Tucson customers of Dish Network have been cut off from access to ABC (Channel 9) and The CW (KWBA) because of a contract dispute.
The service disruption is impacting 42 markets across the country owned by The E.W. Scripps Company.
Scripps said in a news release July 25 that it is attempting to reach a new contract agreement with DISH that is fair and reasonable for both parties.
βWithout an agreement in place, Dish subscribers are now missing out on our stationsβ essential news, weather and entertainment programming,β said Brian Lawlor, president of Local Media for Scripps. βDishβs refusal to negotiate to a fair agreement is preventing its customers from accessing pressing news during a global pandemic, a period of social unrest, an active political year and severe weather season for many parts of our country.β
A statement from Dish says it offered to extend the contract so viewers would not be impacted but said Scripps refused. Dish also said that Scripps has been unwilling to negotiate and said the media company is asking for an βunreasonableβ rate increase of nearly 250% β an expense that would be borne by Dish customers.
βWe donβt think this is fair for you to have to pay more for the same content you get today, and that is why we are fighting to keep your TV bill as low as possible,β Dish said.
Lawlor, of Scripps, said the impasse comes after five months of discussions not about rates but about other distribution terms.
Scripps says that since launching its first TV station in 1947, it has never gone dark with a pay TV distributor.
Scripps urges viewers to contact Dish to let the company know they want their channels back. Dish is telling subscribers to contact Scripps to ask the media company to reach an agreement.
For more information, including other ways to access the channels, visit my.dish.com/promise and scrippsviewerinfo.com.
