AMC is being Dropped (by Dish in U.S.)

[thenewdc]

I found this story quite interesting. Apparently over some legal dispute, DISH Network is dropping AMC and a few AMC owned channels from its lineup in June. The other channels listed being dropped are IFC, Sundance and WeTV

[madhi19]

It happen about once or twice a year in the US some channels owner demand more so they have a shoving match with a carrier . It call competition and open market off course in Canada we never heard of that!

[Jase88]

Actually, specialty channel "negotiations" occur in Canada all of the time with BDU's. Just ask anyone trying to get SUN News on Bell a while ago...or Sportsnet One in 2010 when it launched on carriers other than Rogers.

[Dr.Dave]

Here's the Ad Age article:

http://adage.com/article/mediaworks/...ed-amc/234606/

[billpaidJr]

One obvious difference being that the channels are not owned by the competing bdu

[gmd]

Channels being dropped in Canada after failed negotiations?

- TFO on Shaw Direct (back as of Aug. 31, 2011 as it is now mandatory)
- Planète on Bell
- RFO on Bell
- HDNet on Bell
- SunTV (now back in a different package)

The list goes on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bell_TV_channels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...irect_channels

[ScaryBob]

In Canada, it's more common for BDUs to refuse carriage up front. It took years before Bell agreed to carry AMC and TCM. Then they bundled it with TMN, something that no other BDU does. The list of stations not carried by BDUs due to disputes is a long one, on both sides of the border. Charley Ergen is a special case though. He owns Dish Network as well as EchoStar, which develops and supplies equipment for Dish and Bell. He has also purchased bankrupted companies like Blockbuster and Voom (which may have led to the current legal dispute with AMC.) He was also sued by Tivo (and lost) for allegedly infringing Tivo patents.

Mr. Ergen said that Dish subscribers, who skew more rural, don't want to pay more money for cable and that AMC's ratings have "very, very, very low viewership."

I've heard similar statements when other BDUs dropped or refused to carry channels. It's almost always about carriage terms and money, not popularity among subscribers. It is sometimes also about politics or legal disputes. Charley Ergen claims he wants to provide more flexibility and lower cost. I've heard that before, usually just after a BDU dropped channels, reduced subscribers choices and raised prices. Dish's TV packages appear to be less flexible than those of Canadian BDUs.