After a few weeks of negotiating, DISH Network and Sling have finally reached an agreement with FOX. Anyone who had Sling or DISH missed out on the network debut of Friday Night Smackdown. WWE’s official twitter account encouraged fans to contact DISH and Sling about coming to an agreement, but also told fans to find another provider in the meantime.
They had blacked out FOX channels in 17 markets in 23 states since September 26th. Along with WWE programming, viewers also missed out on three NFL games and one MLB game.
A FOX spokesperson broke the news, “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Dish and Sling, and they are immediately restoring their subscribers’ access to the Fox networks and television stations. We are grateful to our viewers for their patience during this disruption.” Dish added, “We appreciate our customers’ patience as we worked to reach a long-term agreement that restores the Fox networks and local broadcast stations.“