WHIO-TV has been removed from the service of DISH Network after the satellite provider refused to agree to a fair deal for a new re-transmission consent agreement with Cox Media Group. If you are currently affected by DISH’s decision to deprive you of important local news and programming during these critical times, make your voice heard and call DISH today at 1-800-333-3474 and demand that they get your local programming back.
Thank you for your emails.
DISH has repeatedly refused our offers to restore our channels while working with us to come to a fair agreement to carry CMG stations on their service. Despite eight consecutive rulings against DISH, they have chosen to pull our stations off their channel lineup and leave customers like you blacked out across 10 markets.
DISH has been stalling negotiations for months while it pursued a misguided legal action against CMG. Despite multiple rulings rejecting DISH’s legal maneuvers, DISH still refused to do a fair deal and has now blacked out 13 CMG stations, including WHIO-TV.
As the court highlighted, CMG cannot prevent DISH from re-transmitting the stations. They go dark only if DISH so chooses. CMG is hopeful that DISH will abandon its well-worn path of blacking out TV stations to the detriment of viewers in favor of meaningful negotiations that bear a mutually beneficial deal for all parties.
It is unfortunate that DISH would rather try to divert blame than work with us to ensure our valued viewers are able to watch their favorite local programming. We want to be very clear – CMG has no physical ability to black out or restore stations, only DISH can.
We want you to have access to our content, including local and national news coverage that’s more important than ever. CMG continues to reach out to DISH to work together in good faith, as we do with every other cable and satellite provider. Instead it seems DISH would rather hurt their customers. You don’t have to take our word for it – DISH has blacked out 50 stations in just this past year.
WHIO-TV programming remains available for viewers to access over the air, and this dispute will not affect the vast majority of viewers, who are customers of other video providers. It should be noted that WHIO-TV has reached agreements with virtually every other major cable and satellite distributor.
Your viewership is important to us and we hope you will make your voice heard.
-- Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group
