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CBS, Dish Network reach deal, end blackout that caused millions to miss Chargers-Cowboys game

By Brooks Hays
The CBS blackout kept millions of Dish Network subscribers from access to the Cowboys-Chargers football game on Thanksgiving Day. Photo by Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency
The CBS blackout kept millions of Dish Network subscribers from access to the Cowboys-Chargers football game on Thanksgiving Day. Photo by Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency

Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Hours after millions of viewers were unable to watch the Chargers-Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving Day afternoon, Dish Network and CBS reached a multi-year fee agreement, ending the blackout that kept the game off the airwaves.

The two-day blackout affected both the San Diego and Dallas-Arlington metro regions, as well as several other major markets, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta and Boston.

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Terms of the deal reached on Thursday night were not made public.

"We are pleased we have reached a deal with Dish, who recognizes the value that the number one Network brings to viewers in these markets," Ray Hopkins, president of television networks distribution at CBS, said in a statement. "Dish customers will continue to get CBS' must-have content, while we are also able to achieve our short and long-term economic and strategic goals."

The two-day blackout began when the media network and satellite TV company failed to agree on a fee Dish Network would pay to carry CBS broadcasts.

As subscriptions to traditional satellite and cable TV providers drop, companies are grappling over how to split revenues.

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CBS offers viewers a web-based streaming subscription option for $5.99 per month.

TV networks like CBS can offset losses from traditional TV providers through partnerships with online and non-traditional partnerships. But the network's advertisers expect access to Dish's 13.2 million customers.

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