Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has threatened to block DISH customers' access to television stations in 45 cities across the country unless DISH accepts a massive price increase. The retransmission consent agreement between DISH and Sinclair expires
August 15. If the companies fail to reach an agreement on price, DISH will no longer be allowed to carry Sinclair's signals.
"We carry more than 1,800 local broadcast stations nationwide. Sinclair is asking for more than any other station anywhere in the country," said
Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming for DISH. "This goes beyond pure corporate greed -- it's profoundly insensitive to the needs of the public."
DISH has worked on retransmission contract negotiations with Sinclair for months, but Sinclair is insisting on a rate increase that would force DISH to pay more for those
ABC, CBS,
FOX and
NBC channels than DISH pays to any other broadcaster. Sinclair also owns numerous stations such as CW and MyNetwork affiliates.
Higher costs will translate into higher fees for customers.
"We hope Sinclair will soon embrace a more reasonable attitude about price increases, so we can keep those channels on DISH," said Shull.
