After going dark on DISH in October in a dispute that went so far that the FCC was called in to mediate, Media General reached an agreement for carriage of Media General’s TV stations in 17 markets, including: Augusta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Charleston, SC; Columbus, GA; Columbus, OH; Greenville, NC; Greenville/Spartanburg, SC; Hattiesburg, MS; Jackson, MS.; Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL; Florence/Myrtle Beach, SC; Providence, R.; Raleigh/Durham, NC; Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA; Savannah, GA; Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL and Tri-Cities, TN/VA.
Dish filed a complaint 10/18 against Media General, requesting that the FCC immediately require the company to negotiate in good faith to resolve a blackout that began 10/1.: “Media General’s conduct violates the Commission’s rules requiring good faith negotiation for retransmission consent rights, because, among other things, Media General failed to respond for 11 days to DISH’s last pre-blackout offer.”Richmond-based Media General had responded in kind with its own filing that said it should not be “bullied” by Dish Network into granting below-market rates for TV channel retransmission fees: “Reaching fair retransmission consent agreements is crucial to Media General’s ability to maintain the high level of local service it provides as it faces rising costs and increasing competition.”
