DISH Drops Fox Cable Nets

LOS ANGELES: DISH Network yesterday dropped FX, National Geographic Channel and 19 regional sports networks from its lineup, after being unable to come to terms on a new carriage deal with Fox Cable Networks.

In a statement, the News Corporation division called the move "another chapter in [DISH’s] legendary history of irrational negotiations with television programmers." The carriage deal expired September 30. 

“We’ve been attempting to negotiate with DISH for almost six months,” said Mike Hopkins, president of Fox Networks affiliate sales and marketing. “We have made fair and reasonable proposals that are consistent with our agreements with hundreds of other cable and satellite companies with which DISH competes, and they have yet to engage in a constructive dialogue.”

Hopkins added:“Their suggestion that we’re seeking a 50 percent increase in programming fees is flatly wrong. It’s completely disingenuous for DISH—a company that is on pace to extract more than $10 billion dollars in revenue and $3 billion in profits from its subscribers—to suggest that we are bullying their customers. Their tactics of promoting untrue accusations and removing programming is standard procedure for them.”

On October 31, DISH’s agreement to carry Fox television stations also expires. If a deal is not reached, the platform’s customers will lose access to the flagship FOX broadcast network.