SALT LAKE CITY — KUTV was back on DISH Network on Wednesday after going dark the day before, but KSL-TV's signal on DirecTV remains blacked out.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns KUTV, announced it has reached an agreement in principle with DISH Network to the carry the company's broadcast television stations.
"The parties have entered into a two-week extension in order to allow time to document the agreement," Sinclair said in a statement.
DISH, the second-largest U.S. satellite TV company, said 129 Sinclair stations in 36 states and the District of Columbia were pulled from its service Tuesday. DISH called it "the largest local channel blackout in the history of television."
DISH and Sinclair had agreed on fees to carry its TV stations, but the broadcaster was holding out to try to negotiate a carriage agreement for a cable channel it does not yet own, according to DISH.
DISH filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Aug. 15, urging it to intervene to protect consumers from Sinclair's actions.
“We are grateful for the FCC’s work on behalf of consumers to actively broker a productive path forward,” Jeff Blum, DISH senior vice president and deputy general counsel, said in statement.
Although both KSL and KUTV went black, their disputes with DirecTV and DISH Network, respectively, are different.
Talks between KSL-TV and DirecTV are ongoing.
"While I don’t speak for DirecTV, I think it’s fair to say that both sides would like this to come to a resolution soon, and both would like to see KSL back on DirecTV. We are certainly working to that end," said KSL General Manager Tanya Vea.
After months of negotiations and several contract extensions, the two companies haven't reached an agreement to keep the station as part of the satellite giant's programming.
AT&T bought DirecTV last month, making it the largest pay TV provider in the U.S. and the world.
KSL contends DirectTV is refusing to pay current market value rates, which are significantly lower than rates they already pay to other channels with smaller audiences. DirecTV argues that Bonneville International wants Salt Lake subscribers to pay almost three times as much just to keep the same KSL shows they’ve always had.
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