Turner, Dish agree to restore CNN, Cartoon Network and others

CNN, Cartoon Network and other Turner Broadcasting channels are returning to Dish Network’s satellite television service.

Dish and Turner on Friday said they have reached an agreement to temporarily restore service of CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, TCM, HLN and several other channels. Dish removed the channels in October when the two companies could not agree on a new contract.

The companies also agreed to extend carriage of cable channels TBS and TNT, Turner’s most popular channels.

The agreement is not a long-term deal. The companies’ extension, which lasts for several months, according to a person familiar with the matter, will allow the parties to continue negotiating a deal and will prevent TBS and TNT from going dark on Dec. 5 when the current contract was set to expire.

In a joint statement, Dish and Turner declined to comment further.

The developement comes shortly after CBS Corp. and Dish Network agreed to a deadline extension for a new contract, temporarily averting a blackout of CBS-owned television stations.

The dispute between the Dish and Turner, owned by Time Warner Inc., has been a contentious one.

Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen had told Wall Street analysts that he wasn’t sure that CNN was still a must-carry network.

Turner Broadcasting Chief Executive John Martin returned fire during a conference call to discuss Time Warner’s earnings, calling Ergen’s comments “very antagonistic and aggressive.”

The issue is not inconsequential for Turner. Dish has more than 14 million subscribers, making it one of the largest pay-TV providers in the country.

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