Dish Network customers lose FX, Fox Sports, NatGeo over rate dispute
Two of the three possible regular season final games for outgoing Braves manager Bobby Cox may be blacked out for Dish Network customers if a dispute over rates isn't resolved. CREDIT: Curtis Compton/ajc.com
If you’re a Dish Network customer and planning to watch two of the three final Atlanta Braves regularly scheduled season games this weekend, you may be out of luck.
News Corp.’s Fox is blocking Dish’s access to 19 Fox Sports channels, FX and the National Geographic Channel. The sticking point is rate increases. Dish said they are asking for transmission fee increase of more than 50 percent. Those increases are often passed on to customers in the form of higher monthly subscription rates.
In a press release today, Dish said, “Fox has flatly refused Dish Network’s request to allow customers to continue to watch these FOX channels during the negotiations.”
“Dish Network is not going to allow Fox or any programmer to bully our customers into paying such an unconscionable price increase,” said Dave Shull, senior vice president of Programming for Dish Network in the press release.
The University of Georgia football game on Saturday night versus the Colorado Buffaloes is set to air on Fox Sports South, which would be unavailable if this dispute continues.
But good news, Dawg fans: Dish has come up with a work around. It has made some channels available that most Atlanta subscribers don’t normally get, including FSN Rocky Mountain (9664) and CSN Mid-Atlantic (9667) . Those networks are airing the Georgia-Colorado game. (UPDATE: I hear this work-around did not end up happening. I’m checking with Dish to see if that was indeed the case.)
There, so far, appears to be no other option for the affected Braves games SportsSouth is scheduled to air the Braves-Phillies game tonight at 7:30 p.m. Fox Sports South is set to air the Sunday game, which could be manager Bobby Cox’s final game ever, at 1:30 p.m. (The Saturday game at 4 p.m. will air on WAGA-TV, which Dish Network customers will have access to whether this dispute is resolved or not.)
Fox has its own website about the situation at www.getwhatipaidfor.com where it also notes that the Fox broadcast network might be affected on November 1 in a separate dispute. There, Fox points to alternative options such as DirecTV, Comcast and AT&T U-Verse.
In a media statement today, Fox said, “The proposal we’ve offered Dish is fair and in line with the tremendous value we provide. We regret the inconvenience to our viewers, but Dish has asserted its subscribers do not value our channels and has made a decision to go forward without them.”
This move affects Dish Network’s 14.3 million nationwide customers. (Dish does not reveal metro specific numbers.)
According to Scarborough Research covering February 2009 to January 2010, the Atlanta metro area has 1.5 million households that subscribe to cable, 527,700 households who use DirecTV and 320,400 households who have Dish.
This current dispute does not impact Fox News, the Fox broadcast network (WAGA) or Fox Business Channel.
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305 comments Add your comment
fight the good fight dish
October 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
all of you “I cant go without this or that” get a life……so what FX, Nat Geo or Sports South wont be on for a while, there are plenty of other good programming options to watch until this is settled. Fox is depending on you suckers to raise a fuss to give them more ammo to fight Dish with.
HIGH ON THE HOG
October 4th, 2010
6:19 pm
Well, for customers like us, where we live, (Kentucky) it’s either Dish or Direct. The cable here is run out of someones garage. We love Justified, so I hope I will be able to watch the new season online. We currently have Dish in our house & Direct in my husbands mancave, I want to go to Direct in January anyway for their whole home dvr.
Hajzaki
October 4th, 2010
7:34 pm
I also applaud Dish for not agreeing to a rate increase of “more than 50%”. Fox can take all their channels and go home.
Jim
October 4th, 2010
9:30 pm
put back on THE SONS OF ANARCHY you dumb M.F’s
Verm
October 4th, 2010
10:09 pm
This is one of the reasons why I’m going to just go the way of the pirate and download/hack everything. Done with cable, done with dish, done with directtv.
