Dish, Univision End 9-Month Channel Blackout
March 26 2019 - 5:32PM
Dow Jones News
By Drew FitzGerald
Dish Network Corp. and Univision Communications Inc. agreed to
end a more than nine-month standoff that left the satellite TV
company without its most popular Spanish-language programming and
drove many customers away from the service.
The companies said in a joint statement that they had agreed to
settle all pending litigation and restore channels including
Univision, Univision Deportes and Galavisión to Dish's service.
Dish Chief Executive Erik Carlson thanked customers in a
statement "for their patience as we worked to reach an agreement
that is fair to all parties, especially our customers."
Univision CEO Vince Sadusky said in a statement he was pleased
the deal reflects the value of Univision's programming. "We look
forward to once again providing Dish and DishLATINO customers with
the news, sports, and entertainment content they love," Mr. Sadusky
said.
The companies didn't disclose the terms of their new carriage
agreement.
Dish's customer base has eroded in recent months, as more
satellite-TV subscribers abandoned the service in search of less
expensive entertainment. Dish Executive Chairman Charlie Ergen said
in a recent call with analysts that channel blackouts affecting
Univision and HBO, a unit of AT&T Inc., have accelerated those
declines.
Dish ended 2018 with 9.9 million satellite-TV subscribers, down
1.1 million from a year earlier. The company has offset some of
those losses by adding accounts through online video service Sling
TV, though that brand's lower prices have pressured its
profitability.
The company issued no update on the status of talks with HBO,
which led to blackouts on Dish and Sling TV in November. Dish
executives have warned that more customers could leave if they
don't reach a deal before April, when HBO's popular "Game of
Thrones" series returns.
The carriage dispute wounded Univision, too. The New York
broadcaster said non-advertising revenue in its media networks unit
fell 11% in the fourth quarter to $279.6 million amid the
standoff.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 26, 2019 17:17 ET (21:17 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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