Dish Network

Combining the two fading satellite TV operations isn’t a matter of if but only when, Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen says.

The station group and satellite TV provider have failed to reach a new carriage deal, so Dish subscribers in 42 markets have lost access to Scripps stations.

Dish subscribers have been blacked out from watching Cox Media Group stations in 10 markets due to a retransmission consent dispute. The stations had been enjoined from interfering with Dish’s ability to retransmit the signals under an agreement reached before Apollo Global Management last year, according to Dish. The case moved from state court in Illinois to federal court, which dissolved the restraining order Wednesday.

As part of Dish Network’s $1.4 billion agreement last week to purchase around 9 million Boost-branded mobile customers from T-Mobile, the company also quietly said it would purchase billions of dollars of additional spectrum. The deal underscores the fact that Charlie Ergen — the chairman of Dish Network and a key architect of the company’s 5G strategy — ostensibly has an utterly inexhaustible desire for spectrum.

ViacomCBS said it reached a new multi-year renewal of its carriage agreement with Dish Network. The agreement keeps the ViacomCBS broadcast and cable networks on Dish and its Sling TV virtual multichannel video programming distributors. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Satellite TV company Dish Network says it has closed on its acquisition of the prepaid service Boost Mobile from T-Mobile, effectively making the pay-TV company the country’s fourth major mobile provider alongside Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Dish is now focusing its new investments on building out a 5G network as the satellite TV business continues to shrink.

Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Dish Network’s corporate family rating due to an overall need for capital to refinance and repay debt and deleverage the company as revenues shrink due to secular industry pressure on satellite and Sling TV.

Dish Network will let go of an undisclosed number of employees as the pay-TV giant looks to weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A Dish spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to TheWrap, but did not elaborate on the number of employees or divisions impacted.

Charlie Ergen, the billionaire chairman and former CEO of Dish Network, took home $2.35 million in total pay for 2019, according to an SEC proxy filing issued on Friday. Ergen made $3.1 million for running the satellite TV service in 2018.

Cox said the move gives viewers access to important public health information during the COVID-19 crisis.

AMC Networks today announced a comprehensive, long-term distribution agreement with Dish Network and Sling TV that includes continued carriage of AMC Networks’ linear channels AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv and BBC World News, as well as the launch in the coming months of AMC Networks’ targeted SVOD services Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and Urban Movie Channel; AMC Networks’ ad-free offering AMC Premiere; and its IFC Films Unlimited streaming service.

Satellite TV provider Dish Network’s quarterly results beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as it lost fewer pay TV subscribers. Dish has been struggling to retain subscribers for its pay-TV business, as customers shift to online streaming services including those from Netflix, Walt Disney Co. and Apple.

When Dish Network lost 18 Apollo Global-owned Cox Media Group stations on Jan 18 (formerly Northwest Broadcasting stations), it managed to keep 13 Cox Media Group stations from going dark on its lineup thanks to a temporary restraining order issued by Illinois state court. But in the latest turn of events, Cox is suing Dish for copyright infringement for the continued carriage of those stations, which include Atlanta’s WSB and Orlando’s WFOX.

Dish Network said that its subscribers lost access to the signal from stations bought by Apollo Global Management in 10 markets at 7 p.m.  Saturday as retransmission consent negotiations failed. Apollo acquired the stations from Northwest Broadcasting last year.

Mission Broadcasting said its stations in 18 markets are no longer being carried by Dish Network because of a retransmission consent dispute. The stations were removed by Dish without warning Friday night, Mission said. The broadcaster said it had offered to extend its current agreement so viewers wouldn’t miss the beginning of the NFL playoff but Dish turned it down. Dish said the opposite happened, blaming Mission for the signals being pulled.

A+E Networks is looking to expand the scope of its targeted advertising capabilities in a deal with Dish and Adcuratio that will allow marketers to serve up spots with creative messages that can be tailored for specific households.

Dish’s Charlie Ergen said he has letters from three banks prepared to offer $10 billion to fund the company’s new wireless network as he appeared in federal court to testify in support of T-Mobile US’s purchase of rival Sprint.

Dish Network posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, as the satellite TV service provider surprised Wall Street by adding more pay TV subscribers. It increased its subs by 148,000 in the quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates for a loss of 166,000, according to research firm FactSet.

Fox-owned TV stations in 17 markets as well as FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes have gone dark on Dish Network in the latest carriage dispute to throw a wrench into the pay-TV ecosystem. The dispute affects Dish’s 12 million satellite households as well as millions more who subscribe to the internet-delivered bundle Sling TV, in 23 states and Washington, D.C.

Dish Network’s chances of buying DirecTV could be about as remote as a satellite that’s orbiting the earth. That’s the take from sources close to Dish CEO Charlie Ergen, who say that in addition to regulatory stumbling blocks, the mercurial billionaire faces tough financial hurdles in acquiring his longtime rival.

AT&T, which paid $49 billion to acquire DirecTV in 2015, has faced increasing pressure from investors to get the satellite distributor on a more promising path. This week, the notion that the companies could part ways has gained currency.

Meredith’s television stations in 12 markets return to the satellite provider’s lineup immediately after almost two months.

Disney has started advising Dish subscribers of a looming contract deadline with FX and National Geographic, which could go dark on the satellite system. The two companies had previously negotiated past a contract deadline in July, citing progress in the talks as the signals remained active on the satellite system. The current deadline is 9 p.m. PT today.

How does Locast think it can get away with retransmitting broadcast signals to smartphones and smart TVs without compensating broadcasters? By claiming to be a nonprofit. But I expect that a federal judge will see through that fiction and find that it is nothing more than a front for Dish and AT&T’s DirecTV.

Dish reported losing around 79,000 Dish TV subscribers during the latest quarter, while adding around 48,000 Sling TV subscribers.

FX and National Geographic will remain on Dish Network as negotiations continue with Disney over carriage fees past a midnight deadline. FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic and National Geographic Wild […]

The stations group has 16 stations pulled off the satellite service.

If Dish and Meredith fail to reach an agreement, 16 Meredith-owned stations’ programming will not be available on Dish systems as of 7 p.m. ET on July 15.

Google is in talks to help create a fourth U.S. wireless carrier, even as Sprint and T-Mobile struggle to get their controversial merger cleared with federal and state authorities.

If the Department of Justice is going to allow T-Mobile to merge with Sprint, it’s going to need more concessions from Deutsche Telekom. The German telecommunications company that will control a combined T-Mobile/Sprint is in talks with both Dish Network and the DOJ on the parameters of a divestiture and spectrum-hosting agreement that will prop up Dish as a new U.S. wireless competitor. Deutsche Telekom, Dish and the DOJ are close to an agreement, and a deal could be finalized by next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

AT&T Inc.’s DirecTV and Dish Network Corp., suffering the steepest subscriber losses in the pay-TV industry, are open to a merger and both companies believe such a deal could pass muster with U.S. regulators, according to people familiar with their thinking.