Netflix, Hulu and the hundreds of streaming sites and torrents/newsgroups along with google TV have made me realize I’m wasting money just so companies can play games to get more out of us all.
Dish will end up giving the “we tried, blah blah blah but we will have to raise our rates to get the content our customers want, blah blah blah” speech hoping people don’t realize fox owns part of Dish.
mad
October 4th, 2010
10:31 pm
The Dish Network shouldn’t make this an inconvenience for the customer! We pay for these channels and there should have been a notice in my latest bill about these changes so I could have been forewarned. I will not go without NATGEO because someone has an issue with price. I understand why but we, the customer, should have a choice if we want to pay extra or not. Now I will have to cancel Dish Network and go to another service provider and I will not pay a cancellation fee or start up fee since DirectTV offers to let you out of your current contract.
KeIko
October 4th, 2010
11:58 pm
This stucks big time but i hope that both sides can work this out and get those channels that was blocked back on air soon.
Brenda
October 5th, 2010
12:14 am
I am very pissed off because I cannot watch my fav anymore wich is Sons. What the ##### have had their services for years and now they want to pull the plug on my fav. Guess they can kiss my ################ because I will find some other provider hope I dont miss any episodes. What a crock of you know what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
c caudillo
October 5th, 2010
7:57 am
dish sucks and I will switch to another carrier when my contract is up. This should be illegal. Where are the lawyers that should be sticking up for the common people. Bad enough your equipmentsucks. So pissed in Minooka Il.
m lewis
October 5th, 2010
8:05 am
Fox is in contract talks with Time Warner Cable right now. TWC will lose all Encore, Starz, and other channel owned by Fox. They are jerking alot of consumers around, it does not matter who your provider is they will sooner or later end up in contract talks with them. You need to contact Fox and flood them with calls and emails and let them know that they can not keep bullying people into paying what they want.
Amanda
October 5th, 2010
11:38 am
This is bulls*^t now we can’t watch son’s of anarchy or the league. As soon as my boyfriend gets home from work today we are cxling this crap and going to direct tv!!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN’T JUST CUT PEOPLE OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR FAVORITE SHOWS!!!!!
rice
October 5th, 2010
12:08 pm
That is so not cool to take a channel away that some people count on to watch a show every week! Does Direct tv have FX cause i have been with dish for along time and now they do that. They dont care about their business
SAM
October 5th, 2010
1:48 pm
We found out when we tuned in for the Ranger game Friday nite. NO pre-warning, no offer to pay more to get it, nothing – just the statement blaming Fox & saying Fox Southwest wasn’t available. Didn’t say we could watch on another channel, nothing ~ We’ve waited a few days & nothing. Dish says one thing & Fox says another. We just switched to DirecTV and we will NOT pay Dish’s cancellation fees. They bailed on us or we wouldn’t have changed!
Mad Mad Mad
October 5th, 2010
8:02 pm
Been waiting all summer for Sons of Anarchy………….D@#n It FOX! There is no cable service where I live!!! I’m Screwed!
golfer
October 5th, 2010
9:11 pm
Look not only do we get it from dish,,if wiill filter to all eventually. Cable, direct etc. We dont need to fight dish,, we need to stand up to the providers,,,,ever think what they get in advertising money for us to watch? If fox and others want to lose a min of 14 million viewers,, let the sponsers complain.
BigT
October 5th, 2010
9:16 pm
This is crazy !! No Sons tonight, Fox can’t be that bad off that the execs had to raise rates 50 % and for what, to make their pockets even fatter ?
erin
October 5th, 2010
9:18 pm
Sons of Anarchy great show! I dont blame Dish, I do blame FOX. Its unfortunate that even a night at home has to come at a greater price. Unless FOX cost are increasing rapidly, I think it is really just un fair to the consumer. I would hope that advertisers will consider the amount of viewers that are being lost due to this situation. Hold out dish- your not the only one with something to lose.
greg
October 5th, 2010
9:40 pm
ohhhh my no fox booohooo u people need a life n relax with da couch seriously
Jarett
October 5th, 2010
10:09 pm
This is B.S. fx and natgeo are great channels u guys should figure out what the hell your going to do because I can’t go much longer without sons of anarchy. (SAMCRO)If anyone hears anything about this in the Jersey area please let me know
JD
October 5th, 2010
10:14 pm
FOX can shove it!
