Image Credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images

At an event today in New York City, DISH Network CEO Joseph Clayton announced that DISH will host a televised “War of the Words” between Glenn Beck, whose channel TheBlaze launched Sept. 12 exclusively on DISH, and Current TV’s Eliot Spitzer in Denver on Oct. 2 — the night before the first presidential debate is held there. Beck and Spitzer were on-hand, standing in a mock boxing ring, in their respective blue and red corners, but there were no oratorical fireworks. That is, until Clayton (pictured, right) took the opportunity to address some of DISH’s own disputes.

Asked if DISH’s 14 million subscribers would be seeing AMC Networks (including AMC, WE, IFC, and Sundance), which they’ve been without since July 1, anytime soon, Clayton told reporters, “Not that I’m aware of.” While AMC has argued the feud is really about a breach of contract suit it has against DISH over dropped VOOM HD channels with a Sept. 19 court date  – Clayton insists the fundamental issue is DISH’s core rural subscribers not wanting to pay for channels they don’t watch. “We would be amenable to looking at AMC, a channel that resonates with our total customer base, but not with all the hang-ons,” Clayton told EW. “Until we have a better alternative with not having to drag a lot of stuff with it, we don’t see anything on the near horizon. [But] never say never.” READ FULL STORY »