Sundance, Rainbow, and a man called Charlie

[yaz96]

With the recent takedown of Smithsonian, it got me to thinkin'...

With Rainbow taking over the Sundance Channel recently, and the bitter dispute going on between Rainbow and Dish, do ya think ol' Charlie might pull the same thing with the Sundance Channel until all is resolved with Rainbow?

 

[M Sparks]

Yes and no.

I think Rainbow is in the bad position here. They have a channel that needs to be totally renegotiated. It was being carried mainly because Showtime included it in their subscription fee. Now, they need to move it into basic packages, or work out some kind of other deal.

It's almost like launching a new channel, only they have the benefit of subscribers who will complain if it disappears. Rainbow is the one who needs to do the begging here.

On the other hand, Dish really needs AMC-HD to help with their push on the Turbo HD. A few years ago, this probably wouldn't have been true, but their new shows push them more towards being "essential" to a basic package.

I suspect they are working together...good businessmen shouldn't let a lawsuit get in the way of good business. On the other hand, I don't necessarily expect to see the new ultra-condensed Voom any time soon, even though it's what Charlie wanted to begin with.