EchoStar Communications Corp. last week added BabyFirst TV, the controversial new 24-hour network aimed at babies and toddlers, to its Dish Network lineup.
The channel costs $9.99 per month on an a la carte basis. During an on-air “Charlie Chat” with subscribers Monday night, senior vice president of programming Eric Sahl compared the monthly fee to the cost of buying a single DVD for a child.
Sahl added that BabyFirst TV would be available to Dish subscribers in free-preview mode from June 15-July 11.
The direct-broadcast satellite provider also recapped news from last week’s dealer rally in Denver. EchoStar said last week that it is launching several new HD feeds, including those from Starz Entertainment Group LLC and National Geographic Channel.
Sahl also said Dish is adding mystery and crime-fighting channel Sleuth to its “Americas Top 180” package, Telemundo Puerto Rico to its Dish Latino packages and Starz Comedy to any package with the Starz premium-channel lineup.
