Echostar Downgrades Court TV

Tweet

Echostar Communications Corp. took U.S.-based Court TV off its Dish Network channel lineup due to stalled carrier negotiations, the Hollywood Reporter says. Echostar reportedly wants a rate decrease and is downgrading Time Warner-owned Court TV to a channel tier that would be available in 3 million fewer homes. Court TV generates revenue based on audience guarantees to advertisers. Andrew Heller, president of domestic distribution at Turner Broadcasting, which oversees Court TV, expressed disappointment in the decision, the Reporter said. "I've been doing this a long time," he said. "For the first time in my career a channel has gone dark on a major distributor. This is very disheartening."