Satellite guru Charlie Ergen is rapidly gathering content for his new Internet-based TV offering.
Ergen’s Dish Network said Tuesday it secured new digital rights to offer Scripps Networks Interactive programming through its yet-to-launch online video service.
The satellite-TV provider said the rights are part of an expanded distribution deal to carry Scripps stable of lifestyle channels, including HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel.
Dish has inked a slew of similar digital deals with the Disney Channel, ESPN and others for its “over-the-top” service, which doesn’t yet have a name.
Ergen was on the East Coast last week wooing programmers to the new platform, sources told The Post.
Dish is one of the first companies to risk cannibalizing its existing pay-TV product to be a first mover in burgeoning Internet-based TV space.
Cable-TV companies, which also sell high-speed Internet access as part of their “triple play” bundle, are better positioned to weather the shift as more consumers turn to the Web to watch programming.
In contrast, Dish, DirecTV and other satellite-TV operators are reliant on core pay-TV subscriptions to drive business.