DISH put out a recent statement in the reference to the row that it’s currently having over distribution renewal negotiations with NBC-Universal.

“NBC’s public statements against DISH over the past 24 hours are in violation of the contract between the two companies. Today, DISH filed a breach of contract lawsuit against NBC to address those violations,” DISH reported on Tuesday.

DISH says its goal is to reach a mutually beneficial deal with NBC, but “based on NBCU’s actions to date,” it expects to file for arbitration, which reportedly would prevent NBC from blacking out DISH customers.

An NBC-Universal spokesperson responded back on Wednesday with the statement: “Should DISH proceed with arbitration we will of course participate in the process, and look forward to receiving the fair market value for our portfolio of networks.”

As previously reported in CED, NBC-Universal told DISH subscribers via makedishdeliver.com that they’ll potentially lose a group of NBC-Universal networks. That would include the NBC and Telemundo broadcast stations, and the programmer asked subscribers to protest via social media or phone.

“Under the conditions imposed by the FCC and Department of Justice in approving the Comcast/NBC-Universal merger, NBC is forbidden from blacking out its networks if a pay TV provider chooses, in its sole discretion, to exercise its right for binding arbitration. Regulators implemented these conditions to prevent Comcast and NBC from harming consumers and competition,” DISH says in its statement.

“In the event of arbitration, affected programming would remain available during that process, and for the foreseeable future,” DISH reports.

This article has been updated to include NBC-Universal’s statement.