Fox News dropped by
Dish Network
Satellite company pulls No. 1 cable channel in contract
dispute
WASHINGTON – No. 1-rated Fox News
Channel was unceremoniously dropped by Dish Network Saturday night – surprising viewers who were told
Fox had pulled the programming from the satellite TV system.
Fox climbed to the top of the ladder in cable news by
offering what it calls “fair and balanced” programing – and what many
progressives, including Barack Obama, call biased.
Dish used the pretext of stalled negotiations over a new
distribution deal to pull the plug on both Fox News Channel and Fox Business
Network – two favorites of conservatives and independent thinkers.
Dish, which has for weeks been negotiating a new carriage
contract for the 21st Century Fox channels, said the channels were blocked
after Fox introduced fee increases for other sports and information channels
not part of the original contract.
“It’s like we’re about to close on a house and the realtor
is trying to make us buy a new car as well,” Warren Schlichting, Dish’s senior
vice president of programming, said in a statement. “Fox blacked out two of its
news channels, using them as leverage to triple rates on sports and
entertainment channels that are not in this contract.”
While officials said they offered a short-term contract
extension to keep the channels on the air, Fox claims Dish disconnected the
channels “in an attempt to intimidate and sway our negotiations.”
“It is unfortunate that the millions of Fox News viewers on
Dish were used as pawns by their provider,” Tim Carry, executive vice president
of distribution at Fox News Channel, said in a statement. “Hopefully they will
vote with their hard earned money and seek another one of our other valued
distributors immediately.”
Molly Line of the Fox News Channel
Carry’s statement pointed out Dish similarly dropped CNN,
Turner Classic Movies and other channels in October – restoring them only after
an extension was agreed upon in negotiations.
Dish has 14 million subscribers.
Fox said the deal it offered Dish has been accepted by other
major pay-TV distributors.
“They did not want to accept terms and commitments that have
become customary in a Fox News renewal,” said Carry.
Disagreements over programming fees have become common among
pay-TV services. As more consumers opt for other methods of entertainment,
including streaming services such as Netflix Inc., pay-TV distributors are
pushing back against content companies’ demands for fee increases. Programmers
counter that their costs are rising, too, and they need increased subscriber
fees to pay for sports and entertainment.
Besides negotiating fees and additional channels, Fox and
Dish were also reportedly trying to resolve a legal dispute over Dish’s digital
video recorder, which includes a special commercial-skipping feature. Dish is
also seeking rights to Fox-owned channels for a new Internet video service it
is launching.
Fox News
Media Matters
monitors Fox News.
Note: Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for Media Matters, the Center for American Progress,
and the Committee for Economic Development.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a
supporter for the Center for American Progress.
DISH
Network Corporation was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
Joseph P. Clayton
is a director & president & CEO for the DISH Network Corporation, and a trustee at the Committee for
Economic Development.
Donna S. Morea
was a trustee at the Committee for
Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc.
was the Obamacare contractor that
developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy
initiative.
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