Contact: David Gibber – SVP & General Counsel (410) 568-1500
DISH NETWORK EXPECTED TO DROP 108 TV STATIONS IMPACTING 3.5 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS IN 38% OF THE COUNTRY
Baltimore, MD (August 9, 2021) –Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), the “Company” or “Sinclair,” announced today that it is unlikely that a carriage agreement with DISH Network will be reached before the August 16, 2021 expiration of their current agreement for DISH’s carriage of Sinclair’s broadcast stations and Tennis Channel. As a result, all Sinclair broadcast TV stations (see list below) and Tennis Channel would no longer be carried by DISH Network. In total, 108 broadcast TV stations are expected to be dropped, including 97 ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates.
DISH Network has a demonstrated track record of dropping local and national programming that viewers value. DISH has recently had carriage disruptions, some of which continue to this day, with the NFL Network, HBO, the Bally Sports Regional Sports Networks, Mid Atlantic Sports Network, Altitude Sports Network, the NBC RSNs, Nexstar Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Mission Broadcasting, Cox Media Group, Sunbeam Broadcasting, and Capital Broadcasting. In the past few years, DISH Network has dropped over 230 channels due to carriage disputes.
“We have tried unsuccessfully to reach fair and customary terms with DISH Network for the renegotiation of our retransmission consent,” stated David Gibber, Sinclair’s General Counsel. “Given the status of these negotiations, we feel it is important to alert DISH Network subscribers to the real risk that some of their favorite stations will no longer be available through DISH Network including their access to live, local news, popular syndicated programming, sports programming including college and NFL football, and the network programming of our ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and CW affiliates in those markets. DISH subscribers are also at risk of losing Tennis Channel. With this loss, tennis fans will not be able to see wall-to-wall coverage of the Western & Southern Open from Cincinnati, OH in the run-up to the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.”
On-demand access and online access to the programming for DISH Network subscribers would also be lost at such time.
“We apologize to our viewers for the inconvenience this may cause although our programming will continue to be available either through other program providers or via over-the-air antenna reception,” Gibber continued. “We encourage subscribers in these markets to contact DISH Network and let them know that it is important to them that DISH Network carry these stations and that they should switch to another TV provider if they care about their news, local and national sports, and top tier entertainment programming.”
DISH Network subscribers wishing to discontinue their service can do so by calling DISH Network at 866- 974-0781. Customers looking to switch providers can reach DIRECTV at 1-888-777-2454.
The following stations will no longer be available after August 16, 2021 to DISH Network subscribers if DISH Network continues to reject Sinclair's offers, which are consistent with the terms offered to other MVPDs. Abilene-Sweetwater, TX: KTXS (ABC)
Albany - Schnectady - Troy, NY: WRGB (CBS), WCWN (CW)
Albany, GA: WFXL (FOX)
Amarillo, TX: KVII (ABC), KVII-2 (CW)
Austin, TX: KEYE (CBS)
Bakersfield, CA: KBAK (CBS), KBFX (FOX)
Baltimore, MD: WBFF (FOX), WBFF-2 (MyTV)
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: KFDM (CBS), KFDM-3 (FOX), KFDM-2 (CW)
Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa), AL: WBMA (ABC), WTTO (CW), WABM (MyTV)
Boise, ID: KBOI (CBS), KYUU (CW)
Buffalo, NY: WUTV (FOX), WNYO (MyTV)
Butte-Bozeman, MT: KTVM (NBC)
Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City & Dubuque, IA: KGAN (CBS), KGAN-2 (FOX)
Champaign & Springfield-Decatur, IL: WICD (ABC)
Charleston, SC: WCIV-2 (ABC), WCIV (MyTV)
Charleston-Huntington, WV: WCHS (ABC), WCHS-2 (FOX)
Chattanooga, TN: WTVC (ABC), WTVC-2 (FOX)
Chico-Redding, CA: KRCR (ABC), KRVU (MyTV)
Cincinnati, OH: WKRC (CBS)
Columbia, SC: WACH (FOX)
Columbia-Jefferson City, MO: KRCG (CBS)
Columbus, OH: WSYX (ABC), WSYX-3 (FOX)
Corpus Christi, TX: KSCC (FOX), KSCC-3 (MyTV)
Dayton, OH: WKEF (ABC), WKEF-2 (FOX)
Des Moines-Ames, IA: KDSM (FOX)
El Paso (Las Cruces), TX-NM: KFOX (FOX), KDBC (CBS)
Eugene, OR: KVAL (CBS)
Eureka, CA: KAEF (ABC), KECA (CW)
Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI: WSMH (FOX) Fresno-Visalia, CA: KMPH (FOX), KFRE (CW)
Gainesville, FL: WGFL (CBS), WGFL-2 (MyTV)
Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI: WWMT (CBS), WWMT-2 (CW)
Green Bay-Appleton, WI: WLUK (FOX), WCWF (CW)
Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, NC: WXLV (ABC), WMYV (MyTV)
Greenville-New Bern-Washington, NC: WCTI (ABC)
Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson, SC-NC: WLOS (ABC)
Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, PA: WHP (CBS), WHP-3 (CW)
Johnstown-Altoona-State College, PA: WJAC (NBC)
Las Vegas, NV: KSNV (NBC), KVCW (CW), KVCW-2 (MyTV)
Lincoln & Hastings-Kearny, NE: KHGI (ABC), KFXL (FOX)
Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR: KATV (ABC)
Macon, GA: WGXA (FOX), WGXA-2 (ABC)
Madison, WI: WMSN (FOX)
Medford-Klamath Falls, OR: KTVL (CBS), KTVL-2 (CW)
Milwaukee, WI: WVTV (CW), WVTV-2 (MyTV)
Minneapolis, MN: WUCW (CW)
Missoula, MT: KECI (NBC)
Mobile-Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach), AL-FL: WEAR (ABC), WFGX (MyTV/ThisTV)
Myrtle Beach-Florence, SC: WPDE (ABC)
Nashville, TN: WZTV (FOX), WUXP (MyTV)
Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, VA: WTVZ (MyTV)
Oklahoma City, OK: KOKH (FOX), KOCB (CW)
Omaha, NE: KPTM (FOX)
Ottumwa-Kirksville, IA-MO: KTVO (ABC), KTVO-2 (CBS)
Pittsburgh, PA: WPGH (FOX), WPNT (MyTV)
Portland-Auburn, ME: WGME (CBS)
Portland, OR: KATU (ABC)
Providence-New Bedford, RI-MA: WJAR (NBC) Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk, IL-MO-IA: KHQA (CBS), KHQA-2 (ABC)
Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville), NC: WLFL (CW), WRDC (MyTV)
Reno, NV: KRXI (FOX)
Richmond-Petersburg, VA: WRLH (FOX)
Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA: WSET (ABC)
Rochester, NY: WUHF (FOX)
Salt Lake City, UT: KUTV (CBS), KMYU (MyTV)
San Angelo, TX: KTXE (ABC)
San Antonio, TX: KABB (FOX), WOAI (NBC)
Savannah, GA: WTGS (FOX)
Seattle-Tacoma, WA: KOMO (ABC)
Sioux City, IA: KPTH (FOX), KPTH-3 (CBS)
South Bend-Elkhart, IN: WSBT (CBS), WSBT-2 (FOX)
Spokane, WA: KLEW (CBS)
St. Louis, MO: KDNL (ABC)
Syracuse, NY: WSTM (NBC), WSTM-2 (CW)
Tallahassee-Thomasville, FL-GA: WTWC (NBC), WTWC-2 (FOX)
Toledo, OH: WNWO (NBC)
Traverse City-Cadillac, MI: WPBN (NBC)
Tri-Cities, TN-VA: WCYB (NBC), WCYB-2 (CW)
Tulsa, OK: KTUL (ABC)
Washington, DC (Hagerstown, MD): WJLA (ABC)
West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL: WPEC (CBS), WTVX (CW)
Wheeling-Steubenville, WV-OH: WTOV (NBC), WTOV-2 (FOX)
Wichita-Hutchinson Plus, KS: KSAS (FOX)
Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hazleton, PA: WOLF (FOX), WQMY (MyTV)
Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, WA: KIMA (CBS), KIMA-2 (CW)
About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Sinclair is a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. The Company owns and/or operates 21 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. Sinclair's content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information, which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
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