Wed, March 10, 2004
No Crank Yankers? I'll be in the pool.—10:35 AM
Update! Yay! A win for Viacom, and a big win for DirecTV!
Dish Network Pulls Viacom Channels [Le Dot du Slash]
Burn in hell, Echostar!
Update: Viacom Press Briefing [Viacom]
CBS/Viacom Statement [CBS]
I honestly don't understand how Dish Network thinks it will win this one. Regardless of the reality, it's easy for Viacom to paint Echostar as the villain, since Echostar is the one pulling the channels off the air. (By the way, Echostar also apparently superimposed black boxes over the on-screen messages Viacom sent out, in at least some cases. I didn't see it myself – I have DirecTV.)
It seems to me that two things will happen. Dish Network subscribers will bail by the thousands, and Echostar will end up crawling back to Viacom (or going out of business). You simply can't have a satellite/cable company that lacks so many of the most popular channels (including a major network). I know I sided against CBS back in January, but it turns out I like Echostar even less than I like the Bush administration. Go figure.
Anyway, it will be fun to see what unfolds. I'll be staying tuned. (I can; I have DirecTV! Ha!)
