Editors at CNET were forced to rescind a product award after their parent company stepped in. The perils of reporting on yourself.
At 4:05 PM on Wednesday, Dish Networks notified its Twitter followers that it had been chosen as a finalist for CNET's "Best of CES" awards for its new DVR product. This was not a surprise — the Hopper was given a best-of award by nearly every publication handing them out this year, and CNET had called it "cutting-edge stuff" in a review this week. CNET posted a note on its Twitter account, too:
When the awards were announced today, the Hopper was nowhere to be seen. It hadn't won an award. But not because it was beat out by a better product.
CNET had been told by its owners to remove it from consideration.
CNET, a massive tech site that sent 90+ editors to CES this year, is owned by CBS. And CBS is currently involved in a lawsuit against Dish for a version of the Hopper DVR announced last year (one feature of the Hopper, called PrimeTime Anytime, records all broadcast channels at once, continuously, allowing viewers to skip all advertising). CBS Broadcasting and CBS Interactive, which operates CNET, are in different divisions of the company. Nonetheless, when CNET editors chose the Dish on its merits, the CBS mothership told them they couldn't. The publication has defended the choice, citing its narrow effect (only reviews, only specific products) but the wall has still been breached:
