Update: Dish has sent Cord Cutters News the following statement:
“DISH and Sling’s goal is to keep the FOX Regional Sports Networks available to our customers at a reasonable cost. We are unsure why the FOX RSN group, currently owned by Disney and in the process of being sold to Sinclair, decided to involve customers in the contract negotiation process at a point when there is still time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal.”
Update #2: Disney reached out to Cord Cutters News to let us know that the Fox RSNs have their own independent team negotiating with Dish during this transition period.
Back in May Sinclair purchased most of the Fox Regional Sports Networks from Disney for $10.6 billion. It had been reported that Disney wanted $20 billion for the networks but Sinclair won with a bid of $10.6 billion showing how cord cutting has reduced the value of networks like the Fox RSNs.
As part of the deal to get Department of Justice approval for the Disney-Fox merger, there was a requirement that the Fox regional sports networks would be sold off. When Disney closes on the sale of most of 21st Century Fox, they need to sell off the regional sports networks currently running under the Fox Sports name. There was a fear that Disney owning ESPN, ABC, and the Fox regional sports networks would give them too much power in the world of sports.
This deal is not final yet likely making these talks more difficult.
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