An impasse in negotiations between DISH Network and WRCB-TV3, Chattanooga's NBC affiliate, may result in an interruption of NBC programming for local DISH customers by the end of the week.
WRCB's current carriage agreement with DISH Network expired in the middle of December, but the two parties agreed on an extension through Jan. 8 to avoid program disruption.
But if a new agreement isn't reached by Friday, local DISH customers will wake up on Friday with no WRCB.
According to a release on WRCB's website, the station feels DISH Network refuses "to pay WRCB a fair price and agree to other reasonable terms for the right to resell WRCB's NBC signal to its subscribers."
WRCB officials said they must ask for more from DISH to offset their costs of programming, and that DISH is asking for more than its competing TV services.
Tom Tolar, president and general manager at WRCB, said both sides are trying to make sure a blackout doesn't happen, and that these types of negotiations are normal.
"You have to negotiate as a broadcaster with every cable company and every satellite company," he said.
WRCB employees work in the control room at channel three.Cordillera Communications, a broadcast operator serving 2.3 million households across the western U.S. and parts of Kentucky, is also currently in negotiations with DISH Network, though officials there are less optimistic about reaching an agreement by the end of this week.
"Unfortunately, DISH Network has refused to reach a fair, market-based agreement with Cordillera even as we offer terms similar to those of existing agreements with every other cable and satellite provider," said Terrance Hurley, president of Cordillera in a news release.
Cordillera is set to enter a blackout period on Thursday.
Tolar, meanwhile, said there are around 20 carriage agreements in place all the time for a station like WRCB, and managing all of them is "an ongoing process" with a revolving door of deadlines and extensions.
The key issue, however, in every negotiation is the value of programming to both sides - in this case, to WRCB and to DISH - Tolar said, and in factoring in programming costs, which will likely only go up in the future for content creators.
"All of those costs have been going up, and they are scheduled to go up even more as the networks begin to charge their affiliates increasing amounts of money," said Tolar.
He said WRCB has largely been able to avoid programming disruptions, despite a brief blackout in 2011 for DISH Network customers, when contract negotiations then reached an impasse.
Tolar said he hopes WRCB will avoid another blackout this time around.
Station officials urge local DISH customers to call the satellite provider at 800-333-3474 to voice concerns.
DISH Network officials did not comment on the negotiations on Tuesday.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.