Apollo, Now a Local-TV Giant, Ensnared in Fee Spat With Dish

(Bloomberg) -- Apollo Global Management, which built a local-TV empire during a recent dealmaking push, is now contending with one of the industry’s biggest frustrations: contract disputes with satellite and cable companies.

Dish Network Corp. said customers in 10 cities lost local TV stations after the signals were yanked by Apollo’s Cox Media Group. Cox blamed Dish for the halt. The companies have been unable to reach a new agreement that would let Dish retransmit the stations to pay-TV customers in those markets.

The fight has been lingering since at least January, when the channels were shut off and a temporary restraining order reinstated them. Cox Media Group says it is working to reach a “fair market carriage agreement” and that it was Dish that dropped the channels.

The dispute means Dish customers in those areas will be unable to see the local station programming and feeds from networks including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. The missing channels affect Atlanta, Boston, Pittsburgh and Seattle, along with Charlotte, North Caroline; Dayton, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Haggling over contract renewals often involves bitter standoffs, accusations and, always, threatens an innocent local customer who can be punished with blocked channels. It’s familiar territory for billionaire Charlie Ergen, the chairman and co-founder of Dish, who became the only operator to pull HBO from his company’s channel lineup over a contract dispute.

Recent Deals

It’s newer territory for Apollo, the $23 billion New York-based private equity shop run by Leon Black, with holdings that span nine different industries. Apollo agreed to buy Cox’s stations last year in a deal that put the value of the properties at around $3 billion. Apollo also purchased about a dozen stations from Northwest Broadcasting Inc.

“Apollo’s decision to black out its channels inhibits customers from getting their local programming as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the nation,” Dish said in a statement.

Cox Media said Dish dropped the signals and has control over whether the channels are available. The company accused Dish of using “inflammatory” and “combative tactics.”

“During these times of uncertainty, it is more important than ever that our viewers know their trusted local stations are there for them,” Paul Curran, a Cox Media executive vice president, said in a statement.

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