AMC to Stream ‘Breaking Bad’ Premiere to Dish Customers

AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX) will stream over the Internet the season premiere of “Breaking Bad” to customers of pay-TV provider Dish Network Corp. (DISH), which dropped the channel that carries the drama.

Dish subscribers can register online starting July 13 for the show, which airs on July 15, AMC said today in an e-mailed statement. Amid a contract dispute, Dish removed AMC’s channels on June 30 and replaced popular shows such as “Mad Men” and “The Walking Dead” with programming from HDNet.

“We want to give Dish customers an extra week to switch providers so they can enjoy the rest of the season,” New York- based AMC said in the statement.

AMC doesn’t have plans to air additional episodes of “Breaking Bad” online for customers of Englewood, Colorado- based Dish, Marlea Willis, an AMC spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview.

The move underscores a series of fee standoffs between pay- TV providers and program suppliers. Viacom Inc. (VIAB)’s 26 channels, including Nickelodeon and MTV, went black for DirecTV (DTV) subscribers earlier this week, reflecting an impasse in negotiations between New York-based Viacom and El Segundo, California-based DirecTV.

After DirecTV told its subscribers how to gain access to Viacom’s shows online, Viacom responded by pulling from its websites episodes of series such as “Jersey Shore” and “Teen Mom.”

“Is this just another underhanded negotiating tactic, or does this mean that Viacom will no longer offer its content free online?” DirecTV said in a statement yesterday.

Dish shares fell 1.8 percent to $26.31 at the close in New York. AMC shares rose 1.4 percent to $41.30.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Blessing in New York at kblessing@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net