Reuters: Technology News: AT&T says AMC's new rates too steep

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AT&T says AMC's new rates too steep Jun 28th 2012, 04:46 Tweet Share this Email Print An At&T logo is seen atop a store in Beverly Hills, California August 31, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Danny Moloshok Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:46am EDT (Reuters) - AT&T Inc said AMC Networks is seeking an "excessive rate increase" to renew its U-verse TV contract, which the mobile service provider believes is unreasonable. "AMC Networks is asking that AT&T pay nearly double what we believe other competitors pay - including a smaller-sized competitor," the company said in a statement late on Wednesday. AT&T's U-verse provides TV, Internet, and digital home phone services to about 4 million customers, and the company pays fees to AMC Networks for the right to package and sell the AMC, IFC and WE tv channels on the service. The contract ends on June 30. The company believes the rates are disproportionate compared to the viewership across the channels. "We don't think that's (rates) reasonable, especially in these economic times, and we will continue to work toward a fair deal," the second-biggest U.S. mobile service provider said. In May, satellite TV provider Dish Networks announced its intent to discontinue carrying AMC's networks following a legal dispute between the companies stemming from a breach of contract. AMC, which airs the "Mad Men" and "Walking Dead" series, sued Dish Network Corp for $2.5 billion in damages alleging improper termination of a 15-year contract with one of AMC's units called VOOM HD. (Reporting by Balaji Sridharan and Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore; Editing by Chris Gallagher) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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