DISH Network customers without 4 Erie broadcast channels due to fee dispute. Is agreement near?

Steve Bishop, a Dish Network subscriber who lives in rural Warren County, pays $12 of his monthly bill to receive six Erie broadcast television channels.

He still has to pay the retransmission fee, even though he currently doesn't have access to four of those channels: WICU, WSEE, WFXP and WSEE-2 (The CW).

Contract squabbles between the satellite TV provider and Erie broadcasters have caused those channels to be pulled from the Dish lineup for customers throughout northwestern Pennsylvania.

WICU, WSEE and WSEE-2 — Erie's NBC, CBS and CW affiliate stations — have been unavailable for a few weeks, while WFXP, Erie's FOX affiliate, hasn't been available on Dish since January 2023 and on DirecTV since October 2022.

"I did call Dish once a few months ago to complain about (WFXP) having been out ... and ultimately they gave me a $5 one-time credit," Bishop said in an email.

Satellite TV providers, station owners battle over retransmission fees

Satellite and cable TV providers often include local broadcast channels in their packages. In recent years, these channels have been pulled at times due to disputes in retransmission fees, the money a cable or satellite provider pays to carry those stations.

Providers have said station owners are demanding higher fees in recent years, while station owners have countered they only want fair compensation.

"We are working diligently to come to an agreement and hope Dish shares the same sense of urgency in resolving this matter," said John Christianson, chief operating officer for Lilly Broadcasting, which owns WICU, WSEE and WSEE-2. "Unfortunately, there is no definitive date and time when we will be back on Dish Network."

"There are negotiations ongoing with Mission Broadcasting. I wouldn't know how close or far away they are," said Julie Zoumbaris, vice president and general manager for WFXP, which is owned by Mission Broadcasting and operated through a shared agreement with Nexstar.

Messages left with Dish were not returned.

More: Erie's WJET-TV back on DirecTV, but WFXP-TV remains blacked out

Antenna, streaming aren't viable options for all

When Bishop clicks on WICU, WSEE, WSEE-2 or WFXP, an image pops up on his screen that offers other ways to access the affected broadcast channels: install an antenna or download a streaming app.

But neither solution works well for Bishop and other rural viewers due to technology issues.

While many Erie-area residents can receive these stations with an indoor antenna that costs less than $30, people like Bishop who live 50 miles or more from the TV transmitters likely need rooftop antennas that can cost up to $500 to buy and have installed.

Even then, they might not get all the Erie stations, especially when the weather is bad.

"The problem with streaming is that we have DSL internet from Verizon," Bishop said. "It's only 2-3 megabits (per second), so it's not really good for streaming. We don't yet have access in our area to fiber internet."

What frustrates Bishop the most about this impasse is that he might not be able to watch his beloved Cleveland Browns in the NFL playoffs. Most of the opening-round games will be broadcast on NBC, CBS and FOX.

"I'll have to go to a bar or to a friend's house," Bishop said.

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA TV channels pulled from DISH Network lineup due to fee dispute