Dish Sues NBCuniversal as TV Programming Dispute Escalates

Dish Network Corp. sued Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal for threatening to disconnect local TV channels, escalating a standoff that could cut customers’ access to shows like the “The Voice” and “The Blacklist.”

NBC, with scrolling messages on viewers’ TV screens and website, makedishdeliver.com, has been warning Dish subscribers about a possible blackout of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives” and USA Networks’ “Mr. Robot,” among others, as well as the MSNBC and CNBC networks.

Those sorts of communications aren’t allowed under Dish’s contract with NBCU, the Englewood, Colorado-based satellite distributor said in a complaint filed in Chicago federal court. “Dish’s subscribers flood Dish’s ...