Hearst Blackout Points to Need for Retrans Reform, Dish Says

The disruption of carriage of numerous Hearst stations on Dish Network points to a need to reform retransmission consent rules, with out-of-date laws driving "high fees and unnecessary blackouts," said Dish Executive Vice President-Programming Warren Schlichting in a letter Monday to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. Dish's letter said Hearst demanded double the rates in its expired retrans agreement and turned down Dish's ask for a short-term contract extension with a retroactive "true-up" clause. Dish also suggested two possible solutions to the blackout that started earlier this month (see 1703030011): letting it import out-of-market signals from other network affiliates, or baseball-style arbitration making whatever new rates are decided by the arbitrator retroactive to whenever the channels are restored. Schlichting responded to a letter from Eshoo in which she said she will "continue to advocate for much needed changes in the law to stop harmful blackouts," and pushed both sides to resolve the contretemps. Eshoo didn't comment. The TV-station owner last week said it was starting a broadcast ad campaign in several markets about the blackout, and it started a "countdown clock" on its station websites tracking the duration of the carriage disruption.