The Dish Network and Sling TV subscriber community is not going to be happy, particularly the people in markets served by NBC-owned regional sports networks. Subscribers in the Bay Area, Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, and Portland will all lose access to the teams that play on those networks in April according to a message from the company.
Here is a message from The Streamtable:
As of 4/1/2021, NBC Regional Sports Networks will no longer be on SLING. We are committed to providing the best value with the flexibility our customer’s deserve and, unfortunately, we were unable to come to an agreement on those terms.
Thanks for being a loyal SLING customer.
The Sling TV Team.
Ouch.
Dish and Sling customers will unfortunately have their NBC Sports RSN’s taken away at the worst possible time. MLB Opening Day will happen in a little over a month. Plus, the we are in the stretch runs of the NBA and NHL seasons.
Cord-cutting is happening in households across the country at a high volume. The price for the RSN’s at these networks are not cheap and since there were not enough subscribers to balance out the cost, it was only a matter of time before this came to a head.
It is likely that a new deal will be worked out, as is usually the case in these situations, but as things stand right now, NBC and Dish are headed for a divorce.