AMC attacks DISH with Zombie ads
August 23, 2012
By Chris Forrester
The bitter AMC carriage dispute with Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network is no nearer resolution, and looks like being even more difficult to resolve following a slew of ‘Zombie’ ads carried by AMC to highlight their ratings hit ‘The Walking Dead’ and attempting to put pressure on Dish Network to reinstate AMC’s channels.
The ads carry the picture of a Zombie presidential candidate who is ‘committed to equal viewing opportunities’ and ‘paid for by citizens who want Zombies back on DISH’.
Some 14 million DISH homes are blacked out from receiving AMC channels which include Robert Redford’s Sundance Channel, International Film Channel, WEtv and AMC itself.
At the heart of the dispute is a massive $2.5 billion breach of contract lawsuit between AMC’s parent company over the failed VOOM HDTV cluster of channels, where AMC alleges DISH failed to honour contractual agreements.