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DISH First to File in Wave of Lawsuits Over Consumer-Friendly Commercial-Skipping Feature

ENGLEWOOD, CO -- (Marketwire) -- 05/25/12 -- DISH (NASDAQ: DISH) filed a lawsuit in defense of its AutoHop™ commercial-skipping feature after threats from broadcasters and responded to subsequent suits filed against it late Thursday by CBS, FOX and NBC.

The following statements can be attributed to Dave Shull, senior vice president of Programming for DISH:

"The lawsuits filed by the networks essentially argue that 'consumers must watch commercials.' We find that proposition absurd and profoundly anti-consumer."

"Customers have been skipping commercials since the birth of the remote control, and the networks are arguing against that fact. Taken to the extreme, will the networks next ask consumers to stop changing channels?"

"Collectively, the networks reap billions in retransmission fees -- fees that are reflected in subscribers' growing bills. For their money, consumers deserve to use content they pay for as they wish."

"AutoHop needs to be put in perspective: the majority of our viewers watch their primetime shows live or during the same evening -- the time that is most valuable to advertisers. We chose to incorporate AutoHop as a next day feature and only if enabled by the consumer."

About DISH
DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), through its subsidiary DISH Network L.L.C., provides approximately 14.071 million satellite TV customers, as of March 31, 2012, with the highest quality programming and technology with the most choices at the best value, including HD Free for Life. Subscribers enjoy the largest high definition lineup with more than 200 national HD channels, the most international channels, and award-winning HD and DVR technology. DISH Network Corporation's subsidiary, Blockbuster L.L.C., delivers family entertainment to millions of customers around the world. DISH Network Corporation is a Fortune 200 company. Visit www.dish.com.

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Source: DISH

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