6 Dec 2014 6:10 AM PT
Well that was a short black out period! CBS went black about 12 hours before reaching a multi-year agreement covering carriage payments, streaming rights and other areas of that led to the dispute.
DISH will disable the controversial Auto-HOP feature that speeds through commercials on recorded shows if for a show where CBS stations and its affiliates have first aired the program and for the subsequent seven days following first air.
The deal does cover all of the CBS stations, cable channels, Showtime, CBS Sports Network, Smithsonian Channel and TVGN. DISH will have rights to Showtime VOD content as well and can stream Showtime Anytime.
The area of dispute on low-cost streaming is still unclear. DISH had agreements with Disney, Scripps Network and A&E to offer such a service by the end of the year and whether or not CBS will participate was not disclosed.
DISH Senior VP for programming, Warren Schlichting said that DISH is “pleased to continue delivering CBS programming to our customers, while expanding their digital access to Showtime content through Showtime Anytime.” Likewise, CBS feels the agreement meets all of their economic and strategic objectives according to Ray Hopkins, President of Television Networks Distribution at CBS.
Customers will be relieved that the deal has been reached and that their shows are back on air.