Dish satellite customers across the Atlanta market could lose Atlanta News First and Peachtree TV starting Tuesday evening if the satellite provider and Gray Media do not hammer out a new carriage agreement in time. The potential blackout would pull the plug on local newscasts and programs such as ATL Live, ANF Investigates and Monica Pearson’s One‑On‑One for Dish subscribers.
According to Atlanta News First, Dish has set a shutdown deadline of Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. and is urging its customers to contact the company. The station warned that if no renewal is reached, Dish subscribers would see Atlanta News First and Peachtree TV disappear from their channel lineups.
How to keep watching if channels go dark
Viewers are not completely out of luck if the talks fall apart. Atlanta News First and Peachtree TV are available free over the air with an antenna and through streaming apps on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android, and many pay‑TV and streaming platforms also carry the channels. Peachtree TV’s how‑to guide lists Dish, DirecTV and major cable providers as current carriers and points viewers to streaming options including YouTube TV and Hulu Live. For specific channel numbers and app details, see PeachtreeTV.
Contact DISH and immediate steps
Dish customers who want to complain, plead or just ask what on earth is going on can call the provider directly. Dish lists 1‑800‑333‑3474 as its primary customer number. Reaching out to the company, setting up a local antenna or downloading the stations’ streaming apps are the quickest ways to keep local newscasts coming if carriage is interrupted.
Why these disputes matter
Retransmission consent negotiations, the deals that let pay‑TV platforms carry local stations, are governed by federal rules that require good‑faith bargaining, outlined at 47 U.S.C. § 325 and compiled by the Legal Information Institute. Gray Media’s 2025 Form 10‑K notes that retransmission‑consent fees are a meaningful part of station revenue (Gray Media 10‑K), and the FCC has moved to require multichannel video programming distributors to report station blackouts to increase transparency, as explained on CommLawBlog.
Local precedent
Atlanta viewers have seen this movie before. WSB‑TV was off Dish for 17 months during a retransmission dispute before the parties finally struck a deal in April 2024, leaving subscribers without that station’s local newscasts for a long stretch. That saga showed how a short‑term standoff can drag on and test the patience of viewers and advertisers alike, according to reporting by The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution.
This story will be updated if Dish and Gray Media reach a deal or if Dish follows through on dropping the channels. In the meantime, Dish customers in Atlanta may want to check the station apps, set up an antenna if possible or press their provider about alternatives.
