Dish Network Ditched By More Than 90K Subscribers Following Fox News Axe
The latest Dish Network update proves Fox News isn’t skating on thin ice alone. The notable news outlet’s rating may have plummeted as a result of the black-out, but apparently it isn’t the only party suffering. According to Multichannel, customers are reportedly furious about the direct-broadcast satellite service provider’s decision to ax Fox News. As a matter of fact, a staggering number of subscribers have decided to part ways with Dish Network — more than 90,000, to be more specific. Then, to make matters worse, the continued decline of subscribers is steadily dropping.
The rift between 21st Century Fox Inc. and Dish Network Corp hit rock bottom on December 20, when the satellite provider shut down the channel 10 minutes before the news outlet’s contract was scheduled to expire. As previously reported on Inquisitr, the rumored disagreement was due to programming fees. According to the Nielsen ratings for the first full week following the blackout, Fox News suffered drastically with a primetime average viewership of only 939,000 viewers, down from an estimated 1.65 million the previous week. But now it looks like Dish is also taking a hit for the decision to axe Fox News.
Tim Carey, executive vice president of distribution for FNC and FBN, recently weighed in with details about the decline in Dish Network subscribers. Carey reportedly based his findings off the news outlet’s support site, KeepFoxNews.com and the toll-free number listed on the site. While more than 90,000 cancellations have been recorded, there has been more than 350,000 calls and inquiries on the site in support of Fox News.
“We think they’ve lost about 90,000 subscribers over the past two weeks tied to Fox News,” Carey said.
Although 90,000 out of 14 million subscribers may not seem like a hard hit, the proof is in revenue as opposed to the number of subscribers. A quick mathematical example of revenue loss was recently conducted and such a loss in subscribers can be quite noticeable. The price of Dish subscriptions range from an estimated $20 to $127. If everyone paid the same amount of just $50, that’s still a $4.5 million loss each month and a whopping $54 million annually. Even if those 90,000 subscribers all paid the bare minimum of $20 each month, that’s an estimated loss of $21.6 million annually. So, the decline does speak volumes.
The cancellation of Fox News may have been the breaking point for some customers, but it definitely wasn’t Dish’s only cause of frustration for subscribers. According to IB Times, Turner Broadcasting Systems was also involved in a similar monetary dispute with Dish Network. Eight channels owned by TBS, including CNN, blacked out between October and November. However, TBS and Dish Network were able to resolve the issue. No further details have been released about how long this blackout will last. Carey also stated that no efforts toward reconciliation have been made as of yet.
“They have not spoken to us at all. There has not been any outreach on any level. Their positioning that they are actively negotiating rings hollow,” Carey said.
[Image via Consumerist]
