Dish wins a must carry complaint...the below is from SkyReport
For the uninformed, this use to be KWBS, which was a PAX station owned by Equity Broadcasting. Equity won a case against PAX about programming (or lack therof) on PAX..so they were able to drop PAX from 4 of their networks. The others being
WBIF-Panama City, FL
WPXS-St Louis area
KWBS
WBMM-Alabama
Since then…WBMM has gone to Daystar, WBIF is now UPN and WPXS is Equity’s “Lick TV moniker”, mostly showing infomercials and pro wrestling/boxing/fishing shows. KWBS was relabeled KWFT and is now WB. It is using the feed from the cable only WB feed and putting it OTA and on free to air (as most Equity stations are). Why Dish won’t put it on there is anyone’s guess.
A must-carry complaint filed against EchoStar by commercial TV station KWFT in Eureka Springs, Ark., was denied by the Federal Communications Commission. KWFT told the FCC it's entitled to carriage since the station is a qualified, non-duplicative TV channel assigned to the Ft. Smith, Ark., market. The station recently moved from the Springfield, Mo., DMA to the Ft. Smith market. In response, EchoStar said the station has no current carriage rights in the Ft. Smith market because there's no mechanism for an existing station to gain carriage in mid cycle. The Media Bureau at the FCC agreed, and denied the station's request.
For the uninformed, this use to be KWBS, which was a PAX station owned by Equity Broadcasting. Equity won a case against PAX about programming (or lack therof) on PAX..so they were able to drop PAX from 4 of their networks. The others being
WBIF-Panama City, FL
WPXS-St Louis area
KWBS
WBMM-Alabama
Since then…WBMM has gone to Daystar, WBIF is now UPN and WPXS is Equity’s “Lick TV moniker”, mostly showing infomercials and pro wrestling/boxing/fishing shows. KWBS was relabeled KWFT and is now WB. It is using the feed from the cable only WB feed and putting it OTA and on free to air (as most Equity stations are). Why Dish won’t put it on there is anyone’s guess.