Voom-EchoStar Trial Delayed Till Monday

Judge encouraged parties to engage in discussion, according to analyst

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/20/2012 12:45:00 PM

The trial between Charlie Ergen's EchoStar and the Dolan family's shuttered Voom HD service was postponed till Monday.

The court did not have enough potential jurors to begin the selection process, according to analyst Thomas Claps, of Susquehanna Financial Group.

Claps says that at the end of the court session, Judge Richard Lowe III "encouraged the parties to engage in discussions" aimed at setting the matter.

Voom, now part of AMC Networks, sued EchoStar for $2.4 billion charging that the satellite distributor breached a 15-year contract to carry the suite of HD channel.

Judge Lowe made several rulings on Wednesday that seemed to go in Voom's favor.

A settlement could include restored carriage for AMC Networks cable channels, which have been blacked out on Dish Network since July.  AMC Networks claims that its channels were pulled by Dish to give it leverage in talks to settle the suit.