RELATED: If You See This Message on Your Roku, Report It Immediately, Experts Say. On Oct. 6, Dish TV announced that media company Tegna had removed local stations from its airwaves at 9 p.m. ET after it had demanded a massive fee increase for the right to carry them. The move leaves nearly 3 million Dish TV subscribers across more than 50 markets nationwide without access to major networks as the companies continue to clash. “The programmer is using customers as negotiation leverage, demanding a massive fee increase to nearly a billion dollars and holding viewers hostage during football season,” Dish TV said in a statement. The breakdown in negotiations is affecting Dish subscribers in 53 markets, including Atlanta, Denver, Sacramento, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Washington, Buffalo, Knoxville, Des Moines, Jacksonville, San Diego, and Seattle. The list of 64 stations that have gone dark for customers includes major networks, such as ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW, MNT, and TDO. RELATED: If You Use This Popular Cell Service, Your Phone May Not Work Soon. In its statement, Dish explains that broadcasters such as Tegna began charging cable and satellite companies for the right to carry the “free” network channels for the public nearly two decades ago. However, the satellite provider argues that fees have skyrocketed since and that the broadcaster is simply trying to position itself to cash in big when they attempt to sell rights to the networks later on. “We made a fair offer to keep Tegna stations available to our customers, but Tegna rejected it, forcing the removal of its channels,” Brian Neylon, group president of Dish TV, said in a statement. “Tegna is looking to sell its stations to the highest bidder and is simply trying to exploit Dish customers as a way to get the maximum price and further fatten their wallets.“ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “Tegna is demanding we pay for 100 percent of our subscribers in their markets, regardless of whether these subscribers receive or want Tegna’s programming,” added Neylon. “As one of the nation’s largest local station owners, they are more interested in increasing their bottom line by charging our customers more money than providing programming to viewers under fair terms.” For more helpful consumer news sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. This is not the first time the two companies have come to blows over fees: In 2015, a similar dispute saw Tegna pull its channels from 38 markets resulting in a blackout that lasted three days, Deadline reports. But as customers are left without access to major networks and channels, both sides appear to be holding fast to their argument. “We apologize to our customers and we’re deeply disappointed in Tegna’s decision to remove its channels from Dish in an effort to try and force an unjustifiable fee increase that directly impacts our customers,” Neylon said in the statement. “We can’t sit by and accept Tegna’s unreasonable demands. We will continue fighting on behalf of our customers to come to a fair deal that is beneficial for all.” Tegna also appeared unwavering in an announcement of its own, saying: “Dish has refused to reach a fair, market-based agreement with us based on the competitive terms we’ve used to reach deals with numerous other providers that reflect the current market. We regret any inconvenience for any of our customers, and hope that Dish will come back to the table to get a deal done to return our valuable programming to their system.”
