CBS has set a deadline for negotiations with Dish Network.
If the sides can’t resolve a deal before Thursday evening at 7 p.m. ET, the broadcast network is prepared to go dark for Dish subscribers. The companies agreed in November to an extension of negotiations, but a deal has not yet been worked out.
“In the last few weeks, we have granted two extensions, in the hopes that this would give both parties sufficient time to come to a resolution. The second extension, which protected Dish subscribers’ programming over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, was the final one,” CBS said in a statement issued Tuesday.
“We would very much like to avoid going dark, thereby joining the more than 120 stations Dish has dropped since 2013 alone,” the broadcast company continued. “Unless agreements are reached, however, our viewers should be prepared to lose CBS from their Dish systems on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM/ET.”
Previously, CBS accused Dish Network of “dragging its feet.”
During the run-up to Thanksgiving, CBS and Dish agreed to a pair of temporary extensions to keep the network’s content on Dish’s roster.
However, the forceful tone of CBS’s latest statement recalls previous eruptions during the dispute, which has occasionally turned nasty. In November, CBS accused Dish of “dragging its feet” while the two companies were trying to hash out how much Dish should pay to carry the network.
“Dish has been deliberately dragging its feet for months,” CBS said in an earlier statement. “Now, as the deadline nears, Dish appears willing to drop the most popular programming in its entire channel lineup because it won’t negotiate the same sort of deal that other cable, satellite and telco companies have struck with CBS.”
“Not reaching agreements is nothing new for Dish,” the network added.
Dish countered that it has been “actively working to reach a deal before the contract expires,” noting, “Only CBS can force a blackout of its channels.”
Read the full statement issued by CBS on Tuesday:
“For six months, CBS has been vigorously attempting to secure fair carriage deals with Dish. During that time, Dish has clearly not been operating with the same sense of urgency,” the broadcast network wrote. “In the last few weeks, we have granted two extensions, in the hopes that this would give both parties sufficient time to come to a resolution. The second extension, which protected Dish subscribers’ programming over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, was the final one. We would very much like to avoid going dark, thereby joining the more than 120 stations Dish has dropped since 2013 alone. Unless agreements are reached, however, our viewers should be prepared to lose CBS from their Dish systems on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM/ET.”