Dish to carry Glenn Beck's online network

[September 13, 2012]  ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- Dish Network said Wednesday that it will begin carrying TheBlaze, conservative radio talk show host Glenn Beck's online network.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

TheBlaze was launched a year ago as GBTV. It will be available to Dish subscribers as part of its America's Top 250 package or a la carte for $5 a month, Dish said.

The satellite TV provider said the addition of Beck's network boosts its lineup of news and commentary channels ahead of November's presidential election. Dish carries a variety of such channels including MSNBC, BBC America, CNN, Current and FOX News.

Beck's channel was set to launch on Dish at 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday and customers can order a la carte starting Thursday. TheBlaze will be available as a free preview for all Dish customers through Sept. 26, Dish said.

TheBlaze will continue to be available through its online subscription platform as TheBlaze TV on TheBlaze.com and various Internet-connected devices.

The deal marks Beck's return to TV. He left Fox News Channel in June 2011 after his show's audience size shrank and advertisers staged a boycott.

Beck's radio show currently attracts more than 8 million listeners per week, trailing only Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage, according to Talkers, a magazine for the talk-show business.

Englewood, Colo.-based Dish is the nation's third-largest provider of TV signals behind Comcast Corp. and DirecTV with about 14 million subscribers.

Shares of Dish Network Corp. shares finished at $32.56 on Tuesday. They are 9 percent below their 52-week high of $35.64 set in late March. They traded as low as $22.61 in October 2011.

[Associated Press]

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