Washington, D.C.
(June 14, 2012)
--
Dish Network and Hoak Media have patched their differences,
signing a new agreement allowing Hoak's 14
network affiliates in six markets to return to Dish's airwaves.
The agreement was announced yesterday at the web sites of Hoak's
network affiliates.
The stations were dark on Dish for about a week, which is not
too unusual in a fee fight between programmers and TV providers,
particularly a dispute involving Dish. However, the
circumstances behind this blackout were unique, to say the
least.
Dish announced last week that Hoak pulled their stations
partially because of Auto Hop, the satcaster's new feature which automatically
eliminates network commercials.
But Hoak said over the weekend that Dish was lying because Auto
Hop had nothing to do with the dispute. Furthermore, Hoak COO Rich Adams
told the web site, The Town Talk, that Dish actually pulled the
stations without giving it any notice. He suggested that Dish initiated the dispute to generate publicity
for the Auto Hop.
"I
guess they want to
make an example out
of us and get
publicity for their
device (Auto Hop),"
Adams said.
However, regardless
of who started the
fight, the dispute
is now over.
Hoak has stations in
Texas, Colorado,
Nebraska, North
Dakota, South Dakota
and Florida.
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