Dish Network, Gannett Reach Retrans Agreement

Neither side would comment on the terms nor how the Auto Hop figured in the negotiation

By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/8/2012 10:17:11 AM

Dish Network and Gannett Broadcasting said Monday that they have reached a retransmission consent deal regarding Gannett's 19 broadcast stations across the country. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal comes after the two sides agreed early Monday morning to briefly extend their negotiations as they tried to hammer out a deal.

The agreement ends what could have been a drawn out battle -- Dish claimed Gannett was seeking a 300% increase in retrans fees and was demanding it disable its Auto Hop ad-skipping feature. Sources familiar with Gannett's position denied that it was forcing Dish to disable the Auto Hop technology, but said the ad skipper was part of the overall conversation.

Dish's retrans agreement with Gannett officially expired at midnight on the night of Oct. 7. In a terse statement Oct. 8, Gannett said both sides had reached a deal. Dish also released a terse statement Monday, simply confirming Gannett's claims. Neither side would comment on the terms nor how the Auto Hop figured in the negotiations.

"We can confirm that Dish Network and Gannett have reached a long-term agreement regarding Dish Network's continued retransmission of Gannett's Stations," Dish said in a statement.

The Gannett stations are located in Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Denver; Minneapolis; Cleveland; Phoenix; Sacramento, Calif.;  St. Louis; Little Rock, Ark.; Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Macon, Ga.; Bangor and Portland, Maine; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Greensboro, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; and Knoxville, Tenn. The stations are affiliates of networks NBC, CBS, ABC and MyNetwork TV.