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Part of Sinclair’s rationale for purchasing Fox’s former regional sports networks in May 2019 was that they could combine these RSNs with their local broadcast network affiliates in future distribution negotiations. This type of packaging approach has worked very well for Disney, allowing groups like ACC Network and SEC Network to gain wide circulation under larger deals that also include ESPN networks, local affiliates. owned and operated by ABC, Freeform and Suite.
But Sinclair has had a harder time selling RSNs (now Bally Sports branded) lately. These RSNs are still not streaming on Dish / Sling (as of 2019), fuboTV, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV (all as of 2020), as well as some cable providers. And Sinclair’s desire to bundle their RSNs with their local broadcast affiliates in future deals may be one of the reasons they now say it’s “unlikely” that they will strike a deal with Dish for another broadcast. local broadcast affiliation (plus Tennis Channel) to come. a deadline of August 16. Here’s more on that from Mike Farrell at NextTV:
With its retransmission consent agreement with Dish Network set to expire next week, Sinclair Broadcast Group said Monday it was “unlikely” that it could strike a deal with the satellite television giant.
Sinclair said that means 112 broadcast TV stations and the Tennis Channel will likely go out for about 8 million Dish Network subscribers across the country. In addition to losing much of its broadcast revenue, the lack of a deal could also impact Sinclair’s regional sports networks, hosted under the umbrella of Diamond Sports Group, which analysts say , were counting on a Dish deal to close. .
It is not known if the outage would include Dish’s vMVPD Sling TV service. Sinclair did not mention Sling TV in a press release on Monday, but the streamer has been included in previous retransmission agreements with other broadcasters.
Here’s more from that press release:
“We have tried unsuccessfully to reach fair and customary terms with DISH Network for the renegotiation of our retransmission consent,” said David Gibber, general counsel for Sinclair. “Given the state of these negotiations, we believe it is important to alert DISH Network subscribers to the real risk that some of their favorite stations will no longer be available through DISH Network, including their access to live local news, subscribed popular programming, sports programming including college and NFL football, and network programming from our ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and CW subsidiaries in these markets. DISH subscribers are also at risk of losing Tennis Channel. With the loss, tennis fans won’t be able to see full coverage of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, OH as the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, approaches.
On-demand and online access to programming for DISH Network subscribers would also be lost at that time. “We apologize to our viewers for any inconvenience this may cause, although our programming continues to be available either through other program providers or through over-the-air reception,” Gibber continued. “We encourage subscribers in these markets to contact DISH Network and let them know that it is important to them that DISH Network broadcasts these stations and that they should switch to another TV provider if they care about their news. , local and national sports, and their top level entertainment programming.
Meanwhile, on Dish’s side, chairman Charlie Ergen (seen above in 2015) and CEO Eric Carlson said on a call with analysts that they don’t get many calls from clients about of RSNs, and that even local affiliates are harder to justify these days with more programming moving to network streaming services. Here’s more on that from Dade Hayes at the deadline:
On an earnings conference call with Wall Street analysts, Dish chairman Charlie Ergen was asked about the source of the dispute with Sinclair. “At the end of the day, it’s about the money,” he said. “It’s a question of economy. This has not changed in any programming negotiation that I have been involved in. Known for decades for his teamwork in transport negotiations, Ergen has waged long-term wars with HBO and Univision in recent years and has drawn a line in the sand with expensive sports programming. Resistance to rising distribution costs has only increased since Dish began to move away from pay TV and into the wireless industry.
When asked if there was a link between a potential deal with Sinclair for broadcast stations and one for RSNs, Ergen did not issue any hopeful notes. “We don’t have any customers calling us on the RSNs today,” he shrugged. “If the local channels were interrupted, more than one customer would call us the next day and say, ‘Where’s my local channel? “”
As for the potential scenarios for the sport, “We are happy to talk about anything that is creative and does not harm our clients,” Ergen said. “But we don’t want to tax our customers when they’re not watching the channels. It does not mean anything.
Dish CEO Eric Carlson said the show’s viewership was on the decline. He noted audience declines for the Tokyo Olympics as well as live awards and other sports. Dish is “sympathetic” to local stations in general, Carlson added, because “a lot of them are in competition with their bigger owners,” meaning network parents increasingly obsessed with streaming. NBCUniversal, he noted as an example, has moved the Notre Dame football season opener to the Peacock streaming service from his longtime home on NBC.
It’s not a change of scenery for Ergen, as he said in July 2019: “It doesn’t look good that regional sports are on Dish again. And with Dish no longer wearing these RSNs since 2019, the people who were going to leave them have likely already taken their things elsewhere. Additionally, Sinclair has spoken about plans to launch a streaming option for their RSNs, which is now set for the first half of 2022 (according to Hayes). This may therefore provide even less incentive for providers to recover RSNs. (And some vendors have already expressed their dissatisfaction with this idea.)
Regarding this particular dispute, yes there could be an impact for Dish to lose the local stations. This is especially true at the start of the NFL and the college football season. And it should be noted that Ergen’s comment of “If the local channels were to go away, more than one customer would call us the next day saying, ‘Where is my local channel? ”, Shows that Dish still sees value in these local affiliates. So it’s entirely possible that a deal will be made here for the pre-war status quo of local affiliates and the Tennis Channel, and that the RSNs will stay out of Dish.
But Dish has already been willing to have disputes with local broadcast affiliates, and even offered antenna installation and savings on their Dish bill to customers willing to go this route to get over-the-air stations. They are not afraid to play hardball. And neither does Sinclair, especially with them projecting a deal with Dish (and estimated $ 400 million in revenue) in their Diamond Sports Group records (according to Farrell).
We’ll see if Dish and Sinclair are able to strike a deal here, and whether that deal includes NSRs or not. If there is no deal, it looks like these local affiliates are joining the RSNs in the ranks of channels that are no longer on Dish.
[NextTV, Deadline]
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