Attention DISH Network Subscribers

KOTV News On 6's parent company, Griffin Communications, is currently negotiating a renewal of its retransmission consent agreement with the satellite television provider DISH Network. If negotiations

Thursday, January 6th 2011, 3:21 pm

By: News On 6


January 16, 2011: Service will not be disrupted

Griffin Communications is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement in principle with DISH Network so that viewers will be able to continue to receive KWTV – News 9, KOTV - News On 6, Tulsa CW and CBS & CW programming through Dish Network.

Griffin and Dish agreed to an extension to finalize the contract based on this agreement to avoid disruption for our viewers.

January 10, 2011: Response to DISH Network form e-mail to subscribers

Recently, DISH Network subscribers received an e-mail from DISH regarding the contract negotiations. Below is a message from David Griffin, President & CEO of Griffin Communications in response to these e-mails.

Thank you for your e-mail about the contract negotiations between Griffin Communications and DISH Network. I am truly sorry DISH has put you in the middle of our negotiation for a fair carriage agreement.

Over the past several months and weeks, Griffin Communications has been negotiating with several cable and satellite systems which carry News 9, News On 6 and The Tulsa CW. With the exception of DISH Network, all negotiations have been completed without any threat of or any actual disruption of service for any of our viewers and we certainly hope this negotiation will resolve itself before things reach that point.

I would like to clarify two key points about the message DISH is distributing:

1. The price we are asking is based on what other carriers are paying and, therefore, not excessive, as claimed in the DISH message. A fair market rate has been set by their competitors.

2. The e-mails you are receiving (and forwarding) are form e-mails DISH has used in other parts of the country to bully TV stations into giving into their demands. I'm sorry to see them involving their subscribers, and our valuable viewers, in this negotiation. Please rest assured we are working diligently to resolve things in a timely manner.

Griffin Communications has agreements with every cable or satellite system and we have never had any issue negotiating a fair price for our service. I believe the bullying tactics used by DISH are appropriate for Wall Street and not main street Oklahoma.

Griffin Communications is committed to reaching an agreement prior to the January 15 deadline. If, for some reason, we are not able to reach an agreement, please remember you will always be able to receive News 9 or News On 6 using an antenna – free of charge or by contacting any other carrier.

We will continue to update you as the negotiations progress and will continue to negotiate in good faith to stop a possible service disruption.

Thanks again for reaching out to us and for watching Oklahoma's Own News 9, News On 6 and The Tulsa CW. We appreciate Oklahomans like you who choose to watch our stations!

Sincerely,

David

January 6, 2011: Possible loss of service on DISH Network

KOTV News On 6's parent company, Griffin Communications, is currently negotiating a renewal of its retransmission consent agreement with the satellite television provider DISH Network. If negotiations are not successfully concluded before January 16, 2011, DISH subscribers will not be able to view KOTV on DISH Network. Viewers will still be able to receive KOTV over the air as well as from other satellite and cable providers.

"We are working hard to make sure that there is not a disruption for DISH customers, but we want to advise our viewers that there is a possibility that an agreement will not be reached by the deadline," Rob Krier, Griffin Communications' COO, said. "We will continue to keep our viewers updated on the air and online."

Satellite distributors are prohibited by law from carrying a broadcaster's signal without consent. The existing agreement between Griffin and DISH expires at midnight on January 15, 2011.

Griffin Communications, L.L.C. is an Oklahoma-owned multimedia company whose holdings include KWTV/News 9 (CBS/Oklahoma City), KOTV/News On 6 (CBS/Tulsa) and KQCW/The Tulsa CW (Tulsa).

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