CBS has slapped Dish Network in the face with one glove, as the network warns they may soon drop from the satellite provider’s offered programming slate. This “blackout” would effect all CBS affiliates in 14 major US cities including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Detroit.
This isn’t the first time a network has bumped heads with Dish regarding contract renewals. All of Turner Broadcasting’s channels, except TBS and TNT, are dark on the platform for a similar contract negotiation feud. Just earlier this month, AMC alerted its audience of a possible programming interruption on DirecTV due to the expiration of their carriage agreement and back in 2012, they kept their promise and shows like Mad Men and The Walking Dead were suddenly missing from Dish Network’s programming options. From Deadline:
“CEO Les Moonves told an investor conference this week that the company is still negotiating a renewal of its carriage deal with Dish. “I said to [Dish Chairman]Charlie Ergen, your people won’t be very happy not having the Denver Broncos on the air” if CBS goes dark. “There would be a lot of heat for not having CBS programs on.”
Dish says that “only CBS can force a blackout of its channels” and that it is “actively working to reach a deal before the contract expires… We are unsure why CBS decided to involve customers in the contract negotiation process at a point when there is time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal.” (Via)
Sportsball references aside, this is a pretty ballsy move by CBS who just launched a standalone streaming service which offers many of their programs for a monthly fee of $5.99. The network has urged customers to send their gripes straight to Dish, whether through social media or snail mail (it IS CBS we’re talking about here!). They have also been actively offering up information to assist customers with switching providers. Your move, Dish!
Source: (Deadline)
