Here we go again: Local subscribers could lose access to Channel 8
A contract dispute may result in KLAS-TV, Channel 8, being removed from Dish Network.
If this news sounds familiar, it is. Very much so.
Nexstar Media Group, which owns the local CBS affiliate, is warning customers that if a new contract with Dish Network isn’t reached by Wednesday evening, its channels could go dark.
At the heart of the dispute are retransmission fees, the money local stations charge cable providers to air the same content that’s available for free, over the air, via an antenna.
The current deal between Nexstar, the nation’s largest operator of local TV stations, and Dish was reached in 2016. It expires Wednesday, but both sides could agree to continue talks.
Since acquiring Channel 8 in 2015, the Irving, Texas-based media company has been involved in similar carriage disputes.
Last year, a disagreement between Nexstar and DirecTV kept the channel away from local subscribers from July 3 till the end of August.
In early 2016, a dispute between Nexstar and Cox Communications resulted in Channel 8 being knocked off the local cable system for five days and threatened access to Super Bowl 50.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.