Turner Broadcasting said it has agreed to a short-term extension with Dish Network, a deal that will put eight of its pay-TV networks back on the air for Dish subscribers, while avoiding a blackout of its flagship TBS and TNT networks.
Eight Turner networks – CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, TCM, HLN, CNN en Espanol and Boomerang – went dark to Dish’s 14 million customers on Oct. 20 after the parties could not reach an agreement. While the deal to make those nets available to Dish subscribers is temporary – sources familiar with both companies said the extension is for several months and will extend into 2015. Perhaps the biggest benefit of the extension is that it will avoid a blackout of TNT and TBS, whose contracts were expected to expire on Dec. 5.
