Georgia Entertainment Scene

Dish TV entering third year blacking out weekend Braves games on Fox Sports

Atlanta Braves' Freddie Freeman, thinking he drew a walk, slams his bat down on the ground in anger, shattering it, after homeplate umpire Tim Timmons called him out during the sixth inning of their game against the Washington Nationals on Monday, Sept. 15, 2014, at Turner Field in Atlanta. Freeman and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez were both ejected from the game for arguing the call. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT) Dish customers can't watch Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves on weekends for a third year unless Fox Sports and Dish come to some resolution. CREDIT: Curtis Compton/AJC.com
Atlanta Braves' Freddie Freeman, thinking he drew a walk, slams his bat down on the ground in anger, shattering it, after homeplate umpire Tim Timmons called him out during the sixth inning of their game against the Washington Nationals on Monday, Sept. 15, 2014, at Turner Field in Atlanta. Freeman and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez were both ejected from the game for arguing the call. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT) Dish customers can't watch Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves on weekends for a third year unless Fox Sports and Dish come to some resolution. CREDIT: Curtis Compton/AJC.com
By
March 2, 2015

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, March 2, 2015

I never thought I'd be writing this story yet again but here it goes:

Dish Network in Atlanta is expected to black out about 50 weekend Atlanta Braves games this year on the regional Fox Sports networks in a dispute that began two years ago.

In 2013, Fox Sports bought out the game rights for games that were originally going to air on Peachtree TV and asked for some extra money from the cable and satellite carriers. Everyone said fine - except Dish. Dish has said Fox is asking for too much for rights. Fox isn't budging.

Dish in 2013 and 2014 aired about 100 weekday Braves games each year but blocked out around 50, usually the ones on weekends.

This year, Fox Sports (either on Fox Sports SportSouth or Fox Sports South) will air 155 Braves games.  About 50 will be blacked out for Dish customers. I'll update this entry with the actual games when they are released.

Six additional Braves games are scheduled to be televised nationally through Fox Sports networks, one on Fox national and five on Fox Sports 1.

This dispute has no impact on subscribers of AT&T U-Verse, Charter, DirecTV and Xfinity.

Here's Fox Sports' current statement on the matter:

Our situation with DISH Network remains as it was during the 2014 MLB season. As you will recall from last season, DISH remains as the only video provider that is choosing not to distribute the full schedule of Braves games on FOX Sports South. We remain hopeful that we will be able to reach a resolution prior to the 2015 MLB season, as we have with all of our other video providers.

I'm awaiting a response from Dish.

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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