WPXI, Dish Network exchange barbs as Pittsburgh NBC affiliate goes dark on satellite service
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Dish Network customers in Pittsburgh are no longer able to view NBC affiliate WPXI on their satellite television service.
Each side is blaming the other.
WPXI claims it was removed from Dish after the satellite provider refused to agree to a deal for a new retransmission consent agreement with its parent, Cox Media Group.
Dish says that Apollo Global Management, an international private equity firm which acquired the Cox stations, blacked out Dish customers’ access to its local channels in 10 markets, including Pittsburgh.
In a report on the WPXI-TV website, Cox accuses Dish of stalling negotiations while pursuing a “misguided legal action” against it.
Cox says it “cannot prevent Dish from retransmitting the stations. They go dark only if Dish so chooses.”
“During these times of uncertainty, it is more important than ever that our viewers know their trusted local stations are there for them, providing the news and information they need to make decisions for their families,” WPXI said in the statement.”CMG stations take pride in being resources for our communities, and we will fight to continue to fulfill this responsibility.”
According to a statement from Dish, it and Apollo are in court about whether Dish’s agreement to carry Cox stations was prematurely terminated when Apollo acquired those stations.
A temporary restraining order in January stopped Apollo from interfering with Dish’s right to retransmit the Cox stations under their original agreement. The case was transferred to federal court, which dissolved the restraining order, according to Dish.
“We don’t understand why Apollo is choosing to put customers in the middle of its negotiations, especially during a global pandemic when customers need access to local news and programming,” Andy LeCuyer, senior vice president of programming for Dish, is quoted as saying.
“We have offered to apply our current agreement — with higher rates — to keep their channels available and avoid any service interruption while we continue to negotiate, but they refused, demanding a 40% increase to rates agreed to last year,” he said. “We want to come to a long-term agreement that is fair for our customers.”
WPXI is the only Pennsylvania station affected. The other stations are in Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Washington and Oklahoma.
WPXI is a news partner of the Tribune-Review.