Raycom & Dish still quareling? -Dispute Settled. channels back 8/9

[lparsons21]

If it hadn't been for going to the golf course this AM, I wouldn't have known a couple of stations locally owned by Raycom were in the mix! Tells you how much CBS and CW are worth these days since I didn't see any of their crawls until today.

From my POV, Dish can tell them to go punt and I'll watch the very little I watch on them via iptv.
?

 

[gdarwin]

WAVE is running the same ads. Let's see if they go dark tonight.

 

[mike123abc]

The local Raycom channel just used a 15 second local insert at 7:20pm to run a slick promo with the following voice-over:
Attention Dish Network Customers: Fox 19, you local Fox station, may no longer be available on Dish Network as of midnight July 31. That means you could miss Master Chef, Cincinnati Reds Baseball, and the best local news and weather. You have choices. Fox 19 remains available on Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, and all other local TV providers; and free over the air. Visit www.fox19.com to learn more.

I love how they always want to point out "free over the air" but we want to charge you multiple bucks/month to watch on cable/satellite...

 

[ashutto20]

Countdown to midnight...

 

[whatchel1]

Well the local shill (GM) of the Raycom station cut a new vid saying he will comment on it tonight at the late evening news. I'm sure it's gonna be another whine BS that you should call and ask for credit or dump dish for another provider. F him we don't need This TV suck onto dish. This is the sub-channel of their main NBC channel and it is an SD channel. All they play is old crappy movies so screw them. I really hope that this bites them in the rear. Being summer it will not bother most people except for the news programs. I'm already planning on setting manual timers. for what little I watch on the station.

 

[Dahmer8afew]

I've been doing some research this evening about the Dish/Raycom negotiations. This is what I've found out. 1) In late 2010, there was a contract squabble between Raycom and DirecTV. It was short-lived though because Raycom didn't give enough notice to DirecTV that they were wanting to negotiate terms for contract renewal so no changes were made. Late last year Cox Communications didn't give in to Raycom's demands and many Cox customers didn't get to watch some of the NFL playoff games this past January.

Here's the root of the problem. Local businesses have been destroyed by the big corporations (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc) and can't afford to advertise on TV. Because of this, local TV stations and their parent companies are desperately trying to find ways to make up for this lost revenue. Going after the cable and satellite companies to make them pay for what local TV stations broadcast freely to the public is wrong. In my opinion anyway.

 

[babnmn]

My 2 cents is maybe dish should start installing OTA when people get their service , that way if there is a dispute not to bad of an interuption. Granted people who live outside the OTA area will of course be SOL but .. Basicly do it the voom way...

 

[TNGTony]

Either at 1 or 2 am EST (not sure which), the local Raycom-owned channel was removed. Currently get a screen "Raycom Media has blocked your access to this channel. Raycom is demanding unreasonable rate increases to carry this channel. Dish has offered to pay what Dish's primary compatitors pay for the same content. With almost 1700 local channels in every us market, Dish has negotiated with hundreds of stations recently to deliver programming at a fair value. For more information, visit DISHvaluepledge.com.

 

[TNGTony]

I would definitely want to see 1700 local channels in my local market! I know what they meant, but poor wording on this statement is pretty funny.

Anyway... info from the web page listed above:
-----
As of August 1st, our contract with Raycom Media, the owner of your local channel, has expired and we no longer have the rights to carry WXIX your local FOX station. At DISH, we believe the customer should always come first. That’s why we work hard to bring you the best programming at a fair price. Learn more about our commitment to you.

More info, faq and feedback page on the site. It's kind of slick.

 

[whatchel1]

I've been doing some research this evening about the Dish/Raycom negotiations. This is what I've found out. 1) In late 2010, there was a contract squabble between Raycom and DirecTV. It was short-lived though because Raycom didn't give enough notice to DirecTV that they were wanting to negotiate terms for contract renewal so no changes were made. Late last year Cox Communications didn't give in to Raycom's demands and many Cox customers didn't get to watch some of the NFL playoff games this past January.

Here's the root of the problem. Local businesses have been destroyed by the big corporations (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc) and can't afford to advertise on TV. Because of this, local TV stations and their parent companies are desperately trying to find ways to make up for this lost revenue. Going after the cable and satellite companies to make them pay for what local TV stations broadcast freely to the public is wrong. In my opinion anyway.

I used to work for TV stations, the lost revenue line is bull. They don't lose revenue unless they have a bad marketing dept. They actually make good money from TV ad sales. The money that Dish or Directv pays them is frosting on the cake as their budgets are set by what is done in their DMA not payment from satellite. The money from sat goes to the company that owns all the stations and local broadcasters see little to none of that. This is a Raycom money/power grab is all.

 

[shortspark]

My ABC channel was removed last night but I still get my HD feed through my box because I have an antenna hooked up to it. I live in the sticks and need a Channel Master deep fringe antenna atop a 60 foot tower to get some of my "locals" and they come in pretty good most of the time. My local stations with Dish are all SD because the market is too small for Dish to ever give us HD. The only reason I have Dish local service is for the program guide. Without Dish, I would still get my picture in via the antenna but I would have no program guide so that is what I am paying for, not the picture itself. So for me the main issue is the lack of the program guide and the inability to record a show on my dvr without having to use a manual timer like a vcr.

