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Viacom, Dish Stocks Gain On New Contract, Sling TV Part Of Deal

Dish Network ( DISH ) will make some Viacom ( VIA ) cable networks available on its Sling Web TV service as part of a programming deal that sent shares of both the satellite TV broadcaster and the media company up on Thursday. Viacom stock was up nearly 11% in afternoon trading in the stock market today . Dish Network stock was up 1.5%. Terms of the programming contract renewal, announced Thursday morning, were not disclosed. The deal averted a blackout of 18 Viacom channels on Dish Network’s satellite TV service. A protracted battle might have hurt both companies, analysts say. Viacom stock is down more than 35% in the past 12 months, while Dish stock has shed about 30%. “We view the overhang removal (for Viacom) as significant and believe the deal allows the company more flexibility and time regarding options for a Paramount partial sale stake,” said Benjamin Mogil, an analyst at Stifel, in a research report. Dish stock has dropped amid investor concern over its wireless strategy. Dish has been unable to find a buyer for its wireless radio spectrum or a wireless partner to offer mobile video services. Its online video service Sling, which starts at $20 monthly, has been growing. UBS analyst John Hodulik on Thursday upped his year-end Sling subscriber estimate to 1.5 million from 1.2 million. Dish recently added a separate Sling package featuring add-on channels from 21 st Century Fox ( FOXA ). Sling will offer Comedy Central, Spike, MTV, Nick Jr. and other channels later this year under the new programming deal.

Dish Q1 Profit Beats, Viacom Dispute May Fuel Subscriber Losses

Dish Network ’s ( DISH ) Q1 profit topped views, sending the satellite TV broadcaster’s stock up, as shares in Viacom ( VIA ) fell again amid stalled negotiations with Dish over a programming contract renewal. Englewood, Colo.-based Dish, which normally reports Q1 earnings in May, said that profit rose 11% from the year-earlier period to 84 cents a share. Revenue rose 2% to $3.79 billion, Dish said. Analysts had modeled EPS of 62 cents and revenue of $3.8 billion. Dish stock was up nearly 2% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 48. The satellite TV broadcaster’s stock is down 15% in 2016. Dish has been unable to find a buyer for its wireless radio spectrum or a wireless partner to offer mobile video services. Viacom stock, which fell 7% on Tuesday, was down about 2% late Wednesday morning, near 38. Dish said that it lost 23,000 net pay-TV customers in Q1. The company combines satellite TV customers with subscribers to its new online video service branded “Sling,” but it does not break out results. Dish lost 158,0000 satellite TV customers in Q1 but gained 135,000 Sling customers, estimated Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. While Dish aims to stabilize rising programming costs, its dispute with Viacom could increase subscriber losses, says Moffett. John Hodulik, a UBS analyst, agreed in a report. “DirecTV faced a similar dispute in July 2012, which kept Viacom networks off the air for 10 days, contributing to an 80% year-over-year drop in net adds in Q3 2012. While this is likely a negotiating tactic by Dish, since 2014 smaller cable operators, including Cable One and Suddenlink, have dropped Viacom’s networks entirely to save cost,” wrote Hodulik. Vijay Jayant, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a report: “We estimate that DISH pays Viacom between $350M and $400M in programming costs. While Dish will save these costs in case there is no agreement, it will also lose subscribers at a higher pace initially than in a scenario where there is a deal.  Dish also has an ongoing dispute with ( Comcast ( CMCSA )-owned) NBCU.” Viacom’s 24 cable networks include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Viacom lacks sports content, a strength of Walt Disney ( DIS ) and 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ). Dish has had disputes with CBS ( CBS ), 21st Century Fox and Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting unit. Viacom rose more than 1% near 36 Wednesday afternoon after tumbling 8.3% on Tuesday.

Comcast’s NBCU Turns Up Heat On Dish Amid YES Network Dispute

Comcast ( CMCSA )-owned NBCUniversal is turning up the heat on satellite TV broadcaster Dish Network ( DISH ) amid contract renewal talks for programming. Dish Network already is facing tough negotiations with Viacom ( VIA ). Comcast, on the other side as a pay-TV provider, has been in a dispute with sports channel YES Network over programming fees. NBCU has launched a marketing campaign warning viewers they could be blacked out on Dish Network by March 20, says Broadcasting & Cable . NBCU owns cable channels USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, CNBC and  MSNBC. Dish on Tuesday afternoon said it expects to file for arbitration in the dispute with NBCU. “Under the conditions imposed by the FCC and Department of Justice in approving the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger, NBC is forbidden from blacking out its networks if a pay-TV provider chooses, in its sole discretion, to exercise its right for binding arbitration,” Dish said in a statement. Viacom’s 24 cable networks, meanwhile, include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Dish Network has had disputes with CBS ( CBS ), 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ) and Time Warner’ s ( TWX ) Turner Broadcasting unit. Comcast is at an impasse with YES Network. Fox took majority control of the YES Network in 2014 from the New York Yankees’ parent company. The Comcast-YES Network dispute affects about 900,000 Comcast customers in New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. According to an Oppenheimer research report, Fox Networks sought a 33% fee increase for YES programming. Walt Disney ’s ( DIS ) ESPN garners the highest content fees. “We believe programming costs will rise sharply in the near term  but will moderate in the longer term as lower advertising revenues and cord cutting weaken the bargaining power of the content providers and ultimately break the paid-TV model,” wrote Oppenheimer analyst Tim Horan. “Programming costs have risen at three times the growth rate of (cable company) revenues during the last five years.”