While Disney and Dish play hardball, satellite customers lose ESPN, ABC and more
In the ongoing dispute between Dish Network and Disney, satellite TV subscribers are losing out.
That's because Disney pulled its offerings, which include ESPN, Disney Channel, FX, and National Geographic from Dish and its subsidiary Sling TV. The satellite TV company and the media giant failed to reach an agreement by the Sept. 30 expiration date of the contract. In a statement to Variety, Disney said, “After months of negotiating in good faith, Dish has declined to reach a fair, market-based agreement with us for continued distribution of our networks." As a result, the conglomerate pulled access to its portfolio of channels.
According to a statement on the Dish website, Disney wanted a $1 billion increase in fees and refused Dish's offer of a contract extension. "Disney hopes by doing this you will get upset and ultimately contact Dish to put pressure on us to accept their higher rates." The statement also said that Dish "continues to have active conversations with Disney" in order to reach an agreement and bring the channels back as soon as possible. In the meantime, Dish subscribers can watch Monday Night Football, which is broadcast on ESPN, and other Disney content through the NFL and Disney+ apps respectively. Although the NFL app has a free trial, both require a paid subscription.
In other words, if you're a Dish subscriber, it's time to find another way to watch your favorite channels while the tech execs duke it out.
Here's the full list of channels that have gone dark on Dish:
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
ESPN News
ESPN Deportes
Disney Channel
Disney Jr.
Disney XD
Freeform
Baby TV
FX
FXX
FXM
National Geographic
Nat Geo Wild
Nat Geo Mundo
ACC Network
SEC Network
Longhorn Network