Hoak Stations Back on Dish Network

The Hoak Media stations are back on the air for Dish Network subscribers, according to multiple Hoak station sites, a week after they went dark due to a retransmission consent clash.

"WMBB News 13 is back on Dish Network at this time," reads the site representing WMBB Panama City.

The KREX Grand Junction site said: "Dish Network and KREX NewsChannel 5/KFQX Fox 4, your local CBS and Fox affiliates, have come to an agreement! We thank all of you for your cooperation during this frustrating time."

All 14 Hoak stations were affected by the retrans stalemate. Part of the issue was Dish's controversial Auto Hop DVR, confirmed Hoak president and CEO Eric Van den Branden, which helps the viewer avoid commercials in playback.

Neither Dish nor Hoak returned calls for confirmation on short notice at presstime.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.