Nexstar Email Response

[MrDRC]

From: Nexstar Media Communications <NexstarMediaCommunications@nexstar.tv>

Date: December 3, 2020 at 1:48:39 PM CST

To: XXXXXXXXXX

Subject: RE: You got it wrong pal, Viewers are OUTRAGED at YOU!





Dear Dan,



I understand your frustration; really, I do. But Dish does this all the time—puts subscribers such as yourselves, in the middle. I am not allowed to get into the specifics of the negotiations—they are confidential for competitive reasons, but here are a couple things to consider:

• Since July, Nexstar has been negotiating tirelessly and in good faith in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable multi-year contract with DISH, offering DISH the same fair market rates it offered to other large distribution partners with whom it completed successful negotiations in 2019 and 2020. We started this process in early July, when our executive team flew to Dish HQ and made our first offer. Dish didn’t even respond until late-September, wasting valuable time when we could have been resolving these issues.

• Despite generating nearly $11 billion in revenue during the first nine-months of this year and completing a billion-plus dollar acquisition of a wireless company, DISH has proposed rates that go significantly backwards and, in addition to dropping Nexstar’s local broadcast stations, has dropped Nexstar’s cable network, WGN America, from its system. In terms of size, DISH's stock market capitalization is approximately four times that of Nexstar’s. The last contract was negotiated 4 years ago; our costs for news expansion, network fees and live sports rose significantly during this time, while Dish’s payments to us remained below fair-market.

• DISH has a long history of holding its subscribers hostage during negotiations with content providers like Nexstar and the satellite provider’s recent slew of local blackouts is creating an enormous local news draught for many communities impacting millions of viewers during the pandemic and this critical time for the country. In 2020 alone, DISH has dropped network or local community programming offered by The E.W. Scripps Company, Cox Media Group, Mission Broadcasting, the NFL Network and 21 regional sports networks. HBO and Cinemax have been off of Dish since 2018.

• By contrast, Nexstar routinely reaches amicable retransmission and carriage agreements with its cable, satellite and telco partners and in the month of October alone, successfully completed agreements with nearly 200 distribution partners. In addition, since acquiring Tribune Media in September 2019, Nexstar has successfully completed agreements with distribution partners covering more than 50 percent of the Company’s nationwide footprint.

We’ll keep trying to get a deal done and get our channels restored to DISH.



Gary Weitman

EVP/Chief Communications Officer

Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

545 E. John Carpenter Freeway

Irving, TX 75062

312/222-3394

NASDAQ: NXST

 

[dishdude]

Greedy sonsab*****s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ChadT41]

They bring up a good point. Since acquiring Tribune, they have proven that they should be broken up and locals channels owners should be restricted in size again. 15 markets Max, no more than 22 channels of the big four. And not allowed group their non locals with locals, under the good faith clause. Normally I am about limited government control, but damnit, when they should be stepping in, they are creating monopolies that hurt the consumers more.

alternatively, they can go back to limited government action and providers can ship in outside DMAs such as the O&O station.

 

[fmj77]

Blah blah blah. Both sides always spewing the same garbage and blaming each other.

 

[pattykay]

In 2020 alone, DISH has dropped network or local community programming offered by The E.W. Scripps Company, Cox Media Group, Mission Broadcasting, the NFL Network and 21 regional sports networks.

Hey, those regional sports networks were dropped in 2019! Tell Nexstar to get their facts straight!

 

[300mag]

There all crooks, I haven't had ABC since June or July and honestly haven't missed it, my antenna does fine for the occasional show. Honestly really considering dumping all my locals.

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

 

[HipKat]

My reply would be that <number of affected subscribers> are not seeing your stations' advertising. Wonder how your sponsors feel about that?

 

[ChadT41]

5.9 million according to Dish.

 

[dishdude]

My reply would be that <number of affected subscribers> are not seeing your stations' advertising. Wonder how your sponsors feel about that?

They make more off retrans fees than advertising!

 

[pattykay]

5.9 million according to Dish.

"nearly 5.4 million"
So 5,399,999 subscribers are affected.

Nexstar Media Group forces blackout of nearly 5.4 million DISH customers

Nexstar Media Group forces blackout of nearly 5.4 million DISH customers Nexstar initiates largest local station blackout in TV history, holds viewers hostage to create negotiation leverage Broadcaster giant demands more than $1 billion for local broadcast station fees Nexstar ignores...

www.satelliteguys.us

 

[MrDRC]

My Response:

On Thu, Dec 3, 2020 at 6:30 PM Dan XXXXXXX
<XXXXXXXXXXX> wrote:

Thanks for the reply but I’m not buying.

I know Dish. Been a subscriber for over 20 years and closely follow the industry.

If you want to make an impact indicate what increase you’re asking for. Not specifics but generally. My guess is you’re asking for a high single digit % increase in contract rate and that’s simply not doable in the current market of cable/sat tv service. There are too many options in the market and you don’t provide a unique premium service. Even a nominal 2-3% increase will be viewed by consumers as excessive.
If you’re so sure the public is outraged put that info out there and we’ll see. All we hear from both sides is lip service but some minor specifics can be disclosed without compromising your negotiations. I encourage Dish to do the same although they’ve stated you’re already asking for an unreasonable increase.

