Monday, November 03, 2014 4:41 PM ET 
Comcast SportsNet New England was the most recent victim of DISH Network Corp.'s regional-sports-network cleanse. As of Aug. 6, DISH no longer offers Comcast SportsNet New England, affecting an estimated 242,321 subscribers within the RSN's footprint.
Comcast SportsNet New England holds the live sports rights to the NBA's Boston Celtics, Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, some Major League Lacrosse matchups, University of Massachusetts sports, and supplemental coverage of the New England Patriots. DISH Network and the RSN's clash stems from Comcast SportsNet New England's request for a license fee increase.
According to a report from Multichannel News, Josh Clark, DISH Network's vice president of programming, said, "Comcast SportsNet New England wants to put a double-digit rate increase on the back of consumers for a channel that has seen viewership drop over 40%
since 2011."
The loss of carriage by DISH Network is estimated to total some 478,577 subscribers across the U.S., including the satellite distributor's Multi-Sport package customers. The revenue lost due to those subscribers within the RSN's footprint is estimated to be around $1.5 million for the five remaining months in 2014.
Comcast SportsNet New England, in its host city of Boston, has seen its ratings fall since 2011, going from a high of 1.67 in March 2011 prime-time ratings to a high of 1.22 in November 2013. The Celtics have struggled on the court in recