EchoStar Communications Corp. and its Dish Network reached a multi-year deal with Lifetime Entertainment Services to distribute Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network on its network.
The agreement follows a recent falling out when Dish offered an a la carte deal to Lifetime, which would in effect cut into the network's revenue stream. Lifetime walked out of the talks and turned to its viewers for support--a move that proved positive for the multimedia company.
The two channels were restored to Dish Network customers this week. Lifetime Television will return to the America's Top 60 and Dish Latino Dos programming packages, while Lifetime Movie Network will be available in America's Top 180 package. The companies did not disclose the details of the deal other than the arrangement includes carriage under retransmission consent of the 28 Hearst-Argyle stations.
In other Dish news, the network said this week it would offer a 'DishFAMILY' programming tier that would allow parents to rest easy. The digital package costs $19.99 a month and includes 40 channels that the company is deeming "family-friendly" content. It is offered as a stand-alone package with a free satellite TV receiver and free installation for up to four rooms per household.
