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EchoStar Fails to Sign Deals With 4 Stations

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From Bloomberg News

EchoStar Communications Corp., the second-largest U.S. satellite-television broadcaster, failed to win new contracts from WWOR-TV in New York and stations in three other cities, leaving about 100,000 customers without those channels.

WWOR, a UPN affiliate owned by Chris-Craft Industries Inc.; WTVF, a CBS affiliate in Nashville, owned by Landmark Communications Inc.; WFTC, a Clear Channel Communications Inc.-owned Fox affiliate in Minneapolis; and KTVX, a Chris-Craft ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City, did not re-sign with EchoStar. EchoStar did extend broadcast agreements with 121 of 125 channels on its Dish Network, the company said.

A federal law enacted in November lets satellite companies carry local TV broadcasts, and EchoStar and rival Hughes Electronics Corp.’s DirecTV had until Monday to negotiate terms with the stations.

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EchoStar, which said it got more time to reach agreements covering another dozen stations, said Landmark and Chris-Craft insisted on adding programming along with the local signals, and Clear Channel refused to negotiate.

Shares of Littleton, Colo.--based EchoStar rose $4.75 to $43.44 on Nasdaq. The announcement helped bolster investor optimism after many were concerned about when EchoStar would announce its retransmission agreements, analysts said.

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