Southwest Florida television fans who get their signals through the DISH Network are having to do without their weekly dose of "The Big Bang Theory," "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds."
A contract dispute between Southwest Florida's CBS-affiliate WINK-TV, based in Fort Myers, and DISH, based in Englewood, Colorado, has resulted in an extended blackout of service to 42,759 customers in Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Hendry counties.
DISH and WINK had an agreement that expired several weeks ago. It was extended until talks broke down and the blackout began Jan. 8 at 8 p.m.
And there's no sign of an end of the impasse between the family-run television station, which is owned by Fort Myers Broadcasting, and the publicly traded pay-TV carrier, which has nearly 14 million customers nationwide.
"We haven't heard from them this week," said Joe Schwartzel, general manager of WINK.
At the heart of the dispute is what DISH should pay to transmit WINK's programming to its customers. DISH said in a news release that WINK is trying to "gain deal leverage" by asking for above-market rate increases that are four times above the current DISH rate, and refused their offer to match the rates paid by other pay-TV providers.
"Broadcasters like Fort Myers use their in-market monopoly power to put profits ahead of the public interests they are supposed to serve," said R. Stanton Dodge, DISH executive vice president and general counsel, in a statement.
Overall, broadcast fees have soared from $215 million in 2006 to $4.9 billion in 2014, DISH said, citing SNL Kagan research.
But WINK contends that DISH offered it less than half the rate paid by other pay-TV providers.
Schwartzel said that the cost of programming has been escalating dramatically over the past few years, particularly for the right to cover sporting events, and that cost must be passed on to carriers.
He added unless and until DISH comes to an agreement with the television station, the satellite-television company is prohibited by law from carrying WINK's programming.
"There's no obligation on their part to carry us," said Schwartzel. "If you're a [DISH] customer, you'll have to put up an antennae or find an alternative carrier."
Other area carriers that carry WINK programming include Comcast, Century Link and Summit Broadband.
While both DISH and WINK express the desire to end the standoff, for now, customers are out of luck.
National broadcasters prevent pay-TV companies from temporarily substituting an out-of-market station during an affiliate's blackout.
Dark screens due to retransmission fee disputes are becoming much more common, according to the American Television Alliance, a coalition of cable, satellite and telephone companies.
In 2010, there were eight blackouts nationwide; in 2015, there were 193, ATA said.
National broadcasters bear part of the blame for blackouts and rising costs, the group said, by demanding a cut of fees pay-TV providers pay to local affiliates.
A contract dispute between Southwest Florida's CBS-affiliate WINK-TV, based in Fort Myers, and DISH, based in Englewood, Colorado, has resulted in an extended blackout of service to 42,759 customers in Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Hendry counties.
DISH and WINK had an agreement that expired several weeks ago. It was extended until talks broke down and the blackout began Jan. 8 at 8 p.m.
And there's no sign of an end of the impasse between the family-run television station, which is owned by Fort Myers Broadcasting, and the publicly traded pay-TV carrier, which has nearly 14 million customers nationwide.
"We haven't heard from them this week," said Joe Schwartzel, general manager of WINK.
At the heart of the dispute is what DISH should pay to transmit WINK's programming to its customers. DISH said in a news release that WINK is trying to "gain deal leverage" by asking for above-market rate increases that are four times above the current DISH rate, and refused their offer to match the rates paid by other pay-TV providers.
"Broadcasters like Fort Myers use their in-market monopoly power to put profits ahead of the public interests they are supposed to serve," said R. Stanton Dodge, DISH executive vice president and general counsel, in a statement.
Overall, broadcast fees have soared from $215 million in 2006 to $4.9 billion in 2014, DISH said, citing SNL Kagan research.
But WINK contends that DISH offered it less than half the rate paid by other pay-TV providers.
Schwartzel said that the cost of programming has been escalating dramatically over the past few years, particularly for the right to cover sporting events, and that cost must be passed on to carriers.
He added unless and until DISH comes to an agreement with the television station, the satellite-television company is prohibited by law from carrying WINK's programming.
"There's no obligation on their part to carry us," said Schwartzel. "If you're a [DISH] customer, you'll have to put up an antennae or find an alternative carrier."
Other area carriers that carry WINK programming include Comcast, Century Link and Summit Broadband.
While both DISH and WINK express the desire to end the standoff, for now, customers are out of luck.
National broadcasters prevent pay-TV companies from temporarily substituting an out-of-market station during an affiliate's blackout.
Dark screens due to retransmission fee disputes are becoming much more common, according to the American Television Alliance, a coalition of cable, satellite and telephone companies.
In 2010, there were eight blackouts nationwide; in 2015, there were 193, ATA said.
National broadcasters bear part of the blame for blackouts and rising costs, the group said, by demanding a cut of fees pay-TV providers pay to local affiliates.
Resource : http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local/dish-and-wink-tv-blame-each-other-for-blackout-29b81429-1a3b-19d3-e053-0100007fa970-365829991.html
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