Dish Network said Friday that it has informed AMC Networks that it intends to drop the network from its lineup.
For its part, Dish claimed that the satellite broadcaster intended to drop AMC because of "their high renewal cost when compared to their low viewership," according to Variety.
AMC owns AMC, the International Film Channel (IFC), The Sundance Channel, and WEtv. The network produces the award-winning hits Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. "In fact, AMC's The Walking Dead is the number one scripted drama with Dish subscribers," AMC said in a statement.
Dish appears to be using the decision to drop AMC as either a threat or retaliation in an ongoing case between the two companies. In 2008, AMC subsidiary VOOM sued Dish for $2.5 billion, accusing it of violating a 15-year agreement to carry the network. In a pre-trial ruling, the trial court judge ruled that Dish had destroyed stored evidence. According to AMC, Dish then notified the network that it would drop its networks.
"AMC Networks have had significant declines in viewership among Dish subscribers. AMC Networks' very limited popular programming is non-exclusive, and available to our customers through multiple other outlets such as Amazon.com, iTunes and Netflix," Dish said, according to Variety.
Dish reports its first-quarter results on Monday, when executives will almost certainly comment further. Charlie Ergen, the billionaire who controls the company, told a conference this week that Dish hopes to provide Internet access, video and voice services both at home and on the go within 10 years.
In January, Time Warner Cable customers temporarily lost MSG Networks, which provides local sports to New York City customers. AMC's decision and that from TWC were just two of many recent disputes between providers and networks.
As Philip Napoli, a professor and department chair at Fordham University's Graduate School of Business, wrote in a recent editorial for The Hill, there were blackouts in more than 30 markets in 2011.
"Earlier this year, one broadcaster even pulled the plug on a local station in the Gulf Coast, depriving viewers of critical news and weather updates as Tropical Storm Lee approached thousands of homes," Napoli wrote. "These tactics raise significant questions as to whether the public interest is actually being considered and served."
Those types of details prompted the Federal Communications Commission to announce in December 2010 that it would investigate whether it could broaden its authority on this issue without involving itself too much in private negotiations. In March 2011, it adopted a rulemaking that sought input on how it might best step in to the issue, known in DC-speak as retransmission consent.
In January, Dish used CES to rebrand itself and embrace a more connected customer base, unveiling a new "Hopper" DVR with a 2TB hard drive and a companion device dubbed Joey.
Additional reporting by Chloe Albanesius.For more from Mark, follow him on Twitter @MarkHachman.
