Dish Network "has dropped the NFL Network," as the channel "went dark in seven million Dish homes Thursday night after the two sides were unable to come to terms on a new distribution contract for the service," according to Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Data from SNL Kagan shows NFL Network "has a monthly fee of $1.31 per subscriber." Dish in the past has "railed against the rising costs of sports channels." While Dish "carries ESPN and other sports outlets, it steers clear of most" RSNs that carry local baseball, basketball and hockey. Like other pay-TV distributors, Dish "has offered the NFL Network on a specialty tier of channels instead of requiring that all of its 14 million customers pay for it." The NFL said that Dish "is the first distributor to drop the channel in its 13-year history" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/17). In L.A., Stephen Battaglio notes the move "marks the second blackout this week" for Dish's nearly 14 million customers. Dish on Sunday "pulled Tribune Media's 42 TV stations across the country," including cable network WGN America, after the two sides "failed to agree to a new carriage deal" (L.A. TIMES, 6/17).
