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Viacom Channels Yanked From DISH Network
Customers In 16 Markets Lose CBS Affiliate
POSTED: 6:34 a.m. EST March 9, 2004
UPDATED: 1:59 p.m. EST March 9, 2004
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As many as 9 million DISH Network customers across the United States lost some of their TV channels early Tuesday morning.
EchoStar Communications, the parent company of the DISH Network, pulled the plug on 10 Viacom-owned nationally distributed channels, including MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon.
DISH customers in 16 markets lost their local CBS affiliate programs as well. The company is providing a $1 monthly credit to customers in the markets, in which the stations are owned and operated by CBS. They include: Austin, Texas, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Wis., Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and San Francisco.
The timing could give a whole new meaning to "March Madness," since CBS carries the NCAA basketball tournament, which starts next week.
DISH has posted an announcement about the cancellation on its Web site, along with a plea for consumers to call CBS.
The shutoff is the result of a contract dispute over programming fees. In a federal lawsuit filed by EchoStar in January, EchoStar charged that Viacom has tried to force it to carry MTV, Spike and other cable channels at unfair prices in exchange for the right to carry 18 CBS stations in 16 media markets.
Echostar said Viacom sought rate increases up to 40 percent over the length of the contract, which would total potentially hundreds of millions of dollars.
"DISH Network will always have a place for CBS and we're willing to pay for retransmission rights, but Viacom is holding the public airwaves hostage, trying to extract concessions and higher rates on programming unrelated to CBS," said Charles Ergen, chairman and chief executive officer of EchoStar.
Viacom officials said it has a solution. In a statement, the company urged DISH Network customers to switch services. A spokeswoman said the 40 percent increase cited by EchoStar is "overblown."
"We have solid business partnerships with virtually every other satellite and cable TV operator -- except for EchoStar/DISH Network," the company said in a statement. "It is hard for us to make sense of their position."
Relations between Viacom and EchoStar began souring as a contract expired at the end of December. No new talks are said to be scheduled.
DISH Network StatementDistributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
