More fun for DISH customers

[MrRant 0]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - EchoStar Communications Corp. Chief Executive Officer Charles Ergen warned viewers of its Dish Network satellite TV service that they may soon take CNN, Cartoon Network, CNN Headline News, and Turner Classic Movies off the air in a fee dispute Turner Broadcasting System.

 

EchoStar's broadcast agreement with Turner, a unit of Time Warner Inc. expired at the end of 2003 and was renewed on a multi-month basis while the parties continue talks.

 

In a signal that the talks haven't gone particularly well, Charles Ergen took to the airwaves Monday night in one of his "Charlie's Chats" to explain the impasse to viewers and the reason they might lose CNN in the midst of renewed hostilities in Iraq.

 

An EchoStar spokesman said the company is seeking to wean the networks off a "satellite premium" the company had to pay in the past when the service was much smaller.

 

"We had to pay (a premium) when we were starting out in the business and had a small customer base," said EchoStar spokesman Steve Caulk. "Now we have 9.9 million subscribers we would like to get programmers out of the habit of receiving a satellite premium from us."

 

A spokeswoman for Turner Broadcasting said that negotiations continue and "we're hopeful that EchoStar will continue to make Turner available to Dish customers."

 

It's the second dispute with a major programmer this year for EchoStar, which pulled Viacom's MTV, Nickelodeon and CBS off the air for 48 hours in March when negotiations between the two companies reached an impasse.

 

Caulk said the current dispute is over similar issues. EchoStar wants to negotiate smaller rate increases in the coming years, Caulk said, in order to hold down the cost of the service for consumers.

 

EchoStar is the fourth-largest pay-TV service in the U.S.

 

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...08&section=news