Univision Warns DISH Subs of Potential Blackout

DISH subscribers may lose access to Univision as the two companies struggle to reach a new carriage deal.

A statement from the U.S. Hispanic broadcaster noted, “DISH has left us no choice but to alert our viewers that they could face yet another DISH service interruption. For many years, DISH and UCI have had a successful partnership, which has helped establish DISH as a popular pay-TV provider for Hispanic America. In fact, Univision is the third most-watched network on DISH in any language, UDN is DISH’s second most-watched sports channel in any language, UniMás is a top-15 network regardless of language on DISH, and, collectively, Univision’s networks represent 60 percent of the total Spanish-language viewership on DishLATINO.”

Univision says the DTH operator has “dismissed multiple good-faith carriage offers from UCI, including one to extend our current agreement to avoid a disruption of service. While DISH’s own lead negotiator recently compared programming disputes to ‘having a heart attack,’ DISH still seems intent on entering what would be their 68th broadcast blackout since 2010 and causing yet another heart attack for their customers. We remain hopeful that we can reach a fair deal with DISH that doesn’t deprive its customers and our viewers access to the indispensable news, information and content that they rely upon from UCI, now more than ever.”

DISH says it is “actively working to reach a fair deal” with Univision before the deal expires, “knowing that only Univision can choose to take its content away from DISH and Sling customers.”

DISH maintains that Univision is asking for a 75-percent rate increase for “channels whose ratings have declined by nearly a third over the past five years,” the platform said in a statement. “This from a company that lost its ability to offer the World Cup not just this year but in 2022 and 2026. And remember, many DISH customers are able to receive Univision for free using over-the-air antennas. We are unsure why Univision decided to involve customers in the contract negotiation process at this point. There is still time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal.”