Tegna announced that it has reached a new carriage deal with Dish Network, ending a blackout that began October 7.
The dispute over retransmission consent fees and other issues affected 3 million Dish customers in 53 markets.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dish subscribers have missed the bulk of the NFL season, but will be able to watch the Super Bowl on Tegna's NBC affiliates as a result of the agreement. They will also be able to watch NBC's coverage of the Olympics.
Dish founder Charlie Ergen conceded that the blackout was costing Dish subscribers while discussing third-quarter earnings in November.
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“We are pleased to announce that we have reached a new agreement with DISH, restoring our valuable and important live local news, live local and national sports and highly popular network content to Dish TV subscribers,” said Lynn Beall, executive VP and chief operating officer, media operations for Tegna. “We appreciate the patience of our viewers while we worked toward reaching an agreement.”
Tegna has been rumored to be considering a deal to sell the company. Tegna stock was up 7% on Friday on a report that it was in advanced talks with Standard General, who mounted a proxy fight with Tegna management last year. A deal with Standard General could be backed by Apollo Global Management, which already owns the Cox Media Group. Byron Allen's Allen Media Group has also reportedly been bidding for Tegna.
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The agreement includes retransmission consent for all 64 Tegna-owned stations.
“We‘re pleased to have reached an agreement in time for the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl that benefits all parties, especially our customers,” said Brian Neylon, group president, Dish TV. “I want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we worked through the negotiations.”
Shortly after the blackout began, Dish Network filed a complaint with the FCC charging that Tegna was not negotiating in good faith. Tegna responded calling Dish's charges baseless and filing its own suit charging Dish had been making false claims.
Dish averted a blackout with Sinclair Broadcast Group, making a deal in November. The Sinclair stations stayed available to Dish subscribers on short-term extensions that began when the previous long-term deal expired in August. ■
