Today, Apollo Global Management blacked out local Cox Media Group channels in 10 markets for DISH customers.
DISH and Apollo have been disputing about Dish’s carriage agreement for the Cox stations and the ongoing litigation ended when Apollo acquired the stations. According to an announcement sent out by DISH today, in January, the Cook County (Illinois) Circuit Court entered a temporary restraining order that enjoined Apollo from interfering with DISH’s right to retransmit the Cox stations under the original Cox agreement. The case was later transferred to federal court and, earlier today, the federal court dissolved the temporary restraining order.
With the end of that restraining order, DISH requested that Apollo allow the stations to remain available to customer, but the request was denied.
“We don’t understand why Apollo is choosing to put customers in the middle of its negotiations, especially during a global pandemic when customers need access to local news and programming,” said Andy LeCuyer, DISH senior vice president of programming. “We have offered to apply our current agreement — with higher rates — to keep their channels available and avoid any service interruption while we continue to negotiate, but they refused, demanding a 40-percent increase to rates agreed to last year. We want to come to a long-term agreement that is fair for our customers.”
The blackout will affect the following local stations:
- WSB-TV, Channel 2 (ABC, Atlanta, GA)
- WFXT-TV, Channel 25 (Fox, Boston, MA)
- WSOC-TV, Channel 9 (ABC, Charlotte, NC)
- WAXN-TV, Channel 64 (IND, Charlotte, NC)
- WHIO-TV, Channel 7 (CBS, Dayton, OH)
- WFOX-TV, Channel 30 (Fox, Jacksonville, FL)
- WFOX2-TV, Channel 32 (MNT, Jacksonville, FL)
- WHBQ-TV, Channel 13 (Fox, Memphis, TN)
- WFTV-TV, Channel 9 (ABC, Orlando, FL)
- WRDQ-TV, Channel 27 (IND, Orlando, FL)
- WPXI-TV, Channel 11 (NBC, Pittsburgh, PA)
- KIRO-TV, Channel 7 (CBS, Seattle, WA)
- KOKI-TV, Channel 23 (Fox, Tulsa, OK)
- KMYT-TV, Channel 41 (MNT, Tulsa, OK)
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