WRCB-TV will stay on the DISH network, at least through Monday night.
The Chattanooga NBC affiliate and DISH agreed to another extension of the carriage agreement Friday, according to WRCB-TV General Mananager Tom Tolar. The two parties are continuing to try to negotiate the fees and terms of a new long-term contract for the satellite providers to include WRCB-TV in its lineup.
The previous agreement expired in mid December and the first extension of that agreement was due to expire at midnight tonight. That could have left NBC programming – including the Golden Globes awards show and the NFL playoffs between the Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings on Sunday — off of the DISH network for Chattanooga area subscribers.
Tolar 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.
On its web site this week, WRCB-TV has claimed that DISH balked at paying “a fair price” and “reasonable terms” for carrying the local NBC affiliate. But DISH spokesman John Hall said DISH “has successfully negotiated agreements representing hundreds of stations in recent months that benefit all parties, including our viewers.
“We are unsure why Sarkes Tarzian (the owners of WRCB-TV) decided to involve customers in the contract negotiation process at a point when there is still time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal,”Hall said earlier today.