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The owner of WISH-TV Channel 8 failed to show evidence that a pair of television distributors racially discriminated against him in declining to pay retransmission fees to carry WISH and sister station WNDY-TV Channel 23, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in affirming a lower court’s decision.
The court ruled that when DISH and DirecTV Network declined to pay broadcast fees to Circle City Broadcasting for rights to carry the company’s two Indianapolis-based television stations, that decision did not reflect discrimination against Circle City’s majority owner, DuJuan McCoy, a Black man, or the company itself.
“For their part, DISH and DirecTV presented clear evidence of a race-neutral reason for their contractual negotiating decisions–Circle City’s lack of bargaining power,” the 7th Circuit Court ruled.
The ruling upholds an April 2023 decision by U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, which granted summary judgment in favor of DISH and DirecTV and concluded that Circle City failed to identify evidence permitting a jury to find that the decisions not to pay the broadcast fees reflected anything other than lawful business choices responsive to dynamics of the television broadcast market.
The lawsuits were first filed in 2020. The case is Circle City Broadcasting I, LLC v. AT&T Services, Incorporated, and DirecTV, LLC, 23-1787, and Circle City Broadcasting I, LLC v. DISH Network LLC, 23-1788.
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So 4+++ years later the Direct TV customers are still off the air! U should never put ur customers in the middle of actions. In the meantime Colts/Indians allow 8 and or 23 to have shows, that cannot reach all the Indiana public and fans of these sports franchises. So when are they coming back on the air???
Yes, time for Wish 8 to get over it and serve its viewers again. I’m tired of going to my antenna rooms to watch 8.
Both stations could have been on DirecTV/Dish this whole time. Reach an agreement, keep your stations on those platforms, advertising dollars coming in, and then sue for discrimination if you think you have a case. (which they never did) Some money is better than no money. Instead, both stations have been off DirecTV/Dish for 3+ years now and you have nothing to show for it. Your shows now have no following after not being viewed by these audiences. Either greed or poor management leading to dumb decisions, or both!