Again, I don’t care that much. I’ll get my stations OTA and keep Dish service.

 

[chiodo]

I think they're just using the other disputes in their favor, trying to say it's all Dish's fault just look at the other disputes. Meanwhile how many of of these stations broadcast OTA for free? How many are stream through Locast for free or for locast's $5/month donation that Nexstar or other networks see a penny of? Basically what it really amounts too is the TV Networks have to lower their advertising fees to compete with Facebook and other social media, that are probably taking away a huge chunk of advertising revenue form Network TV.
So they're trying to offset that loss by charging higher retrans fees from cable and satellite co's.

 

[Joe h]

I’m siding with nexstar. Dish has been on this “channel x doesn’t receive the same ratings it did 5 years ago so we demand lower carriage fees” kick for three years now, and it has finally broke me. Charlie was even going to war against espn and the nfl earlier this summer. I’m not paying the man $140+ just to have a bunch of infomercial and diginet channels, one of which is also in dispute. Either deliver the every day staples that almost every cable company offers, or turn into the “dumb pipe” model similar to cable one, aka it wants to be called sparklight now.

 

[MrDRC]

I’m siding with nexstar. Dish has been on this “channel x doesn’t receive the same ratings it did 5 years ago so we demand lower carriage fees” kick for three years now, and it has finally broke me. Charlie was even going to war against espn and the nfl earlier this summer. I’m not paying the man $140+ just to have a bunch of infomercial and diginet channels, one of which is also in dispute. Either deliver the every day staples that almost every cable company offers, or turn into the “dumb pipe” model similar to cable one, aka it wants to be called sparklight now.

I understand but disagree. Dish, Direct, cable are a dying breed likely to be a niche market as time goes on. Right now I keep it because of convenience. Getting OTA, streaming, selecting premiums from Prime, Netflix, finding another DVR solution, etc are a little more hassle but can be done. It boils down to what you’re willing to pay for ease of use. I’m paying and will continue to pay as long as Dish keeps me on promo pricing.

 

[ChadT41]

I’m siding with nexstar. Dish has been on this “channel x doesn’t receive the same ratings it did 5 years ago so we demand lower carriage fees” kick for three years now, and it has finally broke me. Charlie was even going to war against espn and the nfl earlier this summer. I’m not paying the man $140+ just to have a bunch of infomercial and diginet channels, one of which is also in dispute. Either deliver the every day staples that almost every cable company offers, or turn into the “dumb pipe” model similar to cable one, aka it wants to be called sparklight now.

Less people are watching TV, and more are streaming. That means that by correlation, lower ratings. Lower ratings, lower dollars. They’re not wrong. What you’re asking is for them and everyone else to continue to up the price until it is too expensive for anyone, and then they go bankrupt. It’s a short sighted approach to a complicated issue.

 

[fmj77]

Less people are watching TV, and more are streaming. That means that by correlation, lower ratings. Lower ratings, lower dollars. They’re not wrong. What you’re asking is for them and everyone else to continue to up the price until it is too expensive for anyone, and then they go bankrupt. It’s a short sighted approach to a complicated issue.

Except that there are still millions where OTA is not an option and who can't get reliable high speed internet to stream. Their only option for TV is from satellite.

 

[pattykay]

I’m siding with nexstar. Dish has been on this “channel x doesn’t receive the same ratings it did 5 years ago so we demand lower carriage fees” kick for three years now, and it has finally broke me.

What people tend to forget is that, when it comes to the cable channels such as WGN America, Dish is also an advertiser. Cable channels offset some of the high carriage fees by offering providers (such as Dish) advertising time slots. This way, Dish can insert their own ads, and/or resell those ad slots to other advertisers, to make back some of their investment in paying the high monthly carriage fees to that channel. If the channel no longer gets high ratings, then those ad slots are no longer as valuable, and Dish should be entitled to a price break, just like any other advertiser, as chiodo pointed out above.

Charlie was even going to war against espn and the nfl earlier this summer.

And NFL Network was restored before even a single minute of NFL RedZone was missed, so what's the problem with that? Sure, it meant that we got the NFL RedZone free preview a lot later in the season than normal, instead of week 1 or week 2 like in years past. But what content of value was really lost because of that dispute?

 

[HipKat]

My Response:

On Thu, Dec 3, 2020 at 6:30 PM Dan XXXXXXX
<XXXXXXXXXXX> wrote:

Aaaaannnnnd today I have my first OTA Installs since the last time locals were taken down

 

[PortlandChris]

It's really a pathetic response....because Nexstar blames DISH, but if DISH caves then it is DISH's customers who get a price increase.

 

[man00]

It's really a pathetic response....because Nexstar blames DISH, but if DISH caves then it is DISH's customers who get a price increase.

I haven't been with Dish very long but was with DTV for 20 years...That price is going to come anyway from Dish if they're like DTV. Does Dish reduce your bill for any channel lost?