DISH announced on Friday that they have notified NBCUniversal and the FCC of its intent to request arbitration over their negotiation of a renewed carriage agreement with the NBCUniversal. If the two sides did not reach an agreement then WWE fans, who have DISH, wouldn’t be able to watch RAW or SmackDown as the two shows air on the USA Network, which is owned by NBC Universal.
DISH issued the following:
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, DISH notified NBCUniversal and the Federal Communications Commission of its intent to request arbitration to determine the terms and conditions of a renewed distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. This notice triggers a mandatory 10-day ‘cooling off period’ during which DISH and NBCUniversal can continue negotiating, and affected programming is required to remain available to DISH customers.
“DISH is committed to reaching a new distribution agreement with NBCUniversal and to not disrupt customers in the process. This 10-day cooling off period is an opportunity for continued negotiations while guaranteeing that NBCU cannot black out its networks to DISH customers.
“If, at the end of the cooling off period, we have not reached an agreement with NBCU, we will have up to five days to formally request arbitration. In the event of arbitration, affected programming would remain available during that process, and for the foreseeable future.
“We remain hopeful that we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement that benefits all parties, including our viewers.”
