Tegna, locked in a retransmission-consent battle with Dish Network that has blacked out its stations since Oct. 6, has responded to a suit by the satellite TV provider and filed its own complaint.
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The broadcast called Dish’s bad-faith charges baseless and alleges that Dish is the one failing to comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s good-faith retrans rules by misrepresenting the negotiations.
Dish responded to the blackout by filing a complaint charging that Tegna was negotiation in bad faith.
“As we speak, millions of Dish customers are being deprived of valued local and national news, weather coverage, NFL and college football and top-rated entertainment shows. Instead of working to restore our programming, Dish is abusing the FCC’s processes and, more importantly, wasting their customers’ time with baseless complaints,” Tegna said in a statement.
“Our response and cross-complaint show that it is Dish which has acted in bad faith, not only by obstructing negotiations over many months but also through the distortions it has presented to the public and the FCC,” Tegna said. “Unfortunately, Dish’s behavior is consistent with its track record of obstructive tactics. Last year alone, Dish deprived its customers of more than 230 different channels due to disputes like this one. In addition, the company has a long history of abusing the process by bringing business disputes to regulators and courts.
Tegna urged Dish to negotiate seriously and encouraged Dish subscribers to let the satellite provider know they want the programming Tegna’s stations provide.
