CBS accused Dish Network on Tuesday of “dragging its feet” in contract negotiations that could prevent satellite TV customers from watching shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” “NCIS” and Sunday NFL daygames after Thursday.
In a national campaign, the network is encouraging viewers to complain to Dish, switch TV service providers, and tell friends on social networks — or face losing KCNC, the CBS affiliate in Denver.
“Now, as the deadline nears, Dish appears willing to drop the most popular programming in its entire channel lineup because it won’t negotiate the same sort of deal that other cable, satellite and telco companies have struck with CBS,” the network said in a statement.
With the threat of losing football looming, Dish responded saying, “Only CBS can force a blackout of its channels.”
Neither side would go into what’s at issue with a new contract, but it is likely over carriage fees, which Dish would pay on a per-customer basis to CBS. The current contract expires on Thursday. A new contract is needed for several markets besides Denver, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Dallas.
The Douglas County satellite TV service has faced disputes before.
A stalled negotiation with Turner Networks resulted in Dish customers with no CNN on election night. Several Turner channels, including Cartoon Network, are no longer available to Dish customers.
During Dish’s earnings call this month, founder Charlie Ergen mentioned the Turner dispute and said the network is asking for more money even though viewership is down for CNN. Ergen also addressed CBS, saying how consumers today have the ability to watch many of the same shows online.
“It makes the product less interesting for” providers, Ergen said.
TV viewers everywhere have probably seen CBS commercials warning Dish customers they could lose several CBS shows. The network also set up a site, at , to “alert fans” to contact Dish and share discontent on social networks.
“We are committed to providing high-quality programming for our viewers and will continue to negotiate fair value for that content,” CBS said in a statement.
In broadcast TV, CBS is ranked second for total viewers, according to Nielsen. It also had five of the top-10 shows last week — “NCIS,” “Big Bang Theory,” “NCIS-New Orleans,””Madam Secretary” and “60 Minutes.”
Dish in a statement pledged to get the situation resolved in an agreement to “benefit all parties, including our viewers. We are unsure why CBS decided to involve customers in the contract negotiation process at a point when there is time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal.”
Dish is exploring an Internet TV service of its own and has previously said it could come by the end of the year for $1 a day.
Tamara Chuang: 303-954-1209, tchuang@denverpost.com or
