Viacom shares leap after accord to renew Dish contract

By Jessica Toonkel

REUTERS - Viacom Inc said on Thursday reached an agreement with Dish Network Corp, averting a blackout of its programs on the satellite TV network.

News of the accord helped send Viacom's shares up over 9.7 percent in late morning trade, while Dish's stock firmed 0.6 percent. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

The companies have been in discussions for several months over whether Dish would continue to carry Viacom's 18 channels and at what price.

A blackout would have blocked Dish subscribers' access to Viacom shows such as "Broad City" on Comedy Central and "SpongeBob SquarePants" on Nickelodeon.

For Viacom, which has been struggling to turn around its waning television ratings, the agreement with Dish shows that distributors still view the company's networks as valuable to viewers.

While Viacom could have pulled its programming from Dish networks when the agreement expired at the start of Thursday, it did not.

Viacom's stock was up over 9.7 percent in late morning trading, while Dish's stock firmed 0.6 percent.

(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and W Simon)