DISH Network Extends Contract With Citadel Communications

Satellite TV service provider DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) and Citadel Communications -- an American private broadcasting company -- has agreed for a temporary extension of their current contract till Aug 23, 2017.

The company expected a cut-off of the signal for the local ABC affiliate (WLNE-TV) in Providence, Rhode Island. However, to avoid any service disruption, it started offering free installation of HD over-the-air antennas to qualified local subscribers.

Currently, the company is trying hard to mitigate the dispute with its owner over carriage fees and to keep ABC6 available on DISH Network. But the inflexible approach and appalling demands of Citadel is making it difficult for the company to reach an agreement with the broadcasters.

Notably, DISH Network lost a net of 196,000 pay-TV subscribers in the second quarter 2017 due to a rise in programming cost. As of Jun 30, 2017, the company had approximately 13.332 million pay-TV subscribers, down 1.9% year over year.

In fact, more consumers are now acquiescent to switching to free over the air reception to fight the rising subscription costs. Also, the providers, even with a risk of losing add-on fees after cancelling local station packages, are finding different ways to suit their customers.

Earlier, DISH Network could avert the blackout of 129 Sinclair TV stations on its satellite pay-TV service by reaching a short-term extension agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group too. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) helped them to come to this short-term broadcast retransmission extension.

Price Performance and Zacks Rank

DISH Network’s price performance has been dull for the last six months. The company’s stock declined 8.9% against the industry’s gain of 6.4% in the same period. Also, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the broader Consumer Discretionary sector may consider Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) , Adidas (DE:ADSGN) AG (OTC:ADDYY) currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1. Also, they can consider, Crown Crafts, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWS) carrying Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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