Fox Plays Hardball With DISH Network, Pulls 19 Regional Sports Channels and FX

By October 1, 2010
dishnettt

(PlagueX1)

We — just like you — have had it with stories about squabbling between cable/satellite providers and various networks. And yet, these nasty spats go on, and they always seem to come to a head at importune times. The latest: Fox has decided to pull 19 regional sports channels, FX and the National Geographic Channel from DISH Network subscribers while the two parties dicker over carriage fees.

DISH users will still have access to their local Fox affiliate, as well as Fox News (thank God!) and Fox Business (Amen!).

Here are the 19 stations that have been pulled from DISH:
FOX Sports Arizona
FOX Sports Detroit
FOX Sports Florida
FOX Sports Midwest
FOX Sports North
FOX Sports Ohio
FOX Sports Oklahoma
FOX Sports Southwest
FOX Sports South
FOX Sports West
Prime Ticket
SportSouth
Sun Sports
(These last 6 are channels that DISH subscribers only had access to as part-time/overflow channels)
Fox Sports Carolinas
Fox Sports Houston
Fox Sports Indiana
Fox Sports Kansas City
Fox Sports Tennessee
Fox Sports Wisconsin

Additionally, in a deal unrelated to the Fox negotiations, DISH users in the NYC area also no longer have access to the MSG network.

Said a VP from the satellite provider:

DISH Network is not going to allow FOX or any programmer to bully our customers into paying such an unconscionable price increase… FOX has a long history of trying to shake down pay TV providers, including Cablevision, Time Warner, and Bright House.

In fact, the American Television Alliance, which counts all of the above companies (and DISH competitor DirecTV) issued a statement excoriating Fox for the timing of the blackouts:

During the pennant races, Fox has struck out at viewers across America. FOX’s blackout of regional sports networks and other cable channels from DISH Network puts consumers in the middle of a business dispute, the same tactic broadcast networks are using in retransmission negotiations with pay-TV providers.

For its part, Fox calls DISH’s claim about the broadcaster’s demands “absurd,” and say the fees Fox is asking for are “consistent with our agreements with hundreds of other cable and satellite providers.”

FOX BLOCKS REGIONAL SPORTS CHANNELS FROM DISH NETWORK VIEWERS [Official DISH Press Release]
Fox sports channels, MSG drop off Dish in dispute [AP]

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Comments

  1. TheCorporateGeek Says Common Sense Is The Key says:
    October 8, 2010 at 11:28 am

    After 8 years I dumped DISH after finding this out. DirecTV installed my system 2 days later. I had written an EECB back in January about this same issue in which we lost the ability to watch 20 home games of our hockey team. I was greeted with the following:

    Thank you for your email. I understand there is some confusion on the Dallas Stars Hockey schedule on DISH Network. Our contract with Fox Sports Network guarantees 40 Stars games per year. As we have in the past, we will continue to broadcast those same 40 games again this year.
    Last year, Fox decided to broadcast an additional 20 Stars games at no additional cost to either DISH or its viewers. After providing the games last year at no charge, they decided this year to charge for these same games. DISH was then given an option: pay an exorbitant surcharge for these additional 20 games that were previously available last year or lose the games altogether for the ’09 – ’10 season. They also required us to pay for games for the St. Louis Blues, which are less relevant to our customers in Dallas.
    In reviewing the price that was demanded by Fox Sports, we realized that if we accepted this annual surcharge we would have to raise prices to subscribers like you. We ultimately decided that we would not accept the demands of Fox Sports and will not increase prices to our customers. In these tough economic times it is unfortunate that Fox Sports would allow you to see these games last season only to take them away unless DISH met their demand for excessive fees for these same games.
    I realize for some of our customers this will be an unpopular decision. However, unless video providers and fans draw a line to protest the unreasonableness of certain content providers, prices will continue to escalate at excessive rates. I appreciate your concern and your loyalty. We are proud to consistently offer the best prices in the industry. I promise that we will continue to work with Fox Sports and the Stars in an attempt to reach agreement on fair pricing for these additional games.

    Respectfully,
    Dave Shull
    Senior Vice President, Programming
    DISH Network

    Well Mr. Shull, you just lost a customer. What’s the point in paying for channels you are supposed to get when you’re not getting them……..ADIOS DISH!

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