EchoStar Users Can't Get Their MTV (Or CBS)

from the cable-fight! dept

Well, the fight is on. Yesterday, there was some discussion in our comments about scrolling messages seen on CBS about the Dish Network. It was assumed that these were an attempt to "TiVo-proof" advertisements, but it turns out to be something entirely different. They weren't so much ads for the Dish network, but against the Dish Network. Viacom and EchoStar (owners of the Dish Network) have been fighting over how much EchoStar should pay for Viacom programming. EchoStar claims that Viacom is asking for too much money, and requiring that Dish include many channels that they have no interest in including. Thus, as of midnight last night, the Dish Network has stopped carrying Viacom channels, including CBS and MTV, in certain cities (representing about 17% of their customers). It appears the so-called "ads" were actually warning messages that Dish was going to turn off Viacom programming (as they did). Over at TheStreet.com, they're running a good analysis of the growing tension between content and delivery that this fight represents, and suggests this is one of the many reasons why all these media companies (on both sides of the equation) are looking to get bigger, in order to have more leverage in these deals. Meanwhile, here's an interview with EchoStar's Charlie Ergen that was conducted late last week, where he makes it clear that he's not ready to budge unless Viacom lowers their prices.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Timothy Johnson, 9 Mar 2004 @ 2:30pm

    Dan Rather makes too much money anyway...

    I'm waiting for a group similar to the RIAA to walk in and say that each Dish Network Customer is going to be required to pay a royalty to watch Friends, or Dan Rather, or whatever - and god forbid you have more than one person in your home while it's on.

    I think I'm going to switch from Dish Network to Home Movies my dad made in 1962 about my first vacation to the beach... and I wasn't even born until 78!?

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.