Game Show Network Goes Dark on Dish, Sling TV Over Contract Fight
Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Game Show Network was removed from the lineups of Dish Network’s satellite TV and Sling TV streaming services late Tuesday, after the parties failed to reach a renewal agreement.
“@dish and @Sling cancelled Game Show Network!” the network tweeted late Tuesday. “At Game Show Network we are working hard to make Game Show Network available to you again.” The tweet directed viewers to gameshownetwork.com/dish with information about how to contact Dish and switch providers.
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In a statement, Game Show Network said it “tried to get a deal done with Dish, but after eight months of negotiations we could not agree to their demands.”
“Dish is choosing to do this to Game Show Network, an independent network, that costs virtually nothing compared to local retransmission or sports networks,” the Sony Entertainment-owned network said. GSN alleged that Dish’s removal of channels recently “has been focused on local retransmission” deal for local TV stations and regional sports networks, citing the pay-TV company’s disputes with Tegna, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Block Communications, AT&T SportsNet and NBC Regional Sports Networks.
Dish claimed that after “months of working with Game Show Network to reach a fair agreement, they have done an about-face and forced a programming blackout on Dish and Sling customers.” The company said it “remains open to working with Game Show Network to reach a fair agreement and hopes to restore the channel soon.”
“We have been working with Game Show Network for months to finalize a fair agreement for our customers,” Andy LeCuyer, SVP of programming at Dish, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Game Show Network made the decision to remove its service from Dish and Sling, backpedaling out of a handshake agreement to continue carriage of their service on our platforms. This is a deceitful negotiation tactic aimed at our customers, putting them in the middle.”
Shows that air on GSN include “Family Feud,” “The $100,000 Pyramid,” “Deal or No Deal,” “The Match Game,” “Cash Cab,” “Master Minds” and “America Says.”
Dish pointed customers to other options to continue viewing some of Game Show Network’s programming “during their forced blackout.” It noted that Dish and Sling customers can download the free Pluto TV app from Paramount to stream several Game Show Network programs. In addition, new episodes of “Family Feud” air on ABC.
In 2019, Sony Pictures Entertainment bought out AT&T’s 42% stake in Game Show Network for about $500 million, making the network wholly owned by SPE.
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