Dish and Univision in Blackout That Includes Sling as FCC Kept Informed

Dish Network isn't carrying Univision, including on its Sling over-the-top video service, due to a programming blackout involving carriage fees. Univision has been keeping the FCC informed about the blackout, and hasn't sought its intervention, a spokesman for that company told us. The Media Bureau declined to comment, and Dish didn't comment. The showdown, which began affecting Dish's customers Saturday, continued Monday, both sides said. It was an "effort to drastically raise rates," Dish said of the dispute involving Galavisión, Univision and UniMás programming: "Despite ratings for these channels decreasing by approximately 30 percent over the past five years among DISH customers, Univision is demanding rate increases of roughly 75 percent." Dish said it, DishLatino and Sling are giving customers "in eligible areas" free antennas to get such broadcast programming. Dish rejected Univision's offer to extend the contract during renewal talks to avoid losing access, the broadcaster said. The MVPD wants to pay "only a fraction of what it pays our English-language peers," said Univision Executive Vice President-Government and Corporate Affairs Jessica Herrera-Flanigan. Each side said the other has a history of such carriage cutoffs.