# Reno CBS and Chattanooga NBC stations pulled



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

A closely held corporation Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., owns _CBS affiliate_ KTVN in Reno, Nevada, and_ NBC affiliate_ WRCB in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Right now they are in a retrans negotiations dispute with Dish.

Broadcasting & Cable reported:


> A pair of TV stations owned by Sarkes Tarzian have posted online notices to Dish customers that they may be losing access to the stations at the end of the month due to a failure to negotiate a new carriage deal with the satellite operator. Both sides claim they have offered contract extensions that would keep the stations on subscriber dishes, but that the other side has turned them down.
> 
> ...Dish sent B&C/Multi a statement with its take on the retrans tussle, including their assertion that Dish did offer a contract extension that Sarkes Tarzian turned down, but it also said it was "hopeful" the two sides could still reach an agreement, though they seemed far apart.
> 
> "Sarkes Tarzian is demanding an outrageous price increase of 335% and threatening to block its channels if its demands are not met," said the statement. "It is disingenuous to claim it's pennies more per day. The reality is Sarkes is demanding millions of dollars more beyond what Dish Network pays today to Sarkes over the life of the contract. Their offer would be like demanding $12 for a gallon of milk then saying it's only a penny more per sip. Dish Network has offered an increase in fees to Sarkes but to demand a 335% rate hike is unheard of. In fact, Dish Network offered Sarkes a contract extension while negotiations take place, but they refused to accept it."


According to a Chattanooga news report:


> "WRCB and Dish Network are negotiating to provide for continued carriage of WRCB on Dish," according to a statement from Channel 3. "Unfortunately, we have not yet reached an agreement and Dish is threatening to remove WRCB from its lineup."
> 
> WRCB has given an unconditional extension, allowing Dish Network to continue its content, but it's unclear if Dish will do that.
> 
> "If Dish pulls WRCB it will be because Dish chooses to remove WRCB," according to a statement from Channel 3.


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## cjrleimer (Nov 17, 2004)

Actually KTVN is the CBS affiliate where I live in Reno which is upgrading their news set and has been in a temporary studio for the past 2 months possibly getting ready to convert to HD.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

cjrleimer said:


> Actually KTVN is the CBS affiliate where I live in Reno which is upgrading their news set and has been in a temporary studio for the past 2 months possibly getting ready to convert to HD.


Oops, my bad. I've corrected the original post but a moderator will have to change the title.


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## sum_random_dork (Aug 21, 2008)

KTVN keeps running a scroll across their shows saying Dish is refusing to pay "pennies a day" for customers to see their "Great CBS programing and News." The scrolls seem much nastier than those that Fox/NewsCorp was running on FOX channels directed at DirecTV.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

let 'em go! They'll come crawling back at some point!


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## cjrleimer (Nov 17, 2004)

KTVN Channel 2 News
KTVN and DISH NETWORK are negotiating to provide for continued carriage of KTVN on DISH. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached an agreement, and DISH has removed KTVN from its lineup. KTVN has extended an unconditional extension to DISH to allow your service to continue through the end of November while we continue to negotiate, and that offer remains open. DISH has unilaterally rejected the extension. It is DISH's choice that you no longer have KTVN in your program lineup.
We currently do not know when, or if, KTVN will be restored as part of the DISH program service. In the short term, DISH is free to accept our unconditional extension, and KTVN could be back on the system at once. In the long term, resumption of carriage of KTVN on DISH will require that new contract terms be agreed upon by DISH and KTVN. We are continuing to negotiate and would like to reach a new agreement to carry us forward for the next few years. KTVN is off Dish same with WRCB.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

The easy way to settle all of these is to ban all retransmissions fees for FCC licensees.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

WRCB in Chattanooga also has the update message reflecting that the station has been taken off of Dish.

Perhaps, a Moderator could retitle this thread with the updated info (and elminate my erroneous reference to NBC).


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## gor88 (May 9, 2003)

SayWhat? said:


> The easy way to settle all of these is to ban all retransmissions fees for FCC licensees.


Amen. OTA channels should have NEVER been allowed by Congress to charge retransmission fees in the first place!


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## VDP07 (Feb 22, 2006)

gor88 said:


> Amen. OTA channels should have NEVER been allowed by Congress to charge retransmission fees in the first place!


Traded a series of emails with KTVN's station manager on this subject last week. You can imagine his stance on the subject.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

The KTVN dispute has allowed me more time to watch KRNV and KOLO news. Thanks KTVN.


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## RVRambler (Dec 5, 2004)

For that matter, the stations should PAY Dish to Carry their 'nearly free' bandwidth, supposedly 'free' to all stations (ad supported), but of course "You can NOT watch ANY other CBS station because you are in our DMA, but we charge Dish for carriage-we screw you from both sides, smart huh?"!!!!

Yet another case of Big business paying off US law makers via huge powerful NAB lobbyist for corporate greed, oops, profits, oops, free enterprise, oops, capitalism. 

Yeah, yeah, we know its just silly TV, but the airwaves and frequencies are 'supposedly' owned by the Citizens of US, ha ha, what a joke?!! Stations are mandated to provide 'free to all' TV signals to those in their DMA but do they (ask us who live in hilly country-barriers to reception)?


