Attention DISH Customers

10/12/18

KBJR is pleased to announce that we have reached a new agreement with DISH and our station will be back on their service very soon!

We want to thank all of you who contacted us during this impasse, and for all the calls and emails of support that we received.  That support meant a great deal to all of us at KBJR.  This was a difficult period for our station, and we know it was very frustrating for you, our viewer.  We are sorry you had to experience this impasse with us, but are grateful for your understanding and support.

Thank you!!

10/9/18

Thank you to all of you for your calls and emails of support for our station regarding the impasse we are experiencing with DISH.  That support means a great deal to all of us at KBJR.  Unfortunately, while we are continuing to negotiate with DISH in an effort to resolve this dispute, we don’t have any positive news to report at this time.  We hope KBJR will be back on DISH soon, but we don’t know when that will happen.

We understand that you are frustrated that this impasse continues and has not yet been resolved. We are, too.  We know that nothing is more frustrating to a television viewer than missing your favorite station’s local news or network programming. This is the first time that KBJR has been involved in such a prolonged impasse with a satellite or cable company.  The same goes for our parent company, Quincy Media.  In fact, prior to this impasse with DISH, Quincy had been in just one dispute like this in the last quarter century, and it lasted only 15 hours.  That is not the case for DISH.  DISH has had close to 500 disputes with local TV stations in the past eight years

We wanted to share with you some of what we have been hearing from many frustrated DISH customers (many of whom are now former DISH customers), and we want to correct some false information you may have been hearing.

• One DISH customer indicated to us that she was told that “Quincy has begun this dispute with DISH and they will continue to migrate to other providers like DirecTV and cable to block them as well.”

We can’t predict the future, but we can tell you that we have multi-year agreements in place with every other cable and satellite provider that carries our station.

• We have mentioned in prior messages regarding this impasse that Quincy is a small, family-owned company. We received an email questioning that, which stated, “Regarding Quincy being small, who knows since you are a private company.  You did spend $1.6 million on a couple of TV stations.”

Our parent company, Quincy Media, did recently purchase two local television stations for about $1.8 million.  To put our purchase into perspective, DISH reported revenue of about $14.4 BILLION in 2017.  Based on that revenue, Dish generates $1.6 million in revenue every hour of every day.  This dispute is truly a “David vs. Goliath” situation; a huge, multi-billion-dollar company is trying to bully a small, family-owned company into making bad business decisions.

• Many DISH customers have indicated to us that, if they are willing to stay on the phone long enough and talk to a supervisor at DISH, DISH may offer them credits or rebates because they are not receiving our station at this time. That seems fair to us.

Please know that we are doing our best to get this resolved, but we could use your help.  Please call DISH at 800-333-3474 or 877-445-7442 and let them know you want this dispute resolved and KBJR back on their system.

Thank you for your patience and continued support.

Click here for a list of DISH Blackouts Since 2010.

Click here for a complete list of providers that carry KBJR.

Click here for FAQ’s on the DISH dispute with KBJR.

10/2/18

We continue to hear from many of you regarding the impasse we are experiencing with DISH. We very much appreciate your calls and emails of support, and your understanding that we are trying to do what we can to get our station back on DISH.

The obvious question that everyone is asking is when will KBJR be back on DISH? The unfortunate answer is we just don’t know when that will happen.

The situation we are facing is unprecedented for KBJR and our small, family owned company, Quincy Media, Inc. Prior to our impasse with DISH, Quincy Media had been in a dispute for a total of just 15 hours going all the way back to 1992 when contracts were first required between TV stations and programming distributors. DISH, on the other hand, is a multi-billion-dollar company and they try to pressure broadcasters into bad agreements with these disputes, especially small broadcasters. Close to 500 other stations have had disputes with DISH since 2010, and many of those disputes lasted for two months or longer.

Please know that we would end this impasse today if DISH would get reasonable with its demands, but so far, they have failed to do that. We have multi-year agreements with every other provider in our market, and we reached those agreements without a dispute because both parties were determined not to let that happen. With DISH, that has not been the case.

Please call DISH at 800-333-3474 and let them know you want this dispute resolved and KBJR back on their system.

Thank you for your patience and continued support.

Click here for a list of DISH Blackouts Since 2010.

Click here for a complete list of providers that carry KBJR.

Click here for FAQ’s on the DISH dispute with KBJR.

9/18/18

We have received calls and emails of support from many of you regarding the impasse we are experiencing with DISH. That support means a great deal to all of us at KBJR.

We had hoped to have some progress to report to you on this impasse, but unfortunately DISH has not changed their position since our last update. DISH continues to want to subject us to unreasonable terms and conditions, things that we have not agreed to with any other programming provider, and at terms that are way below the marketplace. We have multi-year agreements with every other provider in our market, and we reached those agreements without a dispute because both parties were determined not to let that happen. With DISH, that has not been the case.

