Dish Network drops WLNS access over contract dispute with Nexstar Media Group
Sarah LehrLANSING — Dish Network subscribers in Greater Lansing lost access Wednesday night to WLNS after failed contract negotiations.
Dish dropped more than 100 channels owned by Nexstar Media Group, including Lansing-based WLNS, the CBS affiliate on channel 6. The prior agreement between Nexstar and Dish expired at 7 p.m. Wednesday and it's not clear how quickly access might be restored if a new deal is reached.
"Nexstar remains hopeful that a resolution can be reached quickly to return to viewers their favorite network programming, in-depth local news, and other content relevant to their communities, and critical emergency updates for which DISH is charging its subscribers," Nexstar said in a news release.
The loss affects some 5.4 million Dish subscribers, according to a statement from Dish that blamed Nexstar for the lack of a contract renewal.
"We made a fair offer to keep Nexstar stations available to our customers, but Nexstar rejected it," Brian Neylon, group president at DISH TV, said in a statement.
Nexstar, in turn, blasted Dish for its "long-term practice of putting its paying subscribers in the middle, rather than reaching agreements with broadcasters and content providers at fair market rates."
On Saturday, WLNS is set to broadcast an NCAA basketball game between Baylor and Gonzaga as well as two NCAA football games, Florida versus Tennessee and Alabama versus Louisiana State University.
That's followed by two NFL games, the Jacksonville Jaguars versus the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Green Bay Packers, on Sunday, according to WLNS' website.
Contact reporter Sarah Lehr at slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.