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Dish Network drops CNN and other Turner networks.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_26769635/undefined?source=infinite
Dow Jones Newswires, Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 12:01pm EDT
DISH NETWORK DUMPS CNN, OTHER TURNER BROADCASTING CHANNELS
By JOE FLINT and SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN
Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. is no longer carrying several channels owned by Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting cable unit, including CNN and Cartoon Network, after the companies failed to agree on a new distribution deal.
In a statement early Tuesday, Douglas County-based Dish said Turner Broadcasting removed the networks after the two companies were unable to come to terms. The most popular Turner-owned channels--TBS and TNT--remain available to Dish's more than 14 million subscribers because the contract covering those networks is yet to expire, a Dish spokesman said.
The primary sticking points are issues related to CNN, including the carriage fee increase Turner is seeking, the scope of digital rights that would be licensed, and the length of the contract, people familiar with the matter said. Dish is seeking to release an online video service by the end of this year and has secured rights from several media outlets.
The other networks that have been removed from Dish systems are the animation channel Boomerang, the news channel HLN, CNN en Espanol and truTV.
Turner laid the blame for the dispute on Dish, noting that it has already offered "multiple extensions and compromises" in negotiations over a period of months.
"Dish is once again operating in a disruptive manner that takes away networks and programming from their customers," the company said in a statement.
The drop comes at a troubling time for Turner, which has seen steep ratings declines at several of its networks. Earlier this month, Turner said it would lay off about 10 percent of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting plan to fund investments in programming and technology.
Time Warner has promised Wall Street big step-ups in carriage revenues in coming years at CNN and other Turner networks. The company has already negotiated deals with many big distributors that will deliver substantial fee increases. At an investor meeting last week, Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes pledged that the company will "more than double our earnings over the next several years."
Dish and Turner said they were hopeful that they'll still reach a deal. But the dispute is emblematic of rising pressures on the pay TV industry, as media companies that own TV channels seek to extract higher fees from cable and satellite TV providers, even as the overall pay-TV stagnates and shows signs of shrinkage. Pay-TV executives say programming cost increases are a primary driver of higher cable bills, which they say are prompting cost-conscious customers to "cut the cord" and are discouraging a new generation of viewers from ever signing up.
Some consumers are also scaling back on cable TV packages, downsizing to cheaper bundles of channels that don't include some major networks — a phenomenon that is affecting all major media companies, including Time Warner. Since 2010, the reach of TBS, TNT, CNN and HLN into American homes has shrunk by between 3 percent and 4.5 percent, or about three million to 4.5 million people, according to Nielsen data through September.
Carriage fights like the one between Dish and Turner are typically resolved fairly quickly, but this year some smaller operators have been showing a willingness to drop major programming groups for good. Dozens of small operators representing about two million customers have dropped Viacom Inc. channels such as MTV and Nickelodeon, in what appears to be a long-term decision.
shewjr
Scholar
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137 Messages
10 years ago
this a.m while next door at mom in laws....she turned on her dish to hln...and it wasn't there...she got upset...so i went to dbstalk.com.....and saw that it was a carriage dispute...i told her that usually they resolved within a couple of weeks
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mibrnsurg
Expert
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4.3K Messages
10 years ago
That's just standard operating procedure for Charlie Ergen, he'll take down any channel he doesn't get what he's willing to pay for.
Eventually they relent and come back up on Dish, they can't just write off all that prospective audience.
I know I had Dish from 2000-2008 before I got Uverse cause I couldn't get Dish HD because of a tree and the installer was honest up front. 😉
Chris
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dhascall
ACE - Master
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1.4K Messages
10 years ago
Love him or hate him, his strategy has been fairly good for his customers / investors. I bet if he was in charge of AT&T, we would have NHL and Hallmark, lol.
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CostaMesaCAGuy
Scholar
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88 Messages
10 years ago
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-turner-dish-network-cnn-20141121-story.html
Los Angeles Times, Friday, November 21, 2014, 2:21pm EST
TURNER, DISH AGREE TO RESTORE CNN, CARTOON NETWORK AND OTHERS
By RYAN FAUGHNDER, Los Angeles Times
CNN, Cartoon Network and other Turner Broadcasting channels are returning to Dish Network's satellite television service.
Dish and Turner on Friday said they have reached an agreement to temporarily restore service of CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, TCM, HLN and several other channels. Dish removed the channels in October when the two companies could not agree on a new contract.
The companies also agreed to extend carriage of cable channels TBS and TNT, Turner's most popular channels.
The agreement is not a long-term deal. The companies' extension, which lasts for several months, according to a person familiar with the matter, will allow the parties to continue negotiating a deal and will prevent TBS and TNT from going dark on Dec. 5 when the current contract was set to expire.
In a joint statement, Dish and Turner declined to comment further.
The developement comes shortly after CBS Corp. and Dish Network agreed to a deadline extension for a new contract, temporarily averting a blackout of CBS-owned television stations.
The dispute between the Dish and Turner, owned by Time Warner Inc., has been a contentious one.
Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen had told Wall Street analysts that he wasn't sure that CNN was still a must-carry network.
Turner Broadcasting Chief Executive John Martin returned fire during a conference call to discuss Time Warner's earnings, calling Ergen's comments "very antagonistic and aggressive."
The issue is not inconsequential for Turner. Dish has more than 14 million subscribers, making it one of the largest pay-TV providers in the country.
Copyright © 2014 Los Angeles Times.
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americangame
Professor
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265 Messages
10 years ago
I know it's one thing to avoid dropping channels from your lineup, but Dish is doing a great job of trying to lose customers. I think they've had about 6 contract disputes in the past year and 3 of them have caused blackouts.
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mibrnsurg
Expert
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4.3K Messages
10 years ago
Nah, you just get used to Charlie Ergen's method of negotiating, he always wins in the end anyways. The channels all give in as they don't want to lose all those suckers for their advertising.
Chris
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americangame
Professor
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265 Messages
10 years ago
Really? Because it looks like Dish is the loser each time since they usually cave to some degree. (loss of streaming extras, paying the agreed to cost anyway, loss of customers, etc.)
No one really ever says "Turner networks is the reason they're off the air, so I'm sticking with Dish and never watch TNT again."
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mibrnsurg
Expert
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4.3K Messages
10 years ago
I had Dish for 8 years b4 I got Uverse cause Dish could not give me HD due to trees in the way. I went thru so many of these channel takedowns, Charlie always explained them on his 'Charlie Chats' exactly what was happening at the time.
I never even thought of leaving Dish because of this, he always got his way and the channels relented to his amount of payment.
I'd probably never gotten Uverse if Dish had been able to give me reliable HD. 😉
Chris
__________________________________________________________
Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Need Help? PM ATT Uverse Care (all service problems)
ATT Customer Care(all other problems)
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more
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