Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and Viacom announced a new multi-year carriage agreement, with the satellite operator securing live and VOD licensing rights to the conglomerate's programming for its IP-based Sling TV platform.
With the agreement, Viacom networks including Comedy Central, BET, Spike, MTV and Nick Jr. will be added to Sling TV's single-stream and multi-stream services in the "coming months," Dish said.
Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The agreement ends what many media analysts had predicted might be a long, drawn-out affair, with the previous licensing deal expiring Wednesday.
Viacom had already began warning Dish customers that its channels might soon be blacked out on the pay-TV platform.
"We appreciate Viacom's willingness to continue with us on our journey as we work to deliver the best, most innovative television services available," said Charlie Ergen, Dish chairman and CEO, in a statement. "This creative, bold and consumer-friendly approach extends a nearly 20-year-old relationship."
Added Viacom Executive Chairman, President and CEO Philippe Dauman: "Today's renewal, together with several additional affiliate agreements announced over the past year, will enable Viacom to drive growth and deliver better, more engaging viewer experiences for years to come."
With the Dish agreement in place, Viacom has all the top pay-TV services locked down under long-term carriage licensing contracts. The programming conglomerate still has not forged agreements with mid-sized MSOs Suddenlink and Cable One, however.
As for Dish, it continues to battle programmers on multiple fronts. The operator told the FCC last month that it would pursue binding arbitration with NBCUniversal in order to end a negotiating standoff.
For more:
- read this press release
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