If you own a DISH Network dish and watch any of the Cox-owned stations, you might have to find another way to catch your local news or favorite shows soon.
The carriage agreement between Cox Media Group Television and DISH TV is expiring tonight at 8 p.m. ET today.
“We are committed to continuing our negotiations with DISH to avoid disruptions to viewers’ television service,” a Cox spokesperson told TVSpy.
“Unfortunately, so far, DISH has refused to reach a fair, market-based deal to carry FOX25,” said Boston Fox Affiliate WFXT.
WFXT is warning its viewers that if it doesn’t reach an agreement with DISH Network by today they can watch the station on the website and on its apps.
The agreement covers 13 Cox-owned stations including: WSB (ABC) in Atlanta; WFXT (Fox) in Boston; WSOC (ABC) and WAXN (Independent) in Charlotte; WHIO (CBS) in Dayton, Ohio; WFOX (Fox) in Jacksonville, Fla.; WHBQ (Fox) in Memphis; WFTV (ABC) and WRDQ (Independent) in Orlando; WPXI (NBC) in Pittsburgh; KIRO (CBS) in Seattle; KOKI (Fox) and KMYT (MyNetwork) in Tulsa.
Here’s part of what WFXT is telling viewers:
Whether rates go up depends on decisions made by DISH. Like all cable and satellite companies, DISH is already charging you to receive FOX25 as part of your monthly bill. DISH should stop over-paying for channels its customers do not watch and re-allocate that money to the channels, like FOX25, that its subscribers turn to every day. In any event, we do not control how much DISH pays to other channels or how it manages its business. We simply ask that DISH pay a fair market price for our content, just as its competitors do; and we have and will continue to negotiate with DISH in good faith in an effort to successfully complete a deal with them.