Dish Network, Sling TV Cut Off MASN, NBC Sports Bay Area, and NBC Sports Washington as RSN Battle Rages
Beginning today, Dish Network users will no longer have access to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), along with NBC’s Regional Sports Networks which were also dropped from Sling TV due to contractual disagreements.
The removal of MASN results from a dispute that has already seen the two distributors inform their customers that RSNs NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports California, and NBC Sports Bay Area were no longer going to be provided starting on April 1st.
This development leaves AT&T TV as the only streaming service currently carrying MASN. The network is included in their Choice package for $84.99 a month.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Get $10 Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| MASN | + $29 | ✓ | - | - | - | - | - | |
Dish TV Group President Brian Neylon says that the Regional Sports Networks favor a strategy that works against his company’s desire to allow customers to “choose to subscribe to the RSN channels they want — such as the regional MASN and NBC sports networks — on an a la carte basis, similar to premium subscription channels.”
Dish TV says that the demands placed on them by NBC and MASN would result in rate hikes affecting all customers, even those with no interest in the channels. The Dish website states that the company will “continue to remain open” to Regional Sports Networks provided that they can reach agreements that fit with Dish’s intention to provide user-friendly value and service to their subscribers.
A spokesperson for NBC Regional Sports Networks, in response to the claims made by Dish TV, has released the following statement: “The NBC Regional Sports Networks offered to continue distribution on fair market terms. Dish and Sling declined those terms and have dropped the networks. The many other distributors that continue to carry the RSNs are listed on each RSN’s website.”