ESPN, Dish Network Yet To Renew Expiring Affiliate Agreement

ESPN and Dish Network still have yet to reach terms to renew their affiliate deal, which ends at midnight tonight. Neither company offered an on-the-record comment, but sources said talks are still happening. While it is possible that ESPN – along with all Disney channels – goes dark on Dish, sources expect the two sides to work out an extension if a deal is not ready by tonight. ESPN is the highest priced channel today, costing distributors around $5.50 per subscriber per month.

Dish still does not have access to ESPN's digital programming, like Watch ESPN, or services like Longhorn Network or the upcoming SEC Network. Dish Network has more than 14 million subscribers and is the country's third largest distributor behind Comcast and DirecTV.