1. What is happening?
By law, WHIO-TV must negotiate carriage agreements with satellite companies like DISH. Usually, these deals are reached without any disruption to your service. In fact, our company has negotiated dozens of agreements with only the rarest of disruptions. Unfortunately, so far, DISH has refused to agree to a fair market deal with CMG for the WHIO-TV’s programming and services that customers value. DISH has been relying on a series of legal maneuvers and actions to stall negotiations. Despite losing a recent court ruling DISH is still refusing. Because WHIO-TV has yet to secure a deal with DISH, you will lose live access to the shows, sports and local news on WHIO-TV, which you rely on and are paying for. We are hopeful DISH will abandon its well-worn path of blacking out TV stations and come to the negotiating table with CMG.
2. As a DISH customer, what can I do to continue to watch my favorite shows on WHIO-TV?
The best thing viewers can do is Call DISH at 1-800-333-3474. Tell DISH that you pay them a lot of money to watch your favorite shows on WHIO-TV, including NCIS, NFL football and News Center 7.
3. Why does WHIO-TV charge cable and satellite operators a fee to carry their programming?
Despite what you may have heard, this dispute is not about WHIO-TV seeking large fees. Station is among the highest rated channels on DISH. Producing and broadcasting high rated, top-quality programming is very expensive. We invest millions of dollars in our local news, weather, emergency programming and entertainment content. To keep doing that, we need a fair deal from DISH and all our distributors. We have carriage agreements with every other major cable and satellite company that is carrying WHIO-TV and are seeking to be treated fairly by DISH.
5. Won't rates to subscribers go up if DISH has to pay WHIO-TV?
Whether rates go up depends on decisions made by DISH. Like all cable and satellite companies, DISH is already charging you to receive WHIO-TV as part of your monthly bill. We do not control how much DISH pays to other channels or how it manages its business. DISH should stop over-paying for channels its customers watch less and prioritize channels like WHIO-TV, that its subscribers turn to every day. We have and will continue to negotiate with DISH in good faith in an effort to successfully complete a deal with them.
6. Since DISH stopped carrying WHIO-TV, will I get a refund on my bill?
It is up to DISH to resolve such questions with its customers. But you could call DISH at 1-800-333-3474 about a refund and let them know you are no longer getting what you pay for – your favorite newscasts and programming from WHIO-TV.