CBS, Dish agreement reopens access to CBS3

Dish Network subscribers again have access to programming such as the Late Show with David Letterman, as Dish and CBS announced an agreement Saturday that will restore access to CBS3 (KYW-TV).

Dish Network Corp. and CBS Corp. said they would not disclose financial terms of the multiyear deal for Dish to carry CBS-owned stations, CBS Sports Network, Smithsonian Channel, TVGN, and Showtime Networks.

The Philadelphia-area CBS affiliate was one of more than two dozen stations across the country blacked out Friday during an impasse over the CBS Sports Network, Dish said in a statement Friday night. The blackout affected more than two million customers in 18 markets across the country, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami.

Under the terms, the satellite-TV service will limit its "AutoHop" feature that automatically skips commercials in recorded shows. Dish will also have rights to Showtime on-demand services on TV and online.

All lawsuits between Dish and CBS will be dropped, the companies said.

AutoHop will be disabled for the first seven days after primetime shows premiere, a provision that is important for CBS, as some Nielsen audience measurements count viewers of commercials for the live airing and seven days after.