AMC using ‘Walking Dead’ zombies in NYC to pressure Dish TV to bring it back
For several weeks, Dish TV has been locked in a pitched battle with the owners of AMC that has kept the network off the air for Dish subscribers.
Both sides are trying to portray the other as greedy. Though locally shot “The Walking Dead” is still three months to air, the network dressed up a few folks as zombies to roam the streets of New York City, scaring a lot of people in the process. The last zombie is shown dragging a Dish TV satellite around:
According to Fortune, this dispute goes deeper:
The move is a ploy to gain leverage over AMC in a $2.5 billion breach of contract lawsuit — heading to trial this fall — that Dish is unlikely to win.
The two companies have waged a legal war for over four years. In 2008, AMC Networks and its then-parent company, Cablevision, sued Dish (DISH) for $2.5 billion for breaching its 2005 carriage contract with Voom HD, a suite of channels created by a Cablevision (CVC) subsidiary. The dispute centers on whether Dish violated the contract when it dropped Voom because, Dish claims, Voom didn’t spend enough money on programming. A trial is set for September 18th in the New York Supreme Court.
The timing of Dish’s decision to drop AMC seems retaliatory. Dish first threatened to drop AMC in May, a week after it lost an appeal in the Voom lawsuit.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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23 comments Add your comment
Chi Town
August 1st, 2012
9:13 am
The Walking Dead rules.
Pirate
August 1st, 2012
9:33 am
Rodney-I’m a Dish customer and fed up, since Breaking Bad is absolutely the best show on TV and I’m missing every episode. Is it your opinion that I won’t be seeing AMC until at least the fall? AMC released an email saying there was “no end in sight”, but you have to take that one with a grain of salt.
Rabbit
August 1st, 2012
10:10 am
OMGosh, I miss Walking Dead so much…the best show ever on tv….I can’t wait unitl the fall
Frank Furter
August 1st, 2012
10:16 am
Local Atlanta band Not Quite Devils will be playing Run For Your Lives in Clermont, Florida in November. A Zombie infested 5K!! Visit their site at http://www.runforyourlives.com to purchase tickets. When asked “How did you find out about us?” Answer….NOT QUITE DEVILS!
c dog
August 1st, 2012
10:19 am
that’s awesome..can’t wait for the start of the season
Grasshopper
August 1st, 2012
10:22 am
How could you tell the zombies from the CHUD dwellers that regularly populate New York?
Atlanta dude
August 1st, 2012
10:44 am
Was this filmed at T-SPLOST headquarters last night?
Amused
August 1st, 2012
10:47 am
We’ve been Dish customers for close to nine years now, and though my wife and I sorely miss Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Mad Men, we have to side with Dish on this. Dish’s customer service has always been polite and top-notch (always exceeding our expectations), our bill has only gone up twice in those nine years — by five bucks a month each time) and we’re greatly impressed by Charlie Ergen’s live, call-in Charlie Chats. What other company lets you call the CEO *directly* and have your say — and televises it?
We miss AMC, but we’d miss Dish more.
Dirk Magurk
August 1st, 2012
11:07 am
See-ya dish, walking dead is way more valuable than you.
Eddie J
August 1st, 2012
11:41 am
I agree with Amused. I have been a loyal dish customer since 2003. They are tops in my opinion and Charlie Ergan does whatever he can to keep our prices low. Ride or die I will stay a Dish Customer.
Brad
August 1st, 2012
11:54 am
Dish sent out a mailer and email to their customers saying that they will pay for VOD/streaming costs for breaking bad, walking dead, etc shows from AMC. I have dish and am watching breaking bad the next day by paying for it on amazon streaming. Then dish gives me a credit on my bill for the episodes I buy. And the streaming shows are commercial free. They also gave me half off hbo/showtime for 6 months just for calling and staying with them. Great company.
Rick P.
August 1st, 2012
12:33 pm
I totally love the Walking Dead, but I’m not switching satellite providers just for one channel, I’ll buy the episode on i-tunes if I have too.
bearcrazyman
August 1st, 2012
12:41 pm
That Rocked, Brilliant!!!
James
August 1st, 2012
12:41 pm
Dish has given totally different reasons for dropping AMC but it really seems strange that they did it after they received an unfavorable ruling in Court. They are hurting their customers by dropping these channels and using this to gain leverage in their lawsuit. Doesn’t sound like Dish cares as much about it’s customers as they do their lawsuit…..
MarkG
August 1st, 2012
12:48 pm
Is this the part where I’m supposed to praise having Comcast. I just can’t bring myself to it, but I am looking forward to the next season.
Audrey
August 1st, 2012
1:14 pm
This show is too finominal. I go through withdrawl every time it wraps for the season!
(And it splits its season in two!)
Greg S.
August 1st, 2012
3:08 pm
It’s not about customers in any case. It’s about the money, always about the money. You’d think these guys are poor or something. The rule of profit is: There is never enough profit.
JW
August 1st, 2012
3:45 pm
The Albert in Inman park always hosts viewing parties of ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Walking Dead’ so screw dish I’ll go have some wings and a beer and watch it there.
Samantha L
August 1st, 2012
4:50 pm
That is beyond awesome!
Tracy Watkins
August 1st, 2012
6:03 pm
Loved the video. I was a Dish customer until this happened. I contacted Dish and asked how I could get AMC without dropping them. They had no solution.I then said I wanted to close my account. I was told I would have to pay an early termination fee…I had been with them for over two years and somehow my contract was renewed and I wasn’t told it was beig renewed because I changed out a box I was leasing that wouldn’t work. I had to pay $150 fee which was like robbing me. Had Dish continued to provide the programming I wanted, I would have continued my service with them. However, it would take alot for me to change back to Dish after this. It is obvious this is all about money or someone’s ego but I don’t see why it’s necessary for them to battle this out holding their customers hostage or stuck in the middle of a battle. They stuck me with the early term fee and I hope they enjoy the money they took received. But, MY money will always go with the programming I want. (Let’s hope Directv remembers this and doesn’t have the same issue as Dish.) AMC is awesome to me and I could care less who provides the channel…just give me AMC.
Russell
August 1st, 2012
9:43 pm
Dish is being very uneven with their customer service on this. I received no offer to be reimbursed for streaming if I bought one of those boxes, but did get the offer of a ten dollar credit for six months. I didn’t take it. I read Dish SENT some people the Roku boxes for free when they complained. To me what would have been fair is for them to provide a premium channel I pay for, HBO, free for the remainder of my contract which ends in February to make up for the programming I lost under the contract I signed. I think people are tired of being jerked around: we sign a contract for specific channels, and get hit with fees if we cancel our service but if Dish (or DirecTV or cable) make changes there’s no penalty for them.
Tim E.
August 1st, 2012
10:06 pm
If I could get the local channels with direct tv, I would switch in a heartbeat. Dish screwed me with FX a couple of years ago and now this. They take your money and make u sign a contract but do not hold up there end of the deal. Untrustworthy company and I don’t trust them.
Rony
August 3rd, 2012
5:07 pm
They better get AMC back on dish!!!!!! I just recently got there service and if i had known that they were going to drop AMC i would have never considered them…….hope they settle this dispute in time for THE WALKING DEAD!!!!!! BEST SHOW EVER!!!!!!!