Dish Reaches Retrans Deal with Gray TV

Dish Network and Gray Television said they reached a retransmission agreement that will enable satellite subscribers to continue to watch broadcast programming in 30 markets.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In the past few months, talks between distributors like Dish and some broadcasters have been so contentious that they resulted in blackouts. Most notable was the month-long dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS that resolved just before the start of the NFL football season. But Dish and Gray said they were able to work things out.

"Dish and Gray worked together on behalf of customers to reach a deal," Sruta Vootukuru, Dish director of programming said in a statement. "Together, Dish and Gray serve viewers with local news and information, as well as network programming, and that will continue under this long-term agreement."

"Gray Television and Dish reached a long-term, mutually beneficial agreement in a professional and respectful manner," said Kevin Latek, senior VP of business development for Gray TV. "The Dish team has moved quickly to facilitate this deal and those quiet efforts enhance local service for our mutual customers in some of the smallest markets in the country."

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.