Hoak Stations Dark for Dish Subs
Controversial Hopper DVR part of ongoing disagreement
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/7/2012 10:01:15 AM
Fourteen Hoak Media stations went dark June 6 for Dish Network subscribers as Hoak and Dish failed to come to terms on retransmission consent.
A sticking point in the negotiations, acknowledged Eric Van den Branden, president and CEO of Hoak, is Dish's controversial Hopper DVR, whose Auto Hop feature eliminates commercials.
Van den Branden would not elaborate on details of the discussion. "We're in the middle of a negotiation and there are a number of terms we haven't agreed to," he said. "It's about Dish bullying people around and I think people are tired of that."
In a statement, Dish said Hoak is seeking a "massive price increase", and acknowledged that the DVR was a central piece of the negotiation.
"Hoak doesn't respect customer control. They are telling customers they must watch commercials," said Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming at Dish. "Commercial skipping has been around since the advent of the remote control and we think Hoak has taken an incredibly hostile stance toward their viewers."
The Hoak-Dish clash over the DVR, which prompted lawsuits from multiple broadcast networks, was previously reported in The Hollywood Reporter.
Hoak's stations include WMBB Panama City (Fla.) and KALB-NALB in Alexandria (La.). A statement on WMBB.com read in part: "We will continue to negotiate with DISH. Unfortunately, we do not know if, or when, we will reach an agreement. In the meantime, we hope you will continue supporting local television and watch us through alternative means."
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I agree with Connie Bullock and I feel if Hoak Media wants to bicker with Dish Network, then please do it behind the scenes and not punish the subscribers by blacking out the channels. And yes, if I want to skip commercials, well, I'll just walk out of the room and do something else until the show comes back on. I don't need the DVR to skip commercials. My own two feet work just as well. Also, I have the option of changing channels too. Please do your negoiations behind closed doors, but don't mess with our viewing RIGHTS. And yes they are RIGHTS, since I'm paying for the local channels with my monthly billing.
Dorothea Haugrud - 6/12/2012 4:50:45 PM EDT -
Shame on both James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media for this blackout that result in the viewers from being able to watch their favorite shows with Dish. I feel that James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media are trying to be like the Neil Bogarts of Casablanca Records fame of the 1970's disco era, the Bernard Madoff's, the Enron's, the Worldcom's, the Adelphia's, the Tyco's, and the Martha Stewart's, of the 2000's by letting broadcast greed get out of control so all of the head employees and bosses at Hoak Media be able to have luxurious homes, luxurious jets, luxurious cars, join luxurious clubs, and have other luxurious items just to make them very happy then trying and willingness to improve the quality of all the stations they owned and control and making the viewers happy as well. I hope and I wish that James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media get scolded by both by the ACA and the FCC for making the viewers being forced to deal with this blackout because they could not make a deal to get the stations back to it's customers sooner and with a fair deal with Dish. I hope and I wish that James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media is barred from buying and owning anymore TV stations in the future. I feel that James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media are trying to bribe like the General Tire/RKO General of the 1960's and 1970's by not being very honest of not only the viewers by making them miss the shows on Dish and also on themselves. I hope and I wish that the FCC would force James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media to allow Dish to carry it's stations without any interference before the olympics and football season starts, in the event James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media fails to allow Dish to carry it's stations, then the FCC would force James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media to surrender, give up, and forfeit control of all the stations they owned and operate, in the event James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media fails to surrender, give up, and forfeit control of all the stations they owned, then the FCC would allow all the broadcasters be allowed to purchased any of the stations James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media owns and control with the broadcasters being required to make a real big concession that they would promised not to have any difficulties with all the cable and satellite operators when making deals to carry stations without any interference for 12 whole years with me preferring Barrington Broadcasting to acquire all the stations including KHAS NBC 5, KNOP NBC 2/KIIT FOX 11 from James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media without any overlap that both Hoak and Barrington each owned different stations in the same market and to meet FCC rules and regulators. I feel that both James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media are way too busy being the Rebecca Black Friday and Double Take Hot Problems as well as trying be act like the Lyle and Erik Menendez's as the greedy murderers, the Jeffrey Ireland's and the Patrick Jones's as the drunks, the Rodney Dangerfield's, the John Belushi's, and the Chris Farley's as the comedians, the Homer and Bart Simpson’s, the Peter Griffin’s, the Garfield cats, the Cookie Monster's, the Miss Piggy’s, the Victor Newman’s of the broadcasting industry of not coming to reach a deal with Dish to carry it's stations to the viewers everyday. I feel that both James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media are trying to turn into the 1919 Chicago White Sox's baseball team and the Southern Methodist University football of the 1980's to force Dish to accept a take it or leave it deal to carry it's stations. I urge all of the viewers with Dish to boycott James (Jimmy) Hoak and his Hoak Media right now for making the Dish viewers suffer from being able to watch their favorite shows.
James - 6/7/2012 4:20:22 PM EDT -
JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE DISH DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE THE DVR. SO WHY IS EVERYBODY BEING CUT OFF? AS FAR AS OUR LOCAL CBS CHANNEL IT HAS WENT DOWN HILL EVERY SINCE THE HOAK CORPORATION TOOK OVER. YOU ARE JUST HURTING YOUR ON RATINGS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE I HAVE TALKED TO WOULD NOT BE WATCHING THROUGH ALTERNATIVE MEANS.
CONNIE BULLOCH - 6/7/2012 10:48:05 AM EDT
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