Dish, Hearst Point Fingers at One Another for Blackout

Dish Network and Hearst are blaming one another for a blackout that started Friday of 37 Hearst channels in 27 markets that had been carried by Dish. Dish said Friday that Hearst "is demanding tens of millions of dollars in rate increases that would affect customers, while it devalues its product by making programming available elsewhere, even as viewership declines." According to Hearst, all its stations' websites carry a message saying that while the station chain has "made significant investments to deliver top tier programming ... DISH is seeking the right to carry our stations at below market rates, which is neither fair nor reasonable."