For the umpteenth time in the past decade, Sinclair Broadcasting pulled the TV stations it owns off a cable/satellite provider’s lineup. This time it’s Dish, and while the blackout lasted less than 24 hours, the episode qualified as the largest single blackout of local TV stations in history.
According to a complaint filed by Dish to the FCC, Sinclair is demanding retransmission fees for not just its stations, but
an additional 32 stations that are not under direct or indirect common de jure control with Sinclair, and which are located in markets where there is at least one local broadcast station that is under direct or indirect common de jure control with Sinclair.
Two of those 32 stations, KMEG (Sioux City CBS) and KFXA (Cedar Rapids Fox), are in Iowa. They are among those redacted in the list of affected stations.
Sinclair’s blackout in January 2007, which caused Mediacom to distribute rabbit-ear antennas so people could watch the BCS bowls, affected KGAN, KFXA, and KDSM, a CBS station and two Fox affiliates. Now, though, Sinclair also owns KTVO for Kirksville/Ottumwa and KHQA for Keokuk, two stations doing double-duty as ABC/CBS affiliates, and the Fox stations in Sioux City and Omaha.
In 2007 and 2009 and 2014, Sinclair did the same thing to Mediacom. In 2012 and 2013, only last-minute deals stopped it from happening to Mediacom (again) and DirectTV.