KBSI FOX 23 and WDKA MYTV 49 have been blacked out on Dish Network while its parent company, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., works through a contract dispute with Dish Network LLC. The two stations are among hundreds across the country that have been blacked out as of Tuesday afternoon.
The dispute started more than a week ago when DISH filed a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that Sinclair was refusing to negotiate a retransmission deal in good faith, the Baltimore Business Journal reported. As a transmission contract between both companies was set to expire, Sinclair took the opportunity to ask DISH for more money in order to rebroadcast its stations' programs, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.
Both companies agreed to a short-term contract extension on Aug. 15, but on Tuesday, the brief extension came to a halt with neither Dish Network nor Sinclair Broadcast Group reaching an agreement on a new long-term contract.
Tuesday marked the biggest channel blackout in the history of television, DISH reported in the Wall Street Journal article.
The two stations are still available locally on DirecTV and at least one local cable television company, as well as free over-the-air.
