It’s Chuck vs. Charlie.
Cablevision plans to call founder Charles “Chuck” Dolan as its first witness in the courtroom showdown with Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network over Cablevision’s long defunct Voom high-definition satellite TV service.
Both pay-TV moguls are set to take the stand in Manhattan state court where the Bethpage-based cable operator is suing Dish for breach of contract and $2.5 billion in damages.
While Wall Street analysts widely predicted the two would reach a settlement, sources say the case is headed to trial starting tomorrow.
The elder Dolan, the father of Cablevision chief executive James Dolan, will testify that Dish dumped a 15-year contract to distribute a package of HD channels that were part of the Voom service after just two years.
Voom is now part of Dolan-controlled AMC Networks.
Dolan will take the stand as early as Thursday, while Ergen won’t make his appearance until later in a trial that is expected to last between four and six weeks.
Josh Sappan, the chief of AMC Networks, is also slated to take the stand. AMC claims that Dish has dumped its networks from its channel lineup as part of the Voom dispute, while Dish says it’s an issue over the fees it pays AMC to carry the networks.
Cablevision is expected to argue that Ergen has a history of bringing contracts he doesn’t like to court and then in some cases ignoring court rulings. A judge has already ruled that Echostar destroyed evidence in the Voom case.
“We are confident that once the jury hears the evidence in this case, they will conclude that Dish Network illegally terminated its contract with Voom HD,” said Cablevision lawyer Orin Snyder of Gibson Dunn.
Bob Toevs, a spokesman for Dish, said, “Dish looks forward to presenting our case and prevailing on the merits.”