Turner Broadcasting System, embroiled in a nearly month-long carriage battle for eight of its channels with Dish Network, have stepped up their campaign to warn that their two most popular channels also could go dark to the satellite company’s subscribers on Dec. 5.
Eight Turner networks went dark to Dish’s 14 million customers on Oct. 20 – CNN, CNN en Español, HLN, Boomerang, truTV, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim and Turner Classic Movies – after the parties could not reach agreement. Now the network said its two most-watched channels – TNT and TBS – could go dark when their current carriage deal expires on Dec. 5.
The programmer is revamping its marketing efforts on the website savemyshows.com to reflect the possible loss of TNT and TBS, home of National Basketball Association games and Big Bang Theory re-runs, respectively. On its site, Turner urges Dish customers to either switch providers or pressure Dish to reach a deal to ensure the channels aren’t disrupted.
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