I want my Walking Dead TV back

by Mike Hansen

via Wikipedia

Unfortunately, my house subscribes to Dish Network, which dropped AMC’s channels a few weeks ago. So I can’t (legally) watch The Walking Dead without dropping my contract and getting hit with a huge early-termination fee.

I just got this email from AMC:

Dear DISH Subscriber:

Did you know that AMC just received the most Emmy nominations of any basic cable channel? 34 nominations for shows like “Breaking Bad”, “Mad Men”, “The Walking Dead” and “Hell on Wheels”. Yet despite the popularity and demand for these shows, DISH continues to black out AMC, IFC, WE tv, and Sundance Channel. To add insult to injury, DISH continues to charge you for them; you just no longer receive them.

DISH’s decision to drop AMC, WEtv, IFC and Sundance Channel had nothing to do with our fees, or our shows. In fact, unlike almost every other dispute you see between providers and programmers, and despite DISH’s misleading claims to the contrary, this is not about fees.

The simple truth is that DISH is using their consumers as pawns to attempt to gain leverage in a lawsuit involving an old and unrelated business venture that has nothing to do with AMC, nothing to do with our shows or fees, and certainly nothing to do with DISH subscribers, who just want to watch the shows they love and are paying DISH for. You will not see any AMC Networks’ shows on DISH any time soon.

In other words, since DISH’s reason for depriving you of AMC programming is based on a lawsuit that won’t be resolved for a long time, this problem won’t be solved shortly, unlike other disputes between programmers and providers, which typically are resolved in a matter of days (weeks at most).

If you want to watch “Breaking Bad”,” Hell on Wheels,” “The Walking Dead” and “Mad Men,” you will have to switch TV providers. We can help you do that. The good news is, every other cable, phone and satellite company
— except DISH — carries AMC in their basic package. Many providers are offering special incentives for people to switch. Call now at 1-855-2-DROP-DISH (1-855-237-6734) and let us help you gain access to the shows your friends and neighbors are watching.

We can help you regain access to AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv by calling the above number, visiting www.switchfromdish.com or contacting us on Twitter @AMC_Assist.

Thank you for your support of our shows and our networks. We want you to be able to watch the TV you love, and we’ll do whatever we can to help make that possible.

Sincerely,
AMC Networks

Yep, Dish can add or drop channels anytime, without changing my monthly fee. It’s in the contract.

The bottom line, for me, is that unless AMC and Dish resolve their differences, I’ll be finding other ways to watch AMC shows. Those ways might involve AMC getting paid, but they definitely won’t involve Dish getting more of my money…

UPDATE: It looks like if Dish subscribers call and choose the automated option to disconnect their service, they might get offered a discount or a Roku set-top player to watch their shows. I’m going to try this today and see how it goes.

Related articles

• Dish drops AMC Networks (variety.com)
• Dish Network will cut off AMC Networks tomorrow (popwatch.ew.com)
• AMC, AT&T in new carriage deal (variety.com)
• Dish Network Tells Subscribers That AMC, IFC, And WE Will Be Gone Tomorrow (deadline.com)
• Dish to Swap HDNet for AMC’s ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Walking Dead’ – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Dish Network drops AMC from service (sacbee.com)
• Dish Drop ‘Mad Men’ for ‘Bikini Barbershop’ in AMC Feud – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Premieres Sunday, October 14 (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
• Why Breaking Bad and Walking Dead Might Go Black on Dish Network (wired.com)
• Dish Network dishes out free Roku 2 boxes due to AMC spat (digitaltrends.com)