Cox And Dish Suspend Retrans Dispute

Cox Media Group today released the following statement:

“Our nation is facing an unprecedented health challenge due to the COVID-19 outbreak. To help keep our communities safe, healthy and informed, Cox Media Group has worked closely with Dish Network to reach a mutual agreement to set aside the contractual retransmission dispute between the two companies in the following markets:

• Binghamton, NY
• Syracuse, NY
• Medford, OR
• Spokane, WA
• Yakima-Tri Cities, WA
• Yuma, AZ
• Alexandria, LA
• Eureka, CA
• Greenville-Greenwood, MS
• Idaho Falls-Pocatello, ID

These stations transmit critical local news, as well as network content from ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, and have all been blacked out by Dish since mid-January due to an ongoing contract dispute between CMG and Dish. All stations have now been restored to the Dish lineup in these markets, effective immediately. This is an example of broadcasters and distributors setting aside their differences to ensure our communities are being served by their favorite local broadcast news outlets.

“From the onset of this situation, our CMG newsrooms across the country have been working around the clock to provide accurate and up-to-date information to the communities we serve,” said Kim Guthrie, CEO of Cox Media Group. “We are pleased to be able to restore these channels on DISH so that our viewers in these communities can be informed and able to make the right decisions for the safety of their families. We appreciate Dish’s cooperation in agreeing to suspend our dispute so that we can help our viewers navigate through this uncertain time.”