Rainbow PUSH Criticizes Dish in Tribune Blackout
Pointing to WGN America's original series Underground being part of the Tribune Broadcasting content blacked out on Dish Network, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition is urging Dish to "act on Tribune Media's ... fair-market offer that all other cable, satellite and…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
telco distributors have agreed to." In a letter to Dish CEO Charlie Ergen the coalition released Friday, Rainbow PUSH President Jesse Jackson Sr. said Dish is "disparaging the network that created Underground and counting out millions of African Americans who watch the show." In a statement, Dish said it's "proud of its record of providing a wide variety of diverse programming choices for the American consumer at a reasonable price," and Jackson "was only listening to the Tribune side of the story." Dish also said Jackson and Tribune CEO Peter Liguori hadn't responded to a lunch invitation from Ergen, "where it was our hope that, with all the facts on the table, there could be a sharing of ideas that would have allowed DISH and Tribune to reach an agreement that was fair to our subscribers and to Tribune." Tribune and Dish repeatedly blamed one another for the blackout of 42 Tribune channels in 33 markets (see 1606150053) and Dish is suing Tribune for a blackout-related ad campaign (see 1606210070).