Dish Network Corp. (DISH) filed a lawsuit against DirecTV Group
Inc. (DTV) over its advertising claims, a month after its rival
sued it over similar claims.
Last month, DirecTV filed a lawsuit alleging Dish's "Why Pay
More" television commercials, which claimed Dish delivers the same
programs for less, were false and misleading.
Monday, Dish denied many of the allegations of that suit and
countersued DirecTV, saying the competitor's ads touted its
high-definition offerings alongside lower-cost price packages that
didn't include any HD channels.
Dish also said DirecTV's ads also claimed that "nothing comes
close to the reliability and quality of DirecTV." In its suit, Dish
argued that "in truth and fact, Dish Network's signal reliability
is the same as that of DirecTV--99.9%."
Representatives from DirecTV weren't immediately available to
comment.
Earlier this month, Dish reported its fourth-quarter earnings
fell a less-than-expected 18%, as it added 249,000 net subscribers
during the fourth quarter, its third consecutive quarter of growth.
Dish, which targets lower-end customers who've been hit by the
economic downturn, has seen its subscribers grow as it has gotten
aggressive with pricing and tried to cut into rivals' market
share.
Dish shares were down a slight 0.1% in after-hours trading at
$20.90 after closing up about the same percentage. DirecTV was up
1.4% at $33.90 after hours after a 1.7% gain by Monday's close.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com