Dish Chair: RSNs Less Valuable Than In '19, But Still Open To Deal

Dish Network Chair Charlie Ergen said that the number of Dish subscribers who want to "watch regional sports networks are now at a 'fraction' of what they were before" the provider dropped Sinclair's formerly Fox-owned RSNs, according to CABLEFAX DAILY. But Ergen added that he would "still like to do a deal" with Sinclair. He said, "We love regional sports; we really like Sinclair. It was an unfortunate circumstance that Sinclair did not own them when our contract was up" (CABLEFAXDAILY.com, 2/20). The RSNs went dark on Dish in July. On Dish's earnings call yesterday, Ergen said the main stumbling block for that was money. "The math is easy," he said. "We know what it's worth, and it's worth less today than it was last year." Dish's carriage deal for Sinclair's local broadcast channels ends in the first half of this year, which sources predict will provide the impetus for Dish to finally do an RSN deal (John Ourand, SBJ Media).