Forgot to mention, what do you think Dish will do or give us if we threaten to leave them because of this? Probably nothing but it might be worth a try and see if they call our bluff.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

DISH Customers in 36 Markets Blocked by Raycom Media

Release Date: Thursday, August 1, 2013 12:58 am MDT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE [2])--DISH (NASDAQ: DISH) customers in 36 markets were blocked by Raycom Media today from accessing various local television channels. The two companies had been negotiating a new retransmission agreement, and the previous agreement expired at midnight.
“We are ready to listen to a fair proposal from Raycom to bring this impasse to a swift end,” said Sruta Vootukuru, DISH director of programming. “Unfortunately, the broadcaster has not been willing to pursue an agreement that would have avoided this disruption of service to our customers and Raycom viewers. DISH has offered to pay Raycom the same rates as our primary competitors; yet Raycom has stalled negotiations, refusing to accept that fair offer. DISH has negotiated hundreds of local retransmission agreements and on behalf of customers, we hope Raycom will soon agree to terms in line with market standards.”
At this time, Montgomery, Ala.-based Raycom has refused DISH the legal right to carry its programming unless DISH pays more than four times what it was paying under the previous agreement.

The action affects viewers of various ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC-affiliated stations in the following markets: Cleveland, Ohio (CBS); Panama City, Fla. (Fox); Montgomery, Ala. (NBC); Knoxville, Tenn. (Fox); Savannah, Ga. (CBS); Toledo, Ohio (CBS, Fox); Columbus, Ga. (ABC); Richmond-Petersburg, Va. (NBC); Cincinnati, Ohio (Fox); Jonesboro, Ark. (ABC); Tyler-Longview, Texas (ABC); Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss. (ABC); Paducah, Ky. (CBS); Honolulu, Hawaii (CBS and NBC); Tucson, Ariz. (CBS); Shreveport, La. (CBS); Baton Rouge, La. (CBS); Charlotte, N.C. (CBS); Charleston, S.C. (CBS); Ottumwa-Kirksville, Mo. (Fox); Birmingham, Ala. (Fox); Dothan, Ala. (Fox); West Palm Beach, Fla. (Fox); Augusta, Ga. (Fox); Lubbock, Texas (NBC); Lake Charles, La. (NBC); Huntsville-Decatur, Ala. (NBC); Albany, Ga. (NBC); Louisville, Ky. (NBC); Hattiesburg-Laurel, Miss. (NBC); Wilmington, N.C. (NBC and Fox); Evansville, Ind. (NBC); Columbia, S.C. (NBC); Jackson, Miss. (NBC); Florence-Myrtle Beach, Fla. (NBC); and Memphis, Tenn. (NBC).

Also affected are various CW and MyNetworkTV channels in five markets: Baton Rouge, La.; Cleveland, Ohio; Honolulu, Hawaii; Paducah, Ky.; and Richmond-Petersburg, Va.

Last year, broadcasting companies across the country blacked out 91 markets on various pay-TV companies at various times; and an industry watchdog group, the American Television Alliance [3], has called for the U.S. Congress to “revamp the out-of-date rules” that favor those blackouts.

To learn more about DISH’s negotiations with Raycom, visit www.DISHValuePledge.com

 

[eacalhoun]

Either at 1 or 2 am EST (not sure which), the local Raycom-owned channel was removed. Currently get a screen "Raycom Media has blocked your access to this channel. Raycom is demanding unreasonable rate increases to carry this channel. Dish has offered to pay what Dish's primary compatitors pay for the same content. With almost 1700 local channels in every us market, Dish has negotiated with hundreds of stations recently to deliver programming at a fair value. For more information, visit DISHvaluepledge.com.

I went to visit the facilities at 2:15 EDT this morning, and flipped on the TV before returning to bed. At that time, the guide info for Raycom's WBTV displayed "Important Info..." however programming had not yet been blocked. So, I DVRd a 30-min block from 11:50pm-12:20am for nothing. When I turned on the TV at 5:30, programming had been pulled. I say, "DISH, stand your ground on this!." With the exception of their weather segments, the loss of WBTV's news is no big deal to me. Plus, I do have OTA and can still get CBS via WBTV and WSPA. I just hate the one-sided message WBTV's GM has been spewing out to viewers - and the uneducated viewers will accept everything he says as truth.

 

[llokey]

Why is the "Important Info..." needed on the OTA channel? Give me that back and you and keep my local Raycom station off the air for as long as you want.

 

[eacalhoun]

Why is the "Important Info..." needed on the OTA channel? Give me that back and you and keep my local Raycom station off the air for as long as you want.

It's a technical thing - the same method DISH uses to deliver guide data for DISH locals is the same method used to deliver it if you're getting the same channel OTA.

 

[Frank Jr.]

I thought WIS-TV (NBC) in Columbia S.C. was a locally owned station, they used to be. Dish claims they offered to pay the same rates as other carriers and WIS-TV claims all the other carriers have similar agreements to the one they have been negotiating with DISH Network. Both can't be right. Who lies? WISTV mentions we can switch to DIRECTV or AT&T Uverse, but doesn't mention Time Warner Cable. What's up with that? TWC is the largest carrier in our area. I wish the details of these contracts disputes would have to be made public in the event of a service disruption.

 

[mike123abc]

I would definitely want to see 1700 local channels in my local market! I know what they meant, but poor wording on this statement is pretty funny.

1700 channels and nothing you want to watch...

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I love the last line...

You can always get our signal Free over the air...

Yeah if thats the case then why does DISH have to PAY to get your signal to more viewers in your market?

 

[gadgtfreek]

Just another reason, if possible, to always have OTA.

 

[Scherrman]

Just another reason, if possible, to always have OTA.

?Exactly. The best set up is to have both.