I've been trying to tell my Dish Network friends for years that DirecTV was the way to go. This just proves it: EchoStar service pulls local stations, MTV, Nickelodeon in bitter dispute about rates. Besides the MTV music network, channels not available included children's network Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Black Entertainment Television. Also pulled were 16 local CBS stations owned and operated by Viacom, including stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. According to Viacom officials, "They recently hiked their subscribers' bills by as much as $3 a month. Yet they are unwilling to consider paying an additional 6 cents a month per subscriber for the right to carry our channels."