WICHITA, Kan. — DISH subscribers no longer have access to local ABC affiliate KAKE-TV.

There’s a rate dispute between the two companies. In a news release, DISH officials say they offered to extend contract negotiations, but Lockwood Broadcasting, the parent company of KAKE, has blacked out DISH customers’ access to the local channel.

As Lockwood shared with its viewers, satellite operators are prohibited by law from carrying broadcasters’ signals without their consent.

They add that DISH and Lockwood had been making steady progress in recent negotiations. DISH was hopeful that both parties were close to reaching a mutual agreement to renew KAKE.

Each year, the cost to carry local broadcast stations rises far beyond the rate of inflation, leading to blackouts across the country that affect millions of subscribers of various pay-TV companies.

Lockwood officials note that they’ve reached an impasse in negotiating the renewal with DISH.

KAKE is a small, family-owned broadcast system, one of a few still left in America. They note that DISH Network is a multi-billion-dollar company that reported revenue of $3.6 billion in just the third quarter of 2017.

Until negotiations can be settled, DISH customers will not receive KAKE-TV as part of the satellite provider’s service.