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

In the old days when DISH didn't have all the major networks for a DMA, your bill would be slightly reduced. The last time this happened, the Viacom fiasco, I was able to get CBS in Atlanta for a small fee per month. Since the latter is no longer available, grumble, what about the former?

What happens to the bill these days with these protracted disputes?


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

I'm sure at some point the parties will come to an agreement and KTVN will return to DISH. In the meantime, as long as we don't have a CBS station are we suppose to get a slightly reduced bill?


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Blowgun said:


> I'm sure at some point the parties will come to an agreement and KTVN will return to DISH. In the meantime, as long as we don't have a CBS station are we suppose to get a slightly reduced bill?


No harm in asking. The worse they could say could be no.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

I was hoping someone from the DIRT would answer the question. I dread the idea of playing CSR roulette, once again.


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## cjrleimer (Nov 17, 2004)

Blowgun said:


> The KTVN dispute has allowed me more time to watch KRNV and KOLO news. Thanks KTVN.


Out of curiosity is E providing another CBS affiliate for dish subscribers or is it just a screen with the dispute explanation on it.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Blowgun said:


> I'm sure at some point the parties will come to an agreement and KTVN will return to DISH. In the meantime, as long as we don't have a CBS station are we suppose to get a slightly reduced bill?


No. I don't think so.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

DISH isn't providing an alternate CBS, hence why I want to know if a small refund is in order. This is what DISH use to do when the DMA wasn't complete.

The last time I looked at channel 2, DISH had a lady in a video loop explaining why KTVN was removed. However, for days the audio kept cutting out at random intervals and became annoying. You would think that DISH would have noticed the audio problem, but they haven't.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Even though the KTVN video still shows the lady with the glitchy audio[1] attempting to explain why KTVN was removed from DISH's lineup, the 119° sat has returned to showing the immediate KTVN guide data. Perhaps an end is in sight or is it just another glitch?

[1] For the entire time that DISH has removed KTVN, DISH has been completely oblivious to the glitchy audio problem, thus rendering that portion of the explanation for why KTVN was removed, useless.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

So, was the end in sight or was it a glitch? Turned out to be a glitch.


On a personal side note, RIP J.K. Metzker.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Blowgun said:


> On a personal side note, RIP J.K. Metzker.


That's a sad tragedy:

​

Way too young.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Sadly, here are some links:

From KTVN, click here for video.

From KOLO, click here for video (story to follow short ad).

From KRNV, click here for text article. In this article, KRNV is reporting that the suspect was released today on surprisingly only $10,000 bail.


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## sum_random_dork (Aug 21, 2008)

KTVN Reno is reporting they are back on the air with Dish as of today. Haven't seen any details reported but it looks like things were worked out.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

KFVS is running the same kind of beggar crawl about a local cable company that's in an area that can't reliably get the signal OTA. Some can get it, others can't. This is a small utility operated cable company that doesn't have a lot of cash to deal with.

Some area residents can get a signal from another market with a decent OTA antenna, but not all.



The Feds really need to stop this extortion.


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

sum_random_dork said:


> KTVN Reno is reporting they are back on the air with Dish as of today. Haven't seen any details reported but it looks like things were worked out.


Yes, DISH Network and Sarkes Tarzian have reached an agreement.

Reno, NV's CBS, and Chattanooga, TN's NBC will be back on shortly, if not already.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we worked to reach a fair agreement to keep your channels


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Glad to see that's been resolved. Sure took awhile. I'd like to have been an observer in the corner when the agreement was reached as these are tough negotiations for both sides.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

What about a small refund since the channel was MIA for nearly two months?


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## samhevener (Feb 23, 2006)

phrelin said:


> Glad to see that's been resolved. Sure took awhile. I'd like to have been an observer in the corner when the agreement was reached as these are tough negotiations for both sides.


A deal is always reached on disputes like this with local stations. They both sides need each other.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

Blowgun said:


> What about a small refund since the channel was MIA for nearly two months?


call the station and see if the general manager will give you one!


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

Duplicate post.


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

Blowgun said:


> What about a small refund since the channel was MIA for nearly two months?


Ok, you get about 7 channels for what would be $5.99 for locals for non qualifying packages. So that would be about $1.70 for the two months. Go for it.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

sum_random_dork said:


> KTVN keeps running a scroll across their shows saying Dish is refusing to pay "pennies a day" for customers to see their "Great CBS programing and News." The scrolls seem much nastier than those that Fox/NewsCorp was running on FOX channels directed at DirecTV.


As I said before i don't watch local TV stations much. For the people in Reno who do I hope they get a deal soon.

Merry Christmas to all!


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

tampa8 said:


> Ok, you get about 7 channels for what would be $5.99 for locals for non qualifying packages. So that would be about $1.70 for the two months. Go for it.


You're missing the much bigger picture. Now ask yourself, who is suspiciously missing from answering my repeatedly asked easy question, and why?


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

So you want about $1.70 but only if someone contacts you. You contacting someone is out of the question......Had you been reasonable, I can tell you first hand Dish does give you more than the monetary value if you just had called and asked. (It may depend on your account also) In my case I accepted a PPV. My Father in-Law accepted three months of one of the Movie channels. (I think Cinemax but don't remember)


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Your assumption is incorrect.


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