CBS Blocks Dish Network Subscribers, No Word On Sunday NFL Football [Update: Agreement Reached]

Talks between Dish Network and CBS broke down Friday night, causing the former to prevent its service from reaching Dish subscribers in several major markets. They include New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Dallas, Denver, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and a number of other cities.

Update: An agreement has been reached between CBS and Dish. The two released a joint statement, explaining that the deal will restore service to all affected stations, and "grants DISH rights to Showtime Video-on-Demand content and authentication rights for Showtime Anytime, and includes a path to over-the-top distribution of Showtime Networks."

The agreement will result in dismissal of all pending litigation between the two companies, including disputes over PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop. As part of the accord, DISH’s AutoHop commercial-skipping functionality will not be available for CBS Television Network-owned stations and affiliates during the C7 window.

The move could impact Saturday's NCAA basketball and football games, as well as the rest of CBS's programming, and neither Dish Network nor CBS has stated whether the dispute could last until Sunday's NFL games. Both have spent weeks negotiating a new contract, and CBS said that the satellite television service “was unwilling to work towards an agreement that kept CBS stations available to its subscribers.”

Dish has not yet responded to CBS’s claims. The broadcaster’s plan for a streaming-only TV service and acrimony over the former’s Hopper DVR are likely what has stalled talks, according to an Engadget report.

CBS said it wants “appropriate compensation” as well as “terms that reflect the developing digital marketplace,” indicating that streaming is likely a part of the negotiations on which Dish and the network cannot agree. The dispute follows several instances where networks blacked out service on Dish over failed negotiations. Most recently, a dispute with Turner Broadcasting was resolved on Nov. 21 after it prevented channels like CNN, TBS and Cartoon Network from being viewed by Dish subscribers.