Why some Penn State fans won’t be able to watch Friday’s game
Penn State football fans who rely on Dish and Sling TV might have to find another way to watch Friday’s game against Maryland.
On Thursday, Dish announced that its lineup of Fox channels had been dropped, including Fox, FS1, FS2, the Big Ten Network, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes. Dish and Sling TV customer access to local channels has been blocked in 17 markets across 23 states, including the District of Columbia.
The Big Ten Network tweeted on Thursday that millions of customers lost their local Fox station, causing them to miss several games this weekend, including Penn State’s game against Maryland on FS1.
According to a Dish release, Fox is demanding a double-digit percentage increase for continued carriage of local channels and is attempting to “force bundle” channels and unrelated cable networks “to get more money and gain negotiating leverage.”
“Taken together, Fox’s actions are profoundly anti-consumer,” Andy LeCuyer, Dish senior vice president of programming, said in a release. “Fox is raising prices and turning its back on its public obligation to provide channels to consumers for free. It’s clear that Fox cares more about padding its bottom line than serving its viewers.”
Fox is encouraging customers who have lost access to NFL, college football and MLB playoff games to drop Dish.
On KeepFox.com, Fox said Dish, “elected to drop Fox networks in an effort to coerce us to agree to outrageous demands. While we regret this is Dish’s preferred approach to negotiating, we remind our loyal viewers that the Fox services are widely available through every other major television provider.”
This isn’t the first time Dish has pulled networks from its lineup. In July, Dish pulled 21 regional Fox sports networks after the two companies failed to reach a new agreement.
Affected customers can watch NFL games by using an over-the-air antenna or by streaming local and some prime-time games for free on their phones and tablets on the NFL app.
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 12:35 PM.
