DISH Network finds itself locked in yet another contract dispute that’s resulted in a blackout for many of their customers. This time DISH Network and Apollo Global Management are the two companies that failed to reach a deal.
Customers in Washington, Idaho and the Tri-Cities have all been affected by this blackout in different ways. Some customers have lost access to all NBC and Fox affiliates, which is particularly rough given the timing of this year’s Super Bowl.
Naturally, DISH and Apollo have both been quick to point fingers at the other. Each respective company issued a statement on the dispute.
“Apollo doesn’t care how high a customer’s bill gets. It’s trying to squeeze every last penny out of consumers to recoup the billions it spent buying these stations,” said Andy LeCuyer, DISH senior vice president of programming in a statement.
“DISH is notoriously greedy, unreasonable, and difficult to deal with in retransmission consent negotiations. DISH is trying to underpay for our award-winning programming, so it can boost its own profits. Despite all of its bluster, I doubt that DISH customers will ever see any savings for them,” said Kim Guthrie, CEO of COx Media Group in her statement. “Let me be very clear – it was 100% DISH’s decision to remove our TV stations from its service.”
The truth of the matter is probably somewhere in the middle. Both companies want to make money in a space that is only becoming more competitive as streaming services continue to gain popularity. Unfortunately, the real loser in a situation like this is the average consumer.
At this point the dispute between DISH Network and Apollo shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Unfortunately, customers who have been affected will have to look elsewhere for their Apollo programming for the foreseeable future.
Sources:
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jan/21/contract-dispute-between-dish-network-apollo-globa/
