Northwest Broadcasting and Dish Network ended their business relationship this...

Northwest stations said in a press release (http://xrl.us/bn3wsa). The affected TV stations are KAYU Spokane, Wash.; KCYU Yakima, Wash.; KMVU Medford, Ore.; and WICZ Binghamton, N.Y. The terms requested by Northwest “are almost identical to those agreed to by other providers,” the stations said. In the past 12 months, “our company has successfully completed 13 agreements with other operators,” they said. Northwest said it’s difficult to stand up to a $14 billion company like Dish, “but if we do not, we will not be able to survive in this economic environment.” Northwest rejected Dish’s offer “to pay the same rate as its competitors and, without a signed contract” so “Dish no longer has the legal right to carry those channels,” Dish said in a news release (http://xrl.us/bn3wtf). Dish is disappointed that Northwest “has chosen to be so unreasonable in their demands,” and Dish hopes the broadcaster “will begin to negotiate in more realistic terms as soon as possible,” Dish added. Northwest gave consumers “a raw deal when they chose to leverage 20-year-old, out-of-date retransmission consent rules,” American Television Alliance (ATVA) said on its blog (http://xrl.us/bn3wvs). ATVA urged FCC and Congress to revisit TV rules under the 1992 Cable Act: Broadcasters only have to dust off the 1992 Cable Act “and slam it down on the negotiating table to support their demands for more money."