By Joe Flint And Shalini Ramachandran
Time Warner Inc. and satellite television provider Dish Network
Corp. have come to terms on a new distribution pact that includes
making HBO available through Dish's new online TV offering.
The two companies negotiated through Tuesday evening, past the
deadline of their current short-term agreement, to wrap up a deal
that will keep Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting channels such as
TBS, TNT and truTV in Dish homes.
The deal includes a way to subscribe to HBO through Sling TV,
Dish's Web TV service. A person familiar with the matter said Dish
is unlikely to be a distributor at the launch of HBO Now, the
standalone app, although Dish does have the right to do so as part
of the deal.
Last fall, several of Turner's channels went dark on Dish's
service after talks collapsed on the new contract, which meant
Cartoon Network, CNN, HLN and other channels weren't accessible in
about 14 million U.S. homes. The two sides then reached a temporary
accord that restored the channels.
The new agreement means Dish subscribers aren't in danger of
being blacked out from watching this Saturday's NCAA basketball
tournament Final Four games.
The deal also makes HBO available on Sling TV, Dish's new Web
service, for an extra $15 a month in time for the network's "Game
of Thrones" season premiere on April 12, the companies announced.
Sling TV customers can get one live HBO channel plus the same
library of on-demand content that is available via cable and other
online services. For Dish, HBO bolsters its $20-a-month
slimmed-down online service that already includes other Time Warner
channels like TBS and CNN, plus coveted sports programming like
ESPN.
This is separate from HBO Now, the standalone app that Time
Warner is introducing to go after households that have broadband
but not pay TV. A person familiar with the matter said Dish is
unlikely to be a distributor of HBO Now when it is launched this
month, although Dish does have the right to do so as part of the
deal. So far, only Cablevision Systems Corp. and Apple Inc. were
signed up to offer HBO Now.
Last fall, several of Turner's channels went dark on Dish's
service after talks collapsed on the new contract, which meant
Cartoon Network, CNN, HLN and other channels weren't accessible in
about 14 million U.S. homes. The two sides then reached a temporary
accord that restored the channels. (TBS and TNT weren't blacked out
because they were on a separate contract at the time.)
"Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting and HBO have successfully
completed separate distribution agreements with Dish," Time Warner
said in a statement. "We're pleased that the Dish customers we all
serve can continue to enjoy Turner and HBO's popular programming on
multiple platforms."
Time Warner has pledged to investors that it will secure higher
fees from cable and satellite TV providers, one of the many
pressures facing the pay-TV industry of late. Pay-TV providers say
that rising programming costs lead to more expensive cable bills at
a time when more customers are dropping traditional TV packages and
opting for cheaper online video services.
Keach Hagey contributed to this article.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Shalini Ramachandran
at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
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