Dish Network and Sinclair Broadcasting Group say they have reached an agreement on retransmission rights, and Dish subscribers' access to local television station KRCG was restored Wednesday night.
Dish subscribers lost access to the local CBS affiliate at 4 p.m. Tuesday when contract negotiations between Dish and Sinclair fell through.
The contract allowing Dish to retransmit the local station's signal was set to expire Aug. 15, but the companies had agreed on a short-term contract extension so that they could continue negotiating a retransmission agreement. But that extension expired Tuesday without negotiations having reached an agreement.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, owns 153 local channels in 79 markets. The Dish Network blackout affected all Sinclair-owned stations.
During the blackout, KRCG could still be viewed locally on all other television providers, including cable and DirecTV.
In a press release Wednesday, Dish and Sinclair announced a short-term contract extension would serve as the basis of a long-term retransmission consent agreement. Restoration of Sinclair signals to Dish's system is underway, officials said.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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Dish Network subscribers lost access to local CBS affiliate KRCG Tuesday, as contract negotiations between Dish Network and the station's ownership company, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, fell through.
The change was effective as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, said KRCG General Manager Beth Worsham.
Sinclair Broadcast Group's contract with Dish Network was set to expire Aug. 15, but the companies had agreed on a short-term contract extension to continue negotiating a retransmission consent agreement. That extension expired Tuesday without negotiations having reached an agreement.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, owns 153 local channels in 79 markets. The Dish Network blackout affects Sinclair-owned stations nationwide.
"We have agreed to rates and all terms to carry Sinclair's local stations," Warren Schlichting, Dish senior vice president of programming, stated in a news release, "but Sinclair is blacking out 129 local stations in an effort to negotiate a carriage agreement for an unrelated cable channel that it hopes to acquire, but does not own today.
"Sinclair rejected our extension offer and has chosen to use innocent consumers as pawns to gain leverage for the economic benefit of Sinclair, while causing substantial harm and disruption to the lives of consumers," Schlichting added.
The corporate attorney representing Sinclair in negotiations did not respond to a call for comment Tuesday afternoon.
KRCG can still be viewed locally on all other television providers, including cable and DirecTV.
"Locally, we certainly hope it will be resolved quickly," Worsham said. "In the meantime, people can watch our news on our website."
KRCG also launched a new website this week at a new domain: krcgtv.com.