Jeff
October 5th, 2010
10:18 pm
We loose FX, just like the Limited Recording. You pay extra to be able to record your favorite programs, then, they throw in limited recording on Paid Preview. If you are a dish customer and pay monthly for recording then when you pay for movie on Paid Preview, shouldnt you be able to keep it recorded. You paid for FX and now its gone. And the prices keep going up. Well is it time to change.
Mark Lostracco
October 5th, 2010
10:22 pm
We will be looking into switching from Dish if that is what it takes to get our favorites back! This is not what we pay for or what we signed up with Dish for!!!
Glenn Leckron
October 5th, 2010
10:35 pm
Done pissed me off now cant watch my Sons of Anarchy? What the hell been with dish for 15 plus years think il go back to Direct TV they got what i want!!!
faith reid
October 5th, 2010
10:45 pm
sooooo what a crock got like 50 statoins i dont understand cuz i speak english this channel was part of the agreement i signed up for i pay 4 every month on time without fail and this is not the only channel what about verses im supposed to get that one too and my bill just went up 12 00 !!!!!!?????? ready to break out th vhs and say **** u
faith reid
October 5th, 2010
10:46 pm
yup glen you got it no sons we will go to direct tv too
ajay
October 5th, 2010
10:58 pm
Enter your comments here
philip
October 5th, 2010
11:40 pm
Well it is aperant that most of you did not do you homework dish will make 11 billion in profits this year alone huh wander who’s pocet that goes into get mad at fox if you want they want abou 3 dollers per subscriber for the channels and we already pay that well it sounds to me like dish is tring to maximize there profits there is no need for it to come from our pockets take it away from what we already pay this is stupid give back the channels or direct will be in my house by the end of the week wonder how many others will switch well there goes the idea of no increease if you lose customers then you have to make the money up somewhere else oh well shaft the costomer dish and keep telling your lies f@** you
Mary
October 6th, 2010
12:28 am
I just got Dish so I am stuck for 2 years and the one show I love on FX is Sons of Anarchy and I cant even see it. Tried to watch it on the computer and couldnt find the full episode. WTF this Sucks. I am sorry I switched to Dish guess I should have stayed with time warner.
angie barrales
October 6th, 2010
12:40 am
wow, this sucks!!! There goes my Sons of Anarchy
Hawaiian Wahine
October 6th, 2010
6:26 am
What the F^]*!!!!!! I can’t believe this CRAP!!! We’re just getting towards the middle of the season for Sons of Anarchy and dumb ass FOX wants to be GREEDY!!!! This sucks!!! Well it goes to say that I don’t know what the HELL I’m gonna do! At one point I just want the dang thing to come up and I don’t care what the cost is, but the other is that WTF?!?!??!?! Don’t Fox & all them other stations generate MILLIONS or BILLIONS of dollars? Now they gotta take more money from people even through a recession?!?!?!??! WTF is this world coming to!!!!
Jim
October 6th, 2010
10:50 am
Enter your comments here
Jim
October 6th, 2010
11:07 am
Well I just read the Fox side of the story and they said it is Dish Network who is the greedy party. I suppose you can say both sides are at fault. Fox says Dish is charging for local programming and that their profits [dish] for 2009 was over 2 Billion dollars and they are 25% over that figure so far this year. Although I am not fond of Fox’s political views I do think both sides is to blame. I know dish raised their rates for no other reason than greed and i think fox has a right to want some of that profit. You notice that there is no problem YET with the other satellite companies and broadcasters
ray parrish
October 6th, 2010
12:06 pm
fx wants more money then they should work harder and offer more all they show is reruns. it is fox responsibilties to pay thier taxes not the customers. fox all they do sit on thier asses so where is the justification for the increase
Toni Sallee
October 6th, 2010
1:04 pm
I bought the package I have specifically for FX !!! Think this is a good reason to break my contract if I have to and go to direct ! And the trouble is it is right in the middle of one of my favorite series….Sons of Anarchy !! Not pleased !
