Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

[dggoddard]

Bad news for those with Dish Network who watch the Fox Regional Sports Channels.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/01/tech...orts/index.htm

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

DISH Network typically has these problems and lets the contract negotiations fight for a few days. I would say, by the time our (college hockey's) season rolls around, a new contract will be negotiated and FOX Sports will be seen again.

[Pucknut]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

Last season Directv and Comcast had a dispute and subscribers were without NHL coverage (Versus) until just before the playoffs. The only way you could view NHL regular season games was with their Center Ice package.

[dggoddard]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

DU hasn't released their TV schedule yet, but Fox-Rocky Mountain contacted me and said that viewers may be able to access the televised games on the internet.

[sfo19]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

My mother texted me the other day and told me about this and now claims her and my dad are maybe going to have to switch to Direct TV. In Minnesota, not getting FSN is like death to sports fans like my parents.

[gmann]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

I emailed my opinion to ceo@dishnetwork.com and this is the response I received.......

Dear Valued DISH Network Customer,

Thank you for your recent communication regarding your channel.
We regret that FOX Networks, the owner of some Regional Sports Networks, FX and National Geographic Channel, removed their channels from the DISH Network line-up. FOX has demanded a rate increase of more than 50%. An increase this large would force DISH Network to pass these costs on to our customers, which we are unwilling to do during these tough economic times.

We know these channels are important to you which is why during the FOX Sports lock-out, we're pleased to bring you 20 additional sports channels at no cost. We assure you that we are doing everything possible to restore these channels. In the meantime, you will not miss a single MLB playoff game or NFL Game. The Solutions Tab has a full list of alternative sports options available to you while we continue to negotiate with FOX.

DISH Network will continue to work tirelessly for a fair agreement in order to bring these channels back at the earliest possible time. Feel free to share your thoughts and concerns by e-mailing us at president@dishnetwork.com. We assure you that we will read every e-mail we receive.

Thank you for your patience during this process and for being a valued DISH Network customer.

Sincerely,
DISH Network

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

My mother texted me the other day and told me about this and now claims her and my dad are maybe going to have to switch to Direct TV. In Minnesota, not getting FSN is like death to sports fans like my parents.

It might be death to a sports fan but that doesn't mean FSN can just charge Dish Network whatever they want...if I were to complain, it would probably be to FSN, not Dish Network...and yes I do have Dish Network.

[Summerzzzoff]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

The Fox Sports package was the only reason I went with Dish Network. For 4.99 a month I could watch every MN Gopher game and and a handful of other WCHA and CCHA games across the country. Last month I cancelled Dish Network and have been going "rabbit ears" and bought CC season tickets! Good Move!

[aparch]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

The Fox Sports package was the only reason I went with Dish Network. For 4.99 a month I could watch every MN Gopher game and and a handful of other WCHA and CCHA games across the country. Last month I cancelled Dish Network and have been going "rabbit ears" and bought CC season tickets! Good Move!

Wow, $4.99? Isn't that the same package (just regional sports networks minus the major league sports) that DirecTV charges $12.99 for?

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

Wow, $4.99? Isn't that the same package (just regional sports networks minus the major league sports) that DirecTV charges $12.99 for?

Dish Network has their multi-sports package for $7/month now...

"Subscribe to Multi-Sport and receive NFL RedZone, NBA TV, NHL Network and over 25 local sports networks."

EDIT: What is in the Dish Network Multi-sports package for $7/month:

Altitude Sports & Entertainment
Cox Sports Television New Orleans
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
Comcast SportsNet California
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Comcast SportsNet New England
ESPN Classic*
Fox Sports Arizona
Fox Sports Cincinnati
Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Florida
Fox Sports Midwest
Fox Sports North
Fox Sports Northwest
Fox Sports Ohio
Fox Sports Pittsburgh
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
Fox Sport South
Fox Sports Southwest
Fox Sports West
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Alternate
Madison Square Garden
MSGPlus
New England Sports Network
NFL RedZone*
Fox Sports Prime Ticket
SportsNet New York
SportSouth
SportTime Ohio
Sun Sports

[Summerzzzoff]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

That is the package I had for 4.99 - it was great!

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

That is the package I had for 4.99 - it was great!

Yes it went up to $7 a month this spring

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

Wow, $4.99? Isn't that the same package (just regional sports networks minus the major league sports) that DirecTV charges $12.99 for?

Yes it is. Some months ago (during the Comcast/DirecTV dispute over Vs.) I called DirecTV to complain about a number of things. One was the fact they charged about twice as much a month for the Sports Package as DishNet did and there was no reason for me to pay them $13 when I could get it somewhere else for $5. They ended up giving it to me for $2 a month for 6 months. I recently had other complaints and after a couple of phone calls and threats to change to something (anything) else for my TV viewing, they agreed to give me a $20 monthly credit. Anyone who has been with their current multi-channel video provider for more than a year needs to call them and complain about something (anything) and see if you can't wrestle something free or discounted from them. I've tried it 3 times in the last couple of years and each time I got something out of them to the tune of at least $20 a month off my bill.

[dankthetank]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

At least you guys in the lower 48 have options. I'm living in the f*ing Arctic Circle where the only TV provider is Dish Network. I almost choked the first kid that walked into my classroom this morning when I saw this.

[Priceless]

Re: Fox/Dish Network Dispute Affects College Hockey Fans

Dish Network has their multi-sports package for $7/month now...

"Subscribe to Multi-Sport and receive NFL RedZone, NBA TV, NHL Network and over 25 local sports networks."

EDIT: What is in the Dish Network Multi-sports package for $7/month:

Altitude Sports & Entertainment
Cox Sports Television New Orleans
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
Comcast SportsNet California
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Comcast SportsNet New England
ESPN Classic*
Fox Sports Arizona
Fox Sports Cincinnati
Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Florida
Fox Sports Midwest
Fox Sports North
Fox Sports Northwest
Fox Sports Ohio
Fox Sports Pittsburgh
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
Fox Sport South
Fox Sports Southwest
Fox Sports West
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Alternate
Madison Square Garden
MSGPlus
New England Sports Network
NFL RedZone*
Fox Sports Prime Ticket
SportsNet New York
SportSouth
SportTime Ohio
Sun Sports

The DirecTV sports pack has all that (except RedZone) but also has the YES Network, Mountain, Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV, 2 Fox College Sports networks and a bunch of specialty channels (like Speed, Outdoors etc). The MLB and NFL networks are available on all tiers, and NBA, NHL, Golf and Tennis are all available at tier II. I'm guessing the YES Network fee accounts for much of the $7 difference.