Court TV Dropped from DISH Network Lineup

SOURCE: SkyReport.com, Tuesday January 2, 2007

‘The year-end programming carriage spats that have surfaced between programmers and platform providers apparently caught up with a satellite TV service.

On New Year's Day, CourtTV began carrying a message on its Web site saying its service is no longer available on DISH Network, EchoStar's DBS offering. The site asks dedicated fans to stand up "to this injustice" and gives viewers a toll-free number they can call about the loss of service.

In response, EchoStar said in a statement it regrets the disruption of service. However, prior to the loss of CourtTV, the channel's parent Turner Networks refused to offer an extension in the company's America's Top 120 Package for continued negotiations, the satellite TV company said.

"We are working hard to negotiate a fair contract with Turner Networks and CourtTV," said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of programming for EchoStar's DISH Network. "But we must also protect our customers from unreasonable demands. It is not fair to ask our customers to pay a DBS premium for a channel owned by the second largest cable operator, Time Warner. We take pride in offering consumers the best value for pay TV service in the industry, and we remain committed to keeping our cost structure low to the benefit of our customers."

EchoStar said it "diligently tried" to reach an agreement with Turner Networks for continued carriage of CourtTV. "Unfortunately, Turner Networks refused to deliver an offer for carriage in America's Top 120 package that fairly reflects CourtTV's overall ratings performance and value," the company said.’