gray Media has threatened unspecified legal action to collect “restitution for the millions of dollars in damages that Gray has incurred from Dish’s repeated, continuing and undisputed breaches of the parties just-expired distribution agreement” if a new agreement isn’t reached soon.
On Tuesday, Dish Network was forced to pull more than 200 local TV stations owned or operated by Gray Media after its distribution contract with the broadcaster expired without a new agreement in place.
In a statement to customers late Tuesday evening, Dish Network said the dispute started because Gray Media demanded more money for its local TV stations, which includes dozens of major network affiliates that offer programming from ABC, CBS, the CW Network, Fox and NBC.
In its own press release, Gray Media does not dispute that it sought more money for its channels, saying its “track record for fair and reasonable distribution negotiations is undisputed in the industry” and that its local TV stations have never been dropped by a satellite operator before.
Dish, on the other hand, has dropped local TV stations and national cable networks several times over the past decade when it feels demands for higher fees are unreasonable. Dish doesn’t absorb the higher fees charged by broadcasters; the fees are passed on to its 5 million satellite subscribers in their bills, and programming-related payments are the main reason for rising satellite prices over the past few years.
Other broadcasters that have seen their channels disappear from Dish Network and its streaming service Sling TV over the past decade include Univision, Fox Corporation, ABC owner Disney, TEGNA, Nexstar Media Group, Hearst Television and Cox Media Group.
The dispute between Dish Network and Gray Media comes at a time when local TV broadcasters are lobbying federal regulators for looser rules that will allow them to consolidate their operations through mergers and acquisitions.
Under current federal rules, broadcasters are not allowed to have direct ownership of local TV stations that reach more than 39 percent of the American viewing audience. Some broadcasters use local marketing agreements and creative accounting measures to circumvent this restriction, though major local TV station groups say direct ownership of more stations will allow them to better compete against tech-backed and network-owned streaming services.
Critics say allowing local broadcasters to consolidate their operations will concentrate too much power among just a few companies, which will allow them to leverage their major network affiliates to drive up fees charged to pay TV companies. That practice will lead to higher subscriber bills and more-frequent programming disruptions, they contend.
Alternatives to Dish Network
Customers of Dish Network who have lost access to one or more Gray Media-owned station have a number of alternative ways to watch their local station.
In all areas where Gray Media owns or operates a local station, installing a conventional TV antenna is the cheapest way to watch broadcast programming, including national entertainment, news and sports from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW Network affiliates. The Mohu Leaf 50 antenna ($40 on Amazon) is one of the best and most-reliable ways to receive close and distant local TV stations from the major network affiliates, with some TV viewers able to pull in between 50 and 100 clear, digital broadcast TV signals. Amazon also has cheaper TV antennas — some going for as little as $11 — that are good alternatives for TV viewers who live in major cities or who are close to their local TV transmission towers.
Dish Network customers who want access to national programming from CBS can sign up for Paramount Plus Essentials, which costs $9 per month and includes on-demand access to entertainment and news from CBS, plus access to shows from Comedy Central, VH1, MTV and Nickelodeon, among others. Another plan, called Paramount Plus Premium, costs $14 per month and includes live access to a local CBS station or affiliate, including those owned by Gray Media. Paramount Plus Premium also offers ad-free streaming of on-demand CBS shows, and includes movies and series from Showtime.
Dish Network customers who have lost access to NBC programming can sign up for Peacock Select, which costs $8 per month and includes on-demand, ad-supported acecss to NBC’s entertainment and news programming. Another plan, called Peacock Premium, costs $11 per month and includes live NBC Sports programming, including NBA basketball and MLB baseball games. Peacock Premium Plus costs $17 per month and includes live access to a viewer’s local NBC station or affiliate, including those owned by Gray Media.
Dish Network customers who want access to Fox programming can sign up for Fox One through Amazon’s Prime Video Channels. For $20 per month, Fox One includes access to all live programming from a local Fox station or affiliate, including local news, plus 24-hour streaming access to Fox Sports, Fox News and Fox Business Network. A version of Fox One that includes access to ESPN’s cable networks costs $40 per month.
For ABC programming, Dish Network customers can sign up for Hulu and watch ABC’s entertainment, news and reality-based shows one day after they air on their local station. For sports, ESPN Unlimited offers the full slate of ESPN networks, plus live sports from ABC, starting at $30 per month. TV fans who want access to on-demand ABC programming and live sports from ABC and ESPN can sign up for the Disney Bundle that includes Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Unlimited.
Last, Dish Network customers who prefer to have access to all their channels in a single place and switch from Dish Network to DIRECTV, which offers live access to ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox stations in its Signature packages. Dish Network customers who switch to DIRECTV Choice will get access to their local stations, plus national networks like ESPN, Fox News, CNN and more, for just $60 during their first month of service. DIRECTV Choice also includes access to ESPN Unlimited, Disney Plus and Hulu at no extra cost. DIRECTV Choice is available via satellite and streaming.
Other streaming TV providers that offer local TV channels from Gray Media include YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV at varying price points. Fubo offers Gray Media-owned CBS, Fox and ABC stations, but not NBC.
Which Gray Media-owned channels are missing from Dish Network?
Gray Media has pulled a number of its local TV stations from Dish Network due to a dispute over fees that Dish Network must pay for the privilege of redistributing those channels. Some of the affected channels include:
- KCBD (Channel 11, NBC) in Lubbock
- KFDA (Channel 10, CBS) in Amarillo
- KGMB (Channel 5, CBS) in Honolulu
- KHNL (Channel 13, NBC) in Honolulu
- KKTV (Channel 11, CBS) in Colorado Springs
- KJTV (Channel 34, Fox) in Lubbock
- KMOV (Channel 4, CBS) in St. Louis
- KOLD-TV (Channel 13, CBS) in Tucson
- KOSA (Channel 7, CBS) in Odessa
- KPHO (Channel 5, CBS) in Phoenix
- KPTV (Channel 12, Fox) in Portland, Oregon
- KTVK (Channel 3) in Phoenix
- KWCH (Channel 12, CBS) in Wichita
- WANF (Channel 46) in Atlanta
- WCSC (Channel 5, CBS) in Charleston, South Carolina
- WEAU (Channel 13, NBC) in Eau Claire
- WMC-TV (Channel 5, NBC) In Memphis
- WPCH (Channel 17, CW) in Atlanta
- WSMV (Channel 4, NBC) in Nashville
- WVUE (Channel 8, Fox) in New Orleans
- WWSB (Channel 40, ABC) in Sarasota
For a full list of stations affected by the dispute, click or tap here.
