WGN
Robservations on the media beat:
Dish Network
“Nexstar Media Group threatens largest local station blackout in TV history, according to Dish,” blared the headline on Dish Network’s press release Thursday. It accused the parent company of WGN-Channel 9 and the WGN America cable network of demanding “unreasonable rate increases” and threatening “to blackout its stations from Dish customers to gain negotiation leverage.” (Here is the link.) Given Dish’s long history of service interruptions with station groups and networks, it seemed reasonable that Nexstar stations began warning viewers that Dish subscribers might face a service interruption starting Wednesday when Nexstar’s contract with Dish expires. “Despite our tireless efforts, Dish has refused our fair offer and is making negotiations very difficult,” Nexstar posted on station websites. “You might have seen them do this before. They will tell you it’s for your benefit, but don’t believe it.” (Here is the link.) For what it’s worth, the deal Nexstar is seeking is similar to those reached with hundreds of other cable, satellite, and teleco operators without interruptions. Beyond that, it’s little more than posturing we’ve seen so many times before. Continue reading
