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Didn't realize this was going on and while I think it will go the same way the Dish v. Fox episode went, it would still suck to lose The Walking Dead and would REALLY suck to lose Hell on Wheels, which comes back in August. I guess I need to check the DVR and make sure it's catching my HDNet recordings now that the channel has a new spot on the guide.
"Dish, AMC Networks play hardball in dispute: Satcaster downgrades channels as 'Mad Men' spots warn viewers
June 04, 2012|Cynthia Littleton | Variety
Amid a standoff on carriage talks, satcaster Dish Network is playing hardball with AMC Networks, downgrading the channel positions of its flagship cabler as well as IFC and We TV.
As of midnight, AMC, IFC and We TV moved out of the cluster of general entertainment networks to near the bottom of the channel list near the infomercial outlets. AMC's standard-definition channel had been in the advantageous position of channel 130, but has now been exiled to channel 9609. IFC dropped from 131 to 9608 while We TV sank from 128 to 9607.
Dish and AMC Networks jousting is heating up as the June 30 contract expiration approaches. Dish already dropped AMC Networks' Sundance Channel on May 20.
AMC also raised the stakes in Sunday's episode of "Mad Men," which featured multiple spots warning Dish Network subscribers of the pending loss and urging them to support its campaign to pressure the Englewood, Colo.-based satcaster. Similar spots will run in AMC's "The Killing" and other shows.
On Monday, many Dish subscribers were likely convinced that AMC had been dropped entirely, a week before the "Mad Men" season finale, when they couldn't find the channel in its usual spot.
Dish spokesman Robert Toevs said AMC's move to put the warning spots in its shows "hastened" the decision to downgrade the channel positions. Dish moved Mark Cuban's HDNet into the channel position previously held by AMC, while IFC was replaced with IndiePlex movie channel and We TV was replaced with NBCUniversal's Style Network.
The talks between Dish and AMC are complicated by pending litigation between the two sides that stems from a 2008 contract wrangle involving AMC Networks' former parent company, Cablevision. That case, in which Cablevision accused Dish of reneging on a contract to carry a suite of HD channels branded Voom, is set to go to trial Sept. 18 in New York federal court.
AMC maintains that Dish's hardball in the contract renewal is tied to the lawsuit. Dish insists that the issue is the price hikes that AMC Networks is seeking for the four channels. The sides don't even agree on whether negotiations are continuing. Toevs said Dish has made the decision not to renew its AMC Networks carriage contract after June 30 but adds in the same breath that Dish hopes the sides can come to a resolution. The lawsuit is a "separate issue," Toevs said.
Dish's major complaint is that AMC Networks is seeking higher fees for IFC, Sundance and We TV as well as the AMC mothership, which has been on a roll with original series such as "The Walking Dead" and "Hell on Wheels."
"It's our fundamental contention that AMC Networks channels are not delivering value to our subscribers for the price they are asking," Toevs said.
In a statement, AMC Networks said: "It is unfortunate that, in retaliation for an unrelated lawsuit, Dish is punishing its customers by threatening to drop the AMC Networks, and with this sudden, dramatic change in channel position, making it extremely difficult for their customers to find and watch some of the most popular and acclaimed shows on television."
"Dish, AMC Networks play hardball in dispute: Satcaster downgrades channels as 'Mad Men' spots warn viewers
June 04, 2012|Cynthia Littleton | Variety
Amid a standoff on carriage talks, satcaster Dish Network is playing hardball with AMC Networks, downgrading the channel positions of its flagship cabler as well as IFC and We TV.
As of midnight, AMC, IFC and We TV moved out of the cluster of general entertainment networks to near the bottom of the channel list near the infomercial outlets. AMC's standard-definition channel had been in the advantageous position of channel 130, but has now been exiled to channel 9609. IFC dropped from 131 to 9608 while We TV sank from 128 to 9607.
Dish and AMC Networks jousting is heating up as the June 30 contract expiration approaches. Dish already dropped AMC Networks' Sundance Channel on May 20.
AMC also raised the stakes in Sunday's episode of "Mad Men," which featured multiple spots warning Dish Network subscribers of the pending loss and urging them to support its campaign to pressure the Englewood, Colo.-based satcaster. Similar spots will run in AMC's "The Killing" and other shows.
On Monday, many Dish subscribers were likely convinced that AMC had been dropped entirely, a week before the "Mad Men" season finale, when they couldn't find the channel in its usual spot.
Dish spokesman Robert Toevs said AMC's move to put the warning spots in its shows "hastened" the decision to downgrade the channel positions. Dish moved Mark Cuban's HDNet into the channel position previously held by AMC, while IFC was replaced with IndiePlex movie channel and We TV was replaced with NBCUniversal's Style Network.
The talks between Dish and AMC are complicated by pending litigation between the two sides that stems from a 2008 contract wrangle involving AMC Networks' former parent company, Cablevision. That case, in which Cablevision accused Dish of reneging on a contract to carry a suite of HD channels branded Voom, is set to go to trial Sept. 18 in New York federal court.
AMC maintains that Dish's hardball in the contract renewal is tied to the lawsuit. Dish insists that the issue is the price hikes that AMC Networks is seeking for the four channels. The sides don't even agree on whether negotiations are continuing. Toevs said Dish has made the decision not to renew its AMC Networks carriage contract after June 30 but adds in the same breath that Dish hopes the sides can come to a resolution. The lawsuit is a "separate issue," Toevs said.
Dish's major complaint is that AMC Networks is seeking higher fees for IFC, Sundance and We TV as well as the AMC mothership, which has been on a roll with original series such as "The Walking Dead" and "Hell on Wheels."
"It's our fundamental contention that AMC Networks channels are not delivering value to our subscribers for the price they are asking," Toevs said.
In a statement, AMC Networks said: "It is unfortunate that, in retaliation for an unrelated lawsuit, Dish is punishing its customers by threatening to drop the AMC Networks, and with this sudden, dramatic change in channel position, making it extremely difficult for their customers to find and watch some of the most popular and acclaimed shows on television."
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