HUNT VALLEY, M.D.—After a series of heated exchanges last week, Dish and Sinclair have agreed to keep Sinclair’s stations and networks temporarily on Dish’s line-up as they try to negotiate a new carriage deal.
Sinclair said last week that it expected its stations to be removed from Dish when the existing carriage deal expired on August 16, 2021 and Dish responded by saying Sinclair "prioritizes greed, uses customers as pawns in negotiations”
Following those exchanges, it was widely reported that the stations would be taken off Dish's lineup.
But in a statement issued shortly before the deal was set to expire, David Gibber, senior vice president and general counsel, Sinclair Broadcast Group reported that "we have agreed to a short-term extension with Dish to continue conversations. We will continue to update our viewers as this develops. Sinclair stands willing to continue to negotiate in good faith and to enter into a longer extension to allow for the continued carriage of our channels to Dish’s subscribers.”
While both sides have stepped back from the brink of removing stations and networks, serious issues remain, with Sinclair’s regional sporting networks being a major sticking point. Dish removed them from the lineup in 2019.
