Dish Network removed Gray Media’s stations for the first time in the company’s history following several months of negotiations over a new distribution agreement. Gray had provided multiple extensions to ensure uninterrupted service during high-profile events such as the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Game.

Dish insisted on including a materially adverse provision in the new agreement that Gray has never encountered among its roughly 400 distribution partners and which has no precedent in the decades-long pay-TV industry. Gray characterized the demand as a breach of Dish’s federal obligation to negotiate retransmission rights in good faith.

Millions of Dish subscribers across 114 markets have lost access to Gray’s top-rated local stations, potentially affecting advertising revenues for Gray Media. The company remains open to finalizing a deal without the contested clause or pursuing legal action to recover millions of dollars in alleged damages.