CBS programming was restored for Dish Network subscribers on Saturday morning after the broadcaster and the satellite television provider resolved a six-month contract dispute.
The programming blackout lasted about 12 hours and affected stations owned and operated by CBS in 14 markets across the nation, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The stations returned to Dish’s service before a series of football games over the weekend, including the Southeastern Conference championship game between Alabama and Missouri on Saturday.
The companies said that they reached a multi-year agreement covering CBS-owned stations, as well as the broadcaster’s CBS Sports Network, Showtime and other networks.
The deal also gives Dish video-on-demand and other digital rights for Showtime, the premium cable network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are very pleased with this deal, which meets all of our economic and strategic objectives,” CBS Corp television networks distribution president Ray Hopkins said in a statement.
Dish senior vice president of programming Warren Schlichting said: “We are pleased to continue delivering CBS programming to our customers, while expanding their digital access to Showtime content through Showtime Anytime.”
While relatively brief, the standoff between CBS and Dish underscored the increased tensions between television programmers and the cable, satellite and telecom companies that distribute their programming.
Television groups are battling not only to receive higher rates for their programming, but also to hold on to the digital rights.
At the same time, distributors are fighting to stem increasing programming costs, contending that customers ultimately end up paying the bill.
Among the issues negotiated between CBS and Dish were digital rights, Dish’s plans for a new subscription-based streaming television service and terms for Dish’s Hopper, a digital video recording service that allows people to skip commercials.
As part of the agreement, people will not be able to skip commercials with the Hopper service for CBS-owned network stations and affiliates for the first seven days after a program is televised.
Television networks have been pushing advertisers to buy commercial time based on ratings from that seven-day period.
Pending litigation between the two companies, including over the ad-skipping service, was dismissed.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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