As a DISH customer, we know you are frustrated with this situation. Unfortunately, when we are involved in a business situation like this, it impacts you, and that part is very difficult for us, because that is the last thing we want to have happen. We want our programming to be there for you, and right now, it’s not. For that, we apologize.

Given that DISH has made no productive changes to their offer, we are doubtful that our station will be returned to the DISH service any time soon. That means you will not be able to watch our local news, weather and sports programming, along with the fall premieres of popular NBC shows such as The Voice, This is Us, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, Law and Order SVU, Sunday Night Football, and the highly anticipated new shows Manifest and New Amsterdam. In addition, DISH customers will not be able to watch KBJR My 9, home of the National Championship UMD Bulldogs Men’s hockey team. My 9 carries most Bulldog home and away games plus an additional 50 high school and college hockey, football, basketball and volleyball games each season involving Northland teams.

KBJR is owned by Quincy Media, a small family owned company. Our station cannot be bullied into a bad business decision just because DISH, a multi-billion-dollar company, is pressuring us to do so. It would be wrong for our station, and it would be wrong for our viewers, as it would impact our ability to provide the local news and sports, severe weather coverage, and all our network and local sports programming that you have come to expect from our station. The fees we receive from our distributors help us pay for these programming costs and the salaries we pay our employees that live right here in our community.

Please know that we would end this impasse today if DISH would get reasonable with its demands, but so far, they have failed to do so, and as a result, this impasse could continue for some time. Our station is now in the same situation that close to 500 other stations have faced since 2010, all in a dispute with DISH.

Please call DISH at 800-333-3474 and let them know you want this dispute resolved and our station back on their system. With your help, maybe we can end this impasse.

Thank you for your patience and your continued support.

Click here for a list of DISH Blackouts Since 2010.

Click here for a complete list of providers that carry KBJR.

Click here for FAQ’s on the DISH dispute with KBJR.

9/6/18

It has been just over a week since KBJR was dropped from DISH, and unfortunately DISH has not changed their position on a new agreement.

DISH is indicating one thing to us in their proposals but is telling a far different story to their customers. They publicly state that they’re willing to accept rates that other pay TV providers are paying to our company, yet at the same time, they continue to offer us terms, including rates, that are way below the marketplace.

KBJR is asking for fair and reasonable terms and compensation from DISH.  We are attempting to negotiate with DISH in the same manner we did with every other program provider.  And we successfully concluded fair agreements with everyone else, without delays or disputes.

We have been attempting to reach a fair new agreement with DISH for the past several months.   Our original contract end date is way past.  We offered multiple extensions to provide more time to complete a new agreement, but DISH has steadfastly refused to make a fair deal.

DISH claims that KBJR is using “hostile negotiating tactics.”  Like other statements being made by DISH, that is just not true!  KBJR is owned by Quincy Media, a small, family owned company, that has been in business since 1926, with roots in the newspaper business that go back even further.  Our objective is to be fair, reasonable and consistent in how we approach negotiations.  Since TV stations were granted the right to negotiate for fair compensation by federal law in 1992, our company has been in a dispute for a total of just 15 hours over that 26-year period of time.  Any objective observer of the process that we had to go through with DISH would describe our approach as fair and reasonable and DISH’s approach as “hostile.”

Please call DISH at 800-333-3474 and let them know you want this dispute resolved and KBJR back on their system.

Click here for a list of DISH Blackouts Since 2010.

8/31/18

FAQ’s on the DISH dispute with KBJR

Q: What is this all about?
TV stations were granted the right to negotiate for fair compensation from pay TV programming providers by federal law in 1992.  This right was granted in large part to help ensure that local TV stations would be able to maintain and hopefully grow their local news and community service efforts, provide severe weather and emergency information to their communities, and continue to be a valuable resource to the communities they serve.  We negotiate periodically with every multichannel video programming distributor for the right to carry our station.

Q: Are these disputes common with Quincy Media, owner of KBJR?

No.  Since TV stations were granted the right to negotiate for fair compensation by federal law in 1992, Quincy Media has been in a dispute just once, for a total of just 15 hours over that 26-year period of time.

Q: Are these disputes with local TV stations common with DISH?

Unfortunately, yes.  Since 2010, DISH has had almost 500 disputes with local TV stations. Here is a link to the list of those disputes. While the length of these disputes has varied, in many instances DISH has had outages that have lasted several months.  Currently, DISH is in multiple disputes, including with Univision nationally and with other local TV stations in other areas.

Q: Why has DISH created a dispute with KBJR?

DISH is a multi-billion dollar company.  KBJR is part of a family-owned business.  We think DISH has created the dispute because it believes it can bully us into making a bad deal because we aren’t big enough to fight back.  The fact is that KBJR has reached fair agreements with every other programming provider, and we thought that if we took the same approach with DISH as we did with the others, then we would be able to reach a fair deal with DISH.  Unfortunately, DISH decided to play by different rules.