maddog
October 6th, 2010
1:58 pm
I’m not surprised that Fox would pull a stunt like this. Way to make freinds! I love Son’s and was pissed it wasn’t on last night. Please get this dispute straightened out.
Bill harman
October 6th, 2010
2:02 pm
Sons was good last night..thanks to Directtv. If you read the newsletter sent out by Directtv you will see that they are only asking for a small increase. Less than $2 per customer. You idiots that have Dish should be mad that Dish charges for local channels..they are free on Directtv..I had Dish and made the switch and all of you should to and then the $2 BILLION dollar profit that Dish is going to post this year will go down a little bit.
foster opperman
October 6th, 2010
3:29 pm
if i miss one red wings game fox and dish can kiss my ass
foster opperman
October 6th, 2010
3:31 pm
what a bunch of creeps just days before hockey season starts,
guess we”ll watch i love lucy reruns
Mount Vernon
October 6th, 2010
3:38 pm
bornloser you are the moron for even posting a comment like that. Most people that have dish or direct go that route due to the fact that they do not have cable as an option. The cable tv in our area carries 35 channels of wich 20 of them are such poor quality they are unwatchable.
Tim
October 6th, 2010
5:21 pm
Recently we have have Disney HD’s removed. We have lost FX, Fox sports and Nat Geo. We pay for the largest package to make sure we’ll get certain channels and we aren’t happy when we lose them. Fox is not to blame for this. They own the network, Charlie is leasing it, a business move for all the networks. Charlie makes money on these networks that don’t belong to him, he in turn leases them to millions of us. Charlie (dish) is making billions each year in profit and he can certainly afford a small increase to keep his customers happy. Another fact, Fox is not asking for a 50% increase. DISH Network lost approximately 19000 subscribers during the quarter ended June 30, 2010 and I predict a much larger loss from this mess. Direct TV is making deals for those Dish customers with contracts. If Charlie were half as smart as he thinks he is he’d settle this quickly instead of putting his head in the sand hoping Fox will back down.
SOA
October 6th, 2010
7:21 pm
I want the sons of anarchy back NOW!!!!
SoA fan
October 6th, 2010
9:52 pm
WTF! I waited 9 months for season 3 of sons of anarchy and now this $h!t
bathguy
October 6th, 2010
10:19 pm
for those who are fan of sons of anarchy, can get them on itunes the day after it aired
Dimitris
October 7th, 2010
2:06 am
Has anyone called Dish Network and asked to cancel their 2 year contract because FX is no longer
available? It will be interesting to see if it can be done.
Luis
October 7th, 2010
4:13 am
This is BS I love Natgeo I watched it 24/7 and also FX screw this im switching to att uvers
P%^&*ed Off In Fort Sill
October 7th, 2010
11:27 am
Why is it always about making more money those GREEDY B######S!!!!!!! I need to watch SONS OF ANARCHY D%$^ IT
Klinger39
October 7th, 2010
12:33 pm
Yea I just noticed this today, no F/X and I wanted to see it’s always sunny! Fox expects people to just pick up and leave their contracts with satellite companies so they can screw us
what the $%%#@&%(~!&
October 7th, 2010
9:04 pm
f/x? where is it!!!???!!! I missed sons, get it back!! Does charter have f/x?????
what the $%%#@&%(~!&
October 7th, 2010
9:06 pm
bye bye!!
ramiro nunez
October 7th, 2010
9:28 pm
i will be changing my service provider to direct tv, this really blows fx was my favorite channel
and i have been a dishnetwork customer for over 12 years