DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH)’s subscribers in the Bay Area, California, Chicago and Mid-Atlantic regions will continue to enjoy Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s SportsNet feed asd the two companies have finally settled to ink a new multi year carriage deal after weeks of negotiations. The original carriage agreement have expired on December 2 this year.
DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) have previously complained of the license fees it has to shell out to Comcast Corporation for carrying the company’s televised games for Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington pay-TV customers. According to DISH, they have to pay 20 percent more than the current standard rate due to the pending merger of Comcast with Time Warner Cable, which is estimated to capture 30 percent of the entire U.S. pay-TV market.
Analysts noted that DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) is the most aggressive among pay-TV carriers in criticizing carriage license fee increases, which is also seen by the Federal Communications Commission as one of the main factors in the rise of cable bills in the U.S.
DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) enjoys the patronage of about 14 million subscribers, and according to the company, only a small segment watch Comcast SportsNet (CSN), which is jointly owned by NBC Universal, the Bulls, Hawks, Cubs, and Sox. CSN Chicago, on the other hand, argued that it just wants DISH to consider fair market value as well as the term that are currently the standard in agreements with other providers. CSN campaigned online for more than a week, asking DISH subscribers for support in convincing the provider to renew carriage agreements with Comcast. The two companies have never disclosed the terms of the new pact to date. An email to Reuters have a representative from NBC Universal confirm that the company “have reached an agreement with DISH on behalf of CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Chicago, CSN Bay Area and CSN California.”
This article has been written by Nonito Guntan.
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