CBS Attacks Dish for ‘Dragging its Feet’ as Carriage Deadline Nears, Dish has been deliberately dragging its feet for months,” CBS said in a statement about its broken-down negotiations with the satellite company. “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.”
“Not reaching agreements is nothing new for Dish,” the broadcast network continued. “In fact, Dish has dropped more than 120 stations since 2013 alone, whereas CBS has only had one service disruption. We are committed to providing high-quality programming for our viewers and will continue to negotiate fair value for that content. As we negotiate with Dish, we are also taking the necessary steps to alert fans at KeepCBS.com.”
When TheWrap asked Dish for comment, the company said “Our position remains unchanged” from its Friday statement.
Here is last week's statement: ”Only CBS can force a blackout of its channels. Dish is actively working to reach a deal before the contract expires and has successfully negotiated agreements representing hundreds of stations in recent months that 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.”
