Tester on DISH Agreement: ‘Return of local news is good news’

(U.S. SENATE) – Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after DISH Network and NBC Montana reached an agreement to return Montanans’ local NBC news broadcasts to the airwaves, ending a dispute that kept Montana families from getting local news coverage:

“The return of Montanans’ local news is good news. Montanans need local news for everything from weather alerts to public safety announcements. I’m glad folks in western Montana will once again be able to get the critical information they paid for and need. I will continue to keep a close eye on the situation.”

NBC Montana broadcasts local news and programming on KTVM in Butte-Bozeman, KECI in Missoula and KCFW in Kalispell. The contract dispute with DISH began in December.

Tester previously announced in December that he successfully got the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to back off a proposed rule that would have led to greater media consolidation.

The FCC, which regulates interstate communications, last year issued a proposal to allow a region’s major newspaper to also own its leading TV or radio station. Tester told the FCC that the change could ultimately lead to fewer independent Montana news stations and local media coverage.