Satcaster Dish and its streaming service, Sling TV, both lost the Game Show Network last night after failing to reach a new carriage agreement with the channel. The satcaster made the announcement in a press release.
“We have been working with Game Show Network for months to finalize a fair agreement for our customers,” stated Andy LeCuyer, senior vice president for programming for Dish. “Unfortunately, Game Show Network made the decision to remove its services from Dish and Sling, backpedaling out of a handshake agreement to continue carriage of their service on our platforms. This is a deceitful negotiation tactic aimed at our customers, putting them in the middle.”
The Game Show Network, which is owned by Sony Pictures Television, countered that it “tried to get a deal done with Dish but after eight months of negotiations we could not agree to their demands. Dish is choosing to do this to Game Show Network, an independent network, that costs virtually nothing compared to local retransmission or sports networks.”
The channel’s lineup, which is particularly popular with older viewers, includes such shows as Deal or No Deal. The Match Game, The $100,000 Pyramid, America Says and Family Feud.
Dish notes in its press release that some Game Show Network programs can be seen on the free streaming app, Pluto TV, while new episodes of the Family Feud now air on ABC.
At Game Show Network’s web site, visitors are met with the following pop-up message:
“DISH and Sling chose to remove Game Show Network from your line up. At Game Show Network we are working hard to make Game Show Network available to you again.”
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Game Show Network being removed from Sling and Dish is no big deal. They are among a bunch of streaming channels that are being subsidized by subscribers of the main services that have no choice whether they get the channel are not. I saw let them have what ever they want to charge but put them up alacart and see how long they last.
I say, Good bye DISH!
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