Football fans who have the Dish Network will have a lot more than bad referee calls to grumble about this September.
The satellite company has dropped both the NFL Network and NFL RedZone from their distribution system, TheWrap learned Thursday.
The surprise call marks the first time in the NFL Network’s 13-year history that one of its service providers has not continued to offer the network to its subscribers, according to a statement from the league.
The NFL also set up a webpage with with the URL www.iwantnflnetwork.com, featuring a message warning that the outage may be long-term.
“Unless Dish resumes carrying NFL Network, Dish subscribers will miss out on coverage of NFL Training Camps, a chance to catch all 65 Preseason games, the excitement of ‘Thursday Night Football,’ every touchdown from every game Sunday afternoons on NFL RedZone, and shows such as ‘NFL Gameday Morning’ and ‘A Football Life,’ and much, much more,” it states.
“To avoid missing key NFL action, Dish subscribers should find a provider that carries NFL Network and NFL RedZone now — and the good news is there are plenty of choices,” the league continues. “NFL Network and NFL RedZone are available on XFINITY, Verizon FiOS, Spectrum, and Time Warner Cable. NFL Network also is available on DirecTV, along with the chance to watch every out-of-market Sunday game live through NFL Sunday Ticket.”
The 2016 NFL season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 8, at 8 p.m. ET with a Super Bowl rematch between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers airing on NBC.
See the full statement from the NFL Network below.
As of Thursday evening, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET NFL Network and NFL RedZone have been dropped by Dish Network’s satellite distribution system. This represents the first time in NFL Network’s 13 year history that one of its service providers has not continued to offer the network to its subscribers.
NFL Network continues to be distributed to over 60 million households across the United States, including strong distribution partnerships with every major cable, satellite and telco provider in the country — including DIRECTV, Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS.
NFL content has never been more popular across the media landscape. According to the Nielsen Company, 199 million people tuned into the 2015 NFL regular season representing 78 percent of all television homes and 67 percent of potential viewers in the U.S. NFL games accounted for the top 25 and 46 of the 50 most-watched TV shows among all programming in 2015.
As the only network 100% dedicated to coverage of America’s most popular sports league, NFL Network is committed to serving the millions of NFL fans by reaching fair distribution agreements with the pay-TV industry.