Dish Network chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen said as the programming bundle loosens, distributors are beginning to gain more leverage in carriage negotiations.
“In general I think the tilt has moved a little more in the distributor’s favor,” Ergen said on a conference call with media after Dish’s first quarter results. “The content owner still has some advantages and is probably a little stronger in negotiations than the distributor, but I think it has moved in the distributor’s direction some.”
Ergen said the advent of over-the-top services like Dish’s Sling TV and others, as well as a willingness by operators to weather long blackout periods, sliding ratings for linear content and the difficulty in luring back lost viewers all play a role too.
For the full story go to Multichannel.com.
