Hoak Stations Back on Dish Network

Week-long retrans spat ironed out

By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/13/2012 12:05:54 PM

The Hoak Media stations are back on the air for Dish Network subscribers, according to multiple Hoak station sites, a week after they went dark due to a retransmission consent clash.

"WMBB News 13 is back on Dish Network at this time," reads the site representing WMBB Panama City.

The KREX Grand Junction site said: "Dish Network and KREX NewsChannel 5/KFQX Fox 4, your local CBS and Fox affiliates, have come to an agreement! We thank all of you for your cooperation during this frustrating time."

All 14 Hoak stations were affected by the retrans stalemate. Part of the issue was Dish's controversial Auto Hop DVR, confirmed Hoak president and CEO Eric Van den Branden, which helps the viewer avoid commercials in playback.

Neither Dish nor Hoak returned calls for confirmation on short notice at presstime.