DISH PLAYS HARBALL ON TRIBUNE/CW AFFILATES ON ITS SYSTEM.

Dish Network for the 12th time (in three years,) has knocked out a huge station group-off its programming slate. Local CW station KTLA, started running (like the other 42 Tribune owned stations, hitting 50 million homes) toll free hotlines to focre Dish, back to the negotionag table to keep giving viewers what they need.

This deals a serous blow to WGN America, just as its establishing itself- as a major player of quality programing, with the accliamed Undeground and white trash soap, Outsiders.

The usual spiel from Dish, this move is to save the customers money, from ever increasing rate from seflish and greedy Cable netwroks, lining their own pockets.

"We want to keep servicing our local communities and we have repeatedly offered Dish a lengthy extension to continue negotiations—unfortunately, Dish rejected these offers," stated Tribune Media's senior vice president of corporate relations,Gary Weitman. 

Tribune's other stations, are big network affilates.The Dish deal allowed- Viewers to miss Hamilton's run,at Tony glory in major CBS markets.Plus, viewers missed the NBA finals, on their ABC channels.

Weitman concedes,"We've offered the same kind of fair market rates that Dish already pays other local station groups with ABC, CBS, NBC and CW affiliates with top-rated local news, and other similarly valued cable networks,"