The satellite-TV company Dish Network is once again playing hardball with a media company, and Univision could disappear from Dish's dishes later this week. After six months of trench warfare, negotiations on a new contract between the two have ground to a halt, and Univision is running TV ads threatening to pull its 64 local channels from Dish on Thursday, April 2. (The contract actually expires on March 31, but the trade journal Multichannel News reports that Univision won't pull the plug until after the quarterly Nielsen sweeps end on Wednesday.)
In the past, Univision has not only not charged Dish for its programming but has invoked a federal law that says the satellite company mustcarry local channels that request it. Now, though, Univision is asking for money -- as much as $1 per viewer, by some reports. Dish, which has a long history of squabbling telling other media companies to blow it out their piehole over money, is resisting. Usually, in the end, everybody cools off, the 
greatest example being the epic 2007 dispute with Court TV (now truTV). That will almost certainly be the case this time, since Dish's competitor DirecTV already has a deal with Univision. But it's always fun to imagine a Big Media train wreck, so keep your fingers crossed.
The real question is what is Univision charging everyone else?
Posted by: David G. Smith | March 30, 2009 at 05:25 PM
Hi considering the poor quality that has been Univision, it would strive to edge a little more in its programming. Greetings
Posted by: Claroscuro | March 30, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Dish Network knows very well that Univision is directed at illegal Mexican immigrants only, they know that people from the rest of Latin America never bother to watch Univision because it is 100 Mexican trash
Posted by: George P. Wilson | March 31, 2009 at 06:07 AM
tu basura
Posted by: jonh | March 31, 2009 at 07:31 PM
Glenn, is it common for typically free TV to charge the cable and satellite providers?
Posted by: David G. Smith | March 31, 2009 at 09:21 PM
Hey Glenn, we have a deal. Who do you think blinked?
Posted by: David G. Smith | April 01, 2009 at 11:18 PM
As a former Dish Network subscriber, I can tell you another instance of push and shove. Viacom was threatening to pull much of its content(except for TV Land)if Dish didn't pay a whopping increase in fees for broadcast. Everyone on both sides eventually backed down, but for a couple of days, those channels went black and viewers were referred to contact MTV Networks to vent their anger.
Posted by: Jeff | April 02, 2009 at 09:27 AM