CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- DISH may stop airing WCHS TV8 and WVAH Fox 11 if it can't reach an agreement on price, the company announced Tuesday.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns the stations, and DISH have been in negotiations for months over a retransmission consent agreement that expires Wednesday.

In a written statement Tuesday, DISH said Sinclair is asking for a "massive price increase."

"We carry more than 1,800 local broadcast stations nationwide. WCHS and WVAH and their owners are asking for more than any other station anywhere in the country," Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming for DISH, said in a written statement. "This goes beyond pure corporate greed -- it's profoundly insensitive to the needs of the public."

In a statement on its website, Sinclair said DISH will discontinue carrying 70 Sinclair stations Wednesday night.

"Although Sinclair is continuing to negotiate with DISH over the terms of a new agreement, Sinclair believes significant doubt exists as to whether or not a new agreement will be reached with DISH," according to the statement. "In this event, DISH will discontinue carriage of these stations beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012."