Q: Why is the dispute occurring now?

We have been attempting to reach a fair new agreement with DISH for the past several months.   Our original contract end date is way past.  We offered five extensions to provide more time to complete a new agreement, but DISH has steadfastly refused to make a fair deal.

Q: Is KBJR making unreasonable demands of DISH?  

No.  Our station is asking for fair and reasonable terms and compensation from DISH.  We are not asking anything more from DISH than we did from any other programming provider.  And we successfully concluded fair agreements with everyone else, without delays or disputes.

Q: DISH is telling their customers that KBJR is demanding an unreasonable rate increase, which is more than double what DISH currently pays for your channels.  Is that the case?

No, it is not. The fee we are asking DISH to pay today compared to the fee DISH was paying before we went off their system is not “more than double,” it’s not even close to “more than double.”

Q: DISH is telling their subscribers that KBJR has refused DISH’s offer to match the rates that other pay TV providers are paying to KBJR.  Is that true?

No, that is not true.  DISH has never offered to match the rates paid by “other pay TV providers.”  Since they never offered to match those fees, KBJR never refused their offer.

Q: Where else can we find your station?

KBJR NBC continues to be available over the air, along with CBS (6.2), MyNetwork TV (6.3) and KDLH CW (3.1) and is available on Charter Spectrum, DirecTV, Paul Bunyan, Mediacom, Hulu and 6 other multi-channel video programming services in the Duluth-Superior area. Click here for a complete list of providers that carry KBJR.

Q: Is there anything I can do to help get KBJR back on DISH?

Yes!  Call DISH at 800-333-3474 and let them know you want this dispute resolved and KBJR back on their system.

Click here for a list of DISH Blackouts Since 2010.

8/29/18

KBJR NBC was dropped from DISH Network at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, August 29th.

KBJR has been working on a new agreement with DISH for the past several months.  We offered DISH five extensions to provide more time to complete a new agreement, but unfortunately, we could not agree to the demands DISH was requiring for a new agreement.

KBJR has successfully reached new agreements with every other multi-channel video programming service that carries our station.  In all other cases, we feel we reached fair and reasonable agreements, agreements that reflect the current marketplace, and not one of those negotiations resulted in our station being dropped from the service.

DISH has a long track record of disputes and blackouts with broadcasters, including a current national dispute with Univision as well as other local stations, so what is happening with KBJR is not unusual.

Viewers can express their concerns on this matter by calling DISH at 800-333-3474. 

KBJR NBC continues to be available over the air, along with CBS (6.2), MyNetwork TV (6.3) and KDLH CW (3.1) and is available on Charter Spectrum, DirecTV, Paul Bunyan, and Mediacom and 7 other multi-channel video programming services in the Duluth-Superior area.

The following is a list of other KBJR program providers:

• Charter
• DirecTV
• Hulu
• Lake County DBA Lake Connections
• Mediacom
• Midcontinent Cable Co.
• Norvado, Inc.
• Packerland Broadband
• Paul Bunyan Rural Tele Coop
• Savage Communications, Inc.
• Tekstar Cablevision, Inc.

Click here for a list of DISH Blackouts Since 2010.

8/24/18

Periodically local TV stations and multi-channel video programming providers (i.e., cable, phone and satellite companies), extend or reach new agreements that allow for the programming providers to continue to carry the local TV stations. Our station’s agreement with DISH expires at 6:00 PM CT on August 29th, and we have yet to reach a new agreement.

KBJR has successfully completed new agreements with every other programming provider.

We are hoping that a new agreement will be reached on time, but if we are unable to reach a new agreement, then you will no longer be able to watch KBJR NBC, CBS 3 Duluth or MyNetwork on DISH.

8/22/18

Periodically local TV stations and multi-channel video programming providers (i.e., cable, phone and satellite companies), extend or reach new agreements that allow for the programming providers to continue to carry the local TV stations.  Our station’s agreement with DISH was set to expire at 6:00 PM CT on August 22nd, but KBJR has granted an extension of our DISH agreement until August 24th at 8:00 PM.

KBJR has successfully completed new agreements with every other programming provider.

We are hoping that a new agreement will be reached on time, but if we are unable to reach a new agreement, then you will no longer be able to watch KBJR NBC, CBS 3 Duluth or MyNetwork on DISH.

8/20/18

Periodically local TV stations and multi-channel video programming providers (i.e., cable, phone and satellite companies), extend or reach new agreements that allow for the programming providers to continue to carry the local TV stations. Our station’s agreement with DISH expires at 6 PM CT on Aug. 22, and we have yet to reach a new agreement.

KBJR has successfully completed new agreements with every other programming provider.

We are hoping that a new agreement will be reached on time, but if we are unable to reach a new agreement, then you will no longer be able to watch KBJR NBC, CBS 3 Duluth or MyNetwork on DISH.

DISH Blackouts Since 2010