gzowner
03-27-2006, 05:25 PM
DirecTV, which is suing Lifetime for alleged breach of contract, said in a statement released Friday that it attempted to resolve its dispute with Lifetime out of court, but the programmer was reluctant to work out its differences with the satellite TV company.
In the statement, DirecTV said it's "extremely disappointed in Lifetime's failure to live up to their contractual commitments to us. We engaged in lengthy discussions with them in an attempt to resolve our disputes outside of court, but in the end, we had no choice but to file the suit when Lifetime refused to make a meaningful offer of compromise."
Lifetime said it wouldn't comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit detailed an agreement the companies reached in January that aimed to switch EchoStar/DISH Network customers to DirecTV. At the time, EchoStar and Lifetime were engaged in a program carriage dispute.
Through the deal, Lifetime would send select individuals a $200 check if they switched to DirecTV from DISH Network, the lawsuit stated. DirecTV said that while it was negotiating terms of the $200 offer, Lifetime was negotiating a new affiliation agreement with EchoStar.
A day after DirecTV and Lifetime executed their agreement, Lifetime and EchoStar concluded a multi-year deal covering DISH Network distribution of the programmer's content, the lawsuit stated. Soon after, Lifetime "retracted" the $200 check deal by sending a retraction e-mail to those who received the offer, and "repudiated" its agreement with DirecTV.
Also at issue is an earlier agreement between the companies in which a "most favored nation clause" reportedly aims to prohibit Lifetime from entering into a more favorable agreement with another pay-TV distributor for delivery of its networks. If another distributor is given a lower rate for carriage, Lifetime is obligated to offer that rate to DirecTV, the satellite TV company's lawsuit stated.
DirecTV said it's seeking compensatory damages in the litigation.
In the statement, DirecTV said it's "extremely disappointed in Lifetime's failure to live up to their contractual commitments to us. We engaged in lengthy discussions with them in an attempt to resolve our disputes outside of court, but in the end, we had no choice but to file the suit when Lifetime refused to make a meaningful offer of compromise."
Lifetime said it wouldn't comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit detailed an agreement the companies reached in January that aimed to switch EchoStar/DISH Network customers to DirecTV. At the time, EchoStar and Lifetime were engaged in a program carriage dispute.
Through the deal, Lifetime would send select individuals a $200 check if they switched to DirecTV from DISH Network, the lawsuit stated. DirecTV said that while it was negotiating terms of the $200 offer, Lifetime was negotiating a new affiliation agreement with EchoStar.
A day after DirecTV and Lifetime executed their agreement, Lifetime and EchoStar concluded a multi-year deal covering DISH Network distribution of the programmer's content, the lawsuit stated. Soon after, Lifetime "retracted" the $200 check deal by sending a retraction e-mail to those who received the offer, and "repudiated" its agreement with DirecTV.
Also at issue is an earlier agreement between the companies in which a "most favored nation clause" reportedly aims to prohibit Lifetime from entering into a more favorable agreement with another pay-TV distributor for delivery of its networks. If another distributor is given a lower rate for carriage, Lifetime is obligated to offer that rate to DirecTV, the satellite TV company's lawsuit stated.
DirecTV said it's seeking compensatory damages in the litigation.