Largest TV blackout in US history hits Dish because of money dispute

Dish Network today said its customers are experiencing "the largest blackout in US television history," all because of a money dispute between Dish and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

129 stations in 36 states and Washington, DC, went dark yesterday afternoon, affecting about 5 million Dish customers. Overall, Sinclair owns or operates 153 stations, with 87 of them being "affiliates of the four major broadcast networks—CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox—meaning customers lost access to local and national news programming as well as sports carried by those stations," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Sinclair is the nation's largest broadcast group, according to the FCC. With almost 14 million subscribers, Dish is the second largest satellite TV provider after the AT&T-owned DirecTV.