Fox TV and satellite TV provider Dish Network came to terms on Friday, ending a blackout of several cable channels including FX and 19 regional sports networks to 14.3 million Dish customers.
The deal between the unit of News Corporation and Dish Network Corporation comes two days before their agreement for Fox’s broadcast signals expired. The pact means Dish customers will be able to watch the World Series.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal came as a relief for Dish customers in some cities who faced their own Fox blackout next week in the feud over programming fees.
Dish’s contract to carry more than 25 local Fox TV stations was to expire at midnight on Sunday. If an agreement hadn’t been reached, the channels would have gone dark for more than 3 million customers. That would have affected Fox shows such as “House” and potentially the last three games of the World Series.
Fox had already cut off programming to Cablevision Systems Corp. in a similar feud, affecting about 3 million customers in the New York area. News Corp. said it considers the Fox network just as valuable as the most expensive cable programming because of its sports shows and hits like “American Idol.”
“Dish is more exposed to programming costs than any other pay-TV provider because they face a lot of competition,” said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities in Denver.
Dish subscribers hadn’t been able to watch some Fox programming, including FX, National Geographic and 19 local sports channels, since separate fee talks broke down on Oct. 1. Dish said News Corp. was asking for a rate increase of more than 50 percent, a claim News Corp. called “flat-out wrong.”
Pay-TV operators are resisting increased charges, which are typically passed to the customer, arguing that the channels are free over the public airwaves and on the Internet. Dish, whose service attracts spending-conscious consumers, has expressed worry that it won’t be able to pass along the higher fees in a sluggish economy.
Dish lost almost 20,000 subscribers in the second quarter amid increased competition and weak consumer spending. Since Dish offers only video, it can’t offset higher expenses with other services such as phone or broadband Internet, unlike rival cable companies.
This year, disputes between channel owners and distributors over fees have led to the most TV blackouts in at least a decade. In October, Dish subscribers lost access to MSG Network and MSG Plus. In May, Dish threatened to keep the Weather Channel off its systems amid negotiations.
Fox pulled its programming from Cablevision on Oct. 16. News Corp. is said to be asking $1 a subscriber per month for the programming, Harrigan said.
