AT&T Blaming Dish for HBO/Cinemax Blackout; Dish Blaming Time Warner Deal

Dish Network and AT&T are pointing fingers at one another over an HBO and Cinemax blackout on Dish and its Sling TV. Dish, along with Public Knowledge, called the blackout evidence of problems with AT&T's buy of Time Warner. The circumstances suggest DOJ's opposition to the deal on the grounds New AT&T would have motivation to withhold content and stronger leverage in negotiations was valid and that it bolsters the argument that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should reverse the lower court decision allowing the deal, PK said Thursday. Dish said AT&T made "untenable demands," including that the satellite company pay for a guaranteed number of subscribers regardless of how many actually want the channel. Dish also sought "binding, baseball-style arbitration to determine the fair market value of HBO and Cinemax" -- and for the premium channels to be restored to Dish during arbitration. AT&T emailed that HBO in 40-plus years never was taken down due to the lack of a deal. Dish "is making it extremely difficult, responding to our good faith attempts with unreasonable terms," the telco said. "Past behavior shows that removing services from their customers is becoming all too common a negotiating tactic for them." The carrier said Dish could have opted to continue to carry HBO under existing terms negotiated before TW's takeover.