Fox channel blacked out on Dish Network in dispute over fees

WSVN website warned that signal could be dropped

Subscribers of the Dish Network satellite TV service in Broward and MiamiDade counties woke up Thursday without Fox Broadcasting Co. affiliate WSVN-Ch. 7 after the companies apparently failed to negotiate a contract extension this week.

WSVN’s website warned that its signal could be dropped by Dish after Sept. 11 if negotiations to update the channel’s carriage agreement with Dish were unsuccessful.

Thursday morning, an employee who answered the phone at WSVN confirmed that the channel had been pulled from Dish.

A WSVN spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment by email and phone messages seeking comment.

In a news release, Dish said Sunbeam Television Co., WSVN’s owner, “chose to black out its own viewers” by pulling stations in Miami and Boston.

“We offered an extension to keep the channels up while we reach a deal, but they refused,” Andy LeCuyer, Dish’s senior vice president of programming, was quoted as saying. The release said Sunbeam is demanding “more than double the current rates” for its channels.

Blackouts of pay and free over-the-air channels are becoming more common as cable, satellite and streaming services resist pressure by the channels’ parent companies to pay more to carry their signals.

A message on WSVN’s website reminded viewers that they would still be able to access the network free with an over-the-air antenna or through other cable and video providers. The site urges viewers with concerns to call Dish at 1-800-333-3474.

Dish, meanwhile, said it will provide affected customers with free over-theair antennas to pull in signals that can be integrated into its DVR.

Customers who choose to receive local signals this way can save $12 a month off their bills, Dish said.

WSVN broadcasts NFL games on Sundays and other popular Fox Network programs such as “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “Empire” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”

A dispute between CBS and AT&T, owner of DirecTV and U-verse, kept CBS affiliates in Miami and 16 other cities, plus other CBS-owned channels, off of AT&T’s systems for 19 days earlier this summer.

The Walt Disney Co. warned viewers during the premiere of Monday Night Football that its dispute with AT&T could threaten continued availability of ESPN and Disney channels, plus Disney’s Freeform channels, on AT&T’s systems. No deadline was given.