DISH TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS: HBO OR IPAD?

DISH, the satellite TV provider, which, like its cable competitors, has generally offered new subscribers big discounts for pay-TV channels, will, effective on May 22, begin offering them an alternative choice: a free Apple iPad for use with its Hopper and Sling technology (with a 24-month contract). DISH customers will thus be able to watch […]

ESPN MUST PAY DISH $4.86 MILLION, BUT IT’S A HOLLOW LEGAL WIN

A federal jury on Thursday ordered ESPN to pay satellite service DISH network $4.86 million for breaching a 2005 licensing agreement involving its Spanish-language channel, ESPN Deportes. But it was a hollow victory. DISH had sought $153 million in damages, claiming that ESPN had breached the “most favored nation” clause in their contract, which requires […]

DISH USING ADS FOR HOPPER DVR — WHICH SKIPS ADS

DISH Network is using advertisements to tout its anti-advertisement technology, Auto Hop. The campaign features a demonstration of the new Hopper DVR with Sling that allows DISH’s subscribers not only to watch programs they have recorded without commercials on their TV sets but also on their smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. One spot begins with […]

DISH HITS BACK AT CBS OVER AWARD INTERCESSION

Following reports that CBS, which owns the technology website CNET, blocked the site from giving DISH Network’s Hopper DVR its “Best of CES” award, DISH itself is taking out newspaper ads proclaiming that the Hopper was “Named Best in Show” followed by an asterisk. “What’s an asterisk doing in our award?” the ad asks, then […]

DISH TURNS IPADS INTO REMOTES — AND MORE

DISH Network, the satellite TV service, has launched a free app for the iPad that, when used in conjunction with its commercial-skipping Hopper DVR, eliminates the need for a remote. While the Hopper can only skip commercials on programs that users have recorded, the app also enhances live programming as well, the company said in […]

TWC DUMPS CURRENT TV AFTER SALE TO AL-JAZEERA

Within hours of learning that Al Jazeera had acquired Current TV, Time Warner Cable pulled the plug on the channel, replacing it with a message reading “This channel is no longer available.” The cable company declined to offer an explanation for its action, stating only that “our agreement with Current will be terminated and we […]

DISH AND GOOGLE TEAMING UP?

Satellite TV provider DISH Network is in talks with Google about a possible partnership in a ground-based cellular service that would deliver the Internet and mobile phone service wirelessly, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Friday), citing people familiar with the discussions. Google declined comment as did DISH Chairman Charlie Ergen, except to acknowledge that […]

WALKING DEAD WALKS BACK TO DISH NETWORK

AMC and its Cablevision sibling networks will be returning to the DISH satellite network following the settlement of a breach-of-contract lawsuit by Cablevision against DISH over the now-defunct Voom HD service. Cablevision had sued DISH for more than $2.5 billion after DISH dropped the service. The settlement calls for DISH to pay Cablevision $700 million […]

SEASON DEBUT OF WALKING DEAD SETS RECORD

Signaling cable television’s increasing robustness in its competition with broadcast TV, the third season of AMC’s The Walking Dead drew 10.9 million viewers Sunday night — a record for a basic-cable dramatic series. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that 7.3 million — or 67 percent — of the audience was in the key […]

MOONVES MAY YANK CBS OFF DISH NETWORK

CBS chief Les Moonves vowed on Wednesday to yank his network’s programming off DISH network if the satellite distributor continues to offer its Hopper DVR to subscribers. “Hopper cannot exist,” Moonves said at an investors conference in Beverly Hills. “If Hopper exists, we will not be in business with [DISH] — it’s pure and simple. […]

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