DISH made an announcement today that they’ve decided to file a lawsuit against NBC/Universal for breach of contract as it relates to the ongoing carriage dispute the two have had, which was mentioned on last night’s Raw.
DISH said in the statement that they were filing a suit, saying that NBC made public statements that DISH was planning on dropping their networks, and that fans should contact DISH to voice their displeasure about the matter.
You can see the statement from DISH below.
NBC’s public statements against DISH over the past 24 hours are in violation of the contract between the two companies,” said the statement. “Today, DISH filed a breach of contract lawsuit against NBC to address those violations.
DISH has successfully negotiated agreements representing numerous networks in recent months that benefit all parties, including our viewers. DISH’s goal is to reach a mutually beneficial deal with NBC. However, based on NBCU’s actions to date, DISH currently expects to file for arbitration, which would prevent NBC from blacking out DISH customers. “Under the conditions imposed by the FCC and Department of Justice in approving the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger, NBC is forbidden from blacking out its networks if a pay-TV provider chooses, in its sole discretion, to exercise its right for binding arbitration. Regulators implemented these conditions to prevent Comcast and NBC from harming consumers and competition. In the event of arbitration, affected programming would remain available during that process, and for the foreseeable future.
The two sides are still working to reach an agreement, but if one isn’t met, DISH may not be carrying NBC/Universal channels as early as this weekend. On last night’s episode of Raw, Michael Cole urged fans to contact DISH about the carriage dispute.
