By Shalini Ramachandran 

Dish Network Corp. is stripping out some of the best-known broadcast and cable networks from its basic TV package to create a new "skinny bundle, " designed to give consumers more control of which channels they pay to watch.

The satellite-TV package, called "Flex Pack," will allow customers to buy a basic bundle and one additional channel pack for $39.99 a month. The basic bundle includes 50 networks like AMC, CNN, Food Network and FX, but won't include broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox or cable juggernauts like ESPN or Fox News. Those channels will only be available in separate add-on tiers, each ranging in price from $4 to $10 extra a month. The broadcast tier, for instance, costs $10. Customers can also add on premium networks like HBO and Showtime.

It isn't clear if programmers will be on board with Dish's new offering. Dish's Warren Schlichting, executive vice president of marketing, programming and media sales, said in an interview that the new bundle won't be a surprise to them.

"People are sick and tired of our industry and these giant bundles," Mr. Schlichting said. "What we are trying to do is give the customer choice."

It's a move similar to one launched more than a year ago by Verizon Communications Inc.'s Fios, which sought to give customers more choice through a "Custom TV" offering that included ESPN in a separate add-on sports tier instead of among a basic set of channels. ESPN subsequently sued the company, and the two settled in May. Before the settlement was announced, Verizon moved ESPN into one of its base packages -- a move widely viewed as an olive branch to the sports channel. It also raised the price of the cheapest custom TV plan from $55 to $65 a month.

Media companies have long negotiated with cable TV providers to get their biggest and most expensive channels in the basic programming packages that most people buy, so that they can get paid on the largest possible number of households. That business model has helped fuel TV channels' profits for years.

With the new Dish offering, customers can switch on and off different channel packages every month. For instance, a football fan can drop the broadcast locals pack after the football season is over and switch to, say, a "news pack" with networks like Fox News Channel, CNBC and BBC World News.

It's "unlikely we'll ever get to full a la carte," Mr. Schlichting said. But "the ability to maneuver and customize is pretty powerful."

Write to Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2016 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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