Rockford Dish Network Customers Could Lose A Local Channel Tonight(UPDATED)

Do you enjoy NCIS, Ellen and Andy and Aaron? If so, and you have Dish Network, that could be coming to an end. 

Updated 8:30 PM.....According to the WIFR TV Facebook page, A deal has been reached.

When it comes to television viewing you have different options. Cable is always a popular option. Another very popular option is to go with a dish. Directv is one of the providers. The other provider that competes against Directv is Dish Network.

A big reason why people go with these options is the viewing of local channels. Those channels are able to be viewed as an agreement between the provider and the local channels. One of those channels that is featured on Dish Network is WIFR TV.

There is bad news for Dish Network viewers of the CBS affiliate. The owners of the station, Gray Television Inc has been trying to negotiate with Dish Network on an agreement to carry the station. As of today, that has not been reached and there is a chance that tonight at 6 PM, Dish customers will not have Channel 23 to watch anymore.

There is a website called keeptvlocal.com that explains what this all means.

"Local broadcast TV stations exist to serve their communities. They produce the news, weather and local sports coverage you depend on, as well as performing vital community service. All that is made possible through the agreements TV stations reach with cable and satellite companies that carry our signal to your homes. Those deals are called "retransmission consent" agreements.

Unfortunately, consumers can be held hostage if a powerful cable or satellite company refuses to reach a fair deal with a local station. In those cases, a local station can be "blacked out" on a satellite system. As a result, viewers like you can miss out on programming you love like NFL and NCAA basketball, primetime network programs and your local news."

How long will it last? That all depends on how far apart both sides are in agreeing. If they are close and are working on a deal, they will extend the agreement until it is reached, which is what I hope happens, or they walk away and then Dish takes it off the air.

What can you do if Dish takes it off the air? You can purchase an off-the-air antenna and watch WIFR that way. Another option is to switch providers.

Hopefully for Dish viewers, they can come to an agreement. Otherwise, Whitney Martin, Mike Garrigan, Mark Henderson, and Mike Buda will have a few less viewers at night.