EchoStar’s satellite-TV service Dish Network should have probably taken a hint from CBS’ retransmission consent fight with Time Warner Cable in summer 2013: when CBS wasn’t getting the license fees it wanted, it pulled its signal from the service. That resulted in many subscribers switching away from Time Warner Cable and never coming back. Now Time Warner Cable is in the process of being sold to Comcast.
That’s the scenario Dish Network faces right now, which means that the service is in danger of losing — at least temporarily — such hugely popular CBS offerings as NFL football, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS and so on in all 14 markets where CBS owns TV stations, including New York and Los Angeles. CBS’ current agreement with Dish ends Thursday.
CBS has launched a Web site — www.keepcbs.com — to warn viewers of this impending issue.
Like Time Warner Cable, Dish Network is trying to pin the blame on CBS: “Only CBS can force a blackout of its channels,” Dish said in a statement. “Dish is actively working to reach a deal before the contract expires and has successfully negotiated agreements representing hundreds of stations in recent months that benefit all parties, including our viewers. We are unsure why CBS decided to involve customers in the contract negation process at a point when there is time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal.”
It’s true that if Dish loses CBS, it’s because CBS has decided to pull its TV station signals. That said, it also means that Dish has refused to pay CBS’ asking price. Neither of those things matter to consumers — until they get their increased pay-TV bill months later. What matters to them is that they can’t watch their favorite show on a service they feel they are paying quite a bit for.
CBS is not alone in fighting contentious retransmission consent battles with Dish. Last month, Dish dropped the Turner networks, including TNT, TBS and CNN, and isn’t in a hurry to put them back on. AMC also recently issued a warning similar to CBS’ to subscribers of DirecTV, with whom AMC Networks’ carriage contract expires at the end of the year.
Read More: Multichannel News, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter
Brief Take: Echostar Chairman Charlie Ergen is known for playing hardball, but CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, with the power of CBS’ programming behind him, might be more than Ergen bargained for.
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