TV Answer Man, I read your story about DIRECTV and Bloomberg and when that blackout might end. What about the Dish blackout of the AT&T SportsNet channels and Root Sports. We already miss not having Root here in Seattle on our dish. — Olive, Seattle.
Olive, as you know, Dish last week lost AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and Root Sports Northwest in a carriage dispute.
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh is the TV home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins while AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain carries the regional broadcasts of the Colorado Rockies, Utah Jazz and Vegas Golden Knights. Root Sports is the TV home of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken, and Portland Trailblazers. (Note: Dish also does not carry the other AT&T-named regional sports network, AT&T SportsNet Southwest.)
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So when will Dish settle this dispute, you ask?
Maybe never.
Dish, which does not carry most regional sports channels, is a vocal critic of their economic model. The satcaster says a relatively small number of subscribers watch the RSNs, but the channels demand carriage fees equivalent (or higher) to channels with far more viewers.
Consequently, Dish wants to offer the channels on a la carte basis rather than in programming bundles so only the people who watch would have to pay for them. But the RSNs reject this approach because it would mean fewer subscribers, and therefore, fewer carriage dollars. (Pay TV services pay the channels based in large part on how many people subscribe to them; channels in bundles have the most subscribers.)
“The current RSN model is fundamentally broken,” Brian Neylon, Dish’s group president, said in a statement. “This model requires nearly all customers to pay for RSNs when only a small percentage of customers actually watch them.”
And therein lies the standoff. It’s not likely that Dish will budge from its position anytime soon, and it’s not likely the RSNs will, either.
Olive, wish I could be more hopeful. You might want to check out DIRECTV Stream, or DIRECTV, both of which carry the AT&T SportsNet channels, and Root.
Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
DISH doesn’t get it at all. All subscribers are still paying the same amount for whichever tier they are subscribed to. I would gladly pay extra to get my local RSN, but no one at DISH has bothered to ask me. It’s like their CEO is sitting in my recliner making monetary decisions for me. This in no way means I’m siding with Bally Sports either. They’re probably just as much to blame as DISH is for these juvenile carriage disputes. What this all comes down to is that DISH will lose yet another customer next spring when my 2-year contract expires. They don’t seem to care though. Bruce
We have been with Dish for over 20 years but if we can’t watch the Mariners next spring we will move. We have watched every Mariners game since 2000. I guess we are the people Dosh discounts.
If dish doesn’t get the att sports fixed I will also be changing my service. I like my rockies games. I can get just as good service someplace else. I noticed my bill didn’t decrease when I lost the channel.
If you complain to the right department you can get dish to give some credit. That being said I believe they are woefully underestimating how many people actually watch Root. My in-laws just switched back to Comcast from dish specifically for Mariners games. I’m a huge hockey fan as well as Mariners. If this isn’t fixed by next hockey season I’ll be moving on as well. Been with dish for over 10 years. Tried streaming for about 3 hours and through it in the trash.
We have been with Dish for more than10 years. We have patiently waited for them to get Root Sports back because we are avid Mariner fans and now Kraken fans. We have liked Dish but if we can’t see Root Sports by the end of Spring training 2023 will will be moving to Direct TV.
Not everyone wants 20-30 stupid shopping channels but they are there Bring RSN back or FuBo here I come. Season starts tomorrow