Yet another dispute over the dollars a broadcast television company believes it deserves to receive from a cable TV services company for the right to distribute its signals for profit has transpired.
It sees Hearst Television enter a battle with one of the nation’s two direct broadcast satellite companies.
The impasse is with Dish Network, and as is typical in such situations, the Blame Game has begun with the DBS provider assailing Hearst for removing its local channels from Dish.
In reality, Dish by law cannot provide Hearst-owned stations to its customers without a retransmission consent accord. Hearst “removing” its channels, as such, is biased commentary that does not take into account the full spectrum of negotiations between the two companies.
As Dish Network sees it, it negotiated in good faith. And, despite those efforts, it could come to terms on a new agreement, which impacts 37 Hearst Television stations in some 27 markets.
According to Dish, it has been in discussions with Hearst “for months,” working to reach an agreement. In its view, Hearst “is demanding tens of millions of dollars in rate increases that would affect customers, while it devalues its product by making programming available elsewhere, even as viewership declines.”
While the narrative from MVPDs typically focuses on costs imposed on its customers whenever retransmission rate increases are sought, the comments from Dish come as President/CEO W. Erik Carlson pocketed $10.82 million in total 2022 compensation while President and COO of Wireless John Swieringa enjoyed $7.93 million in ’22 earnings, Salary.com shows. Chairman Charlie Ergen’s 2022 compensation totaled $3.22 million.
Nevertheless, DISH sees the dispute as single-handed and all Hearst’s doing.
“Hearst continues to raise its prices despite its declining viewership and lower-quality content,” said Gary Schanman, EVP/Group President for Video Services at DISH Network. “Demanding higher rates for the same entertainment and news just doesn’t make sense, especially as Hearst’s content is widely available on other platforms. This hurts our customers in their pocketbooks and their ability to watch the programming and content they want. Unfortunately, Hearst, like many other programmers, expects DISH and our customers to foot the bill.”
Schanman added that retransmission consent is “a broken system,” concluding, “As programmers continue to hold distributors hostage, customers will end up being impacted the most. We’ll continue to negotiate for a fair deal to provide the best value for our customers. Hearst is an important long-term partner for us, and we hope they’ll come to a reasonable agreement and restore their channels for our customers as quickly as possible.”
“We have made significant investments to deliver top tier programming to our viewers and DISH is seeking the right to carry our stations at below market rates, which is neither fair nor reasonable.” — Hearst Television
HEARST MAKES IT VIEW CLEAR
Hearst stations including KETV-7 in Omaha-Council Bluffs did not waste any time in explaining to viewers what, in its opinion, has transpired.
In a message to DISH subscribers appearing on its website, the Hearst-owned ABC affiliate said the two companies reached an impasse in negotiating a renewal of its retransmission consent agreement.
“We have made significant investments to deliver top tier programming to our viewers and DISH is seeking the right to carry our stations at below market rates, which is neither fair nor reasonable,” Hearst says.
And, To be clear, KETV clarifies that Hearst has not “blacked out” its station, explaining that one may continue to receive KETV for free, over the air, or by other satellite distribution, and, where available, from cable operators.
A similarly worded statement also appears on the website for WESH-2 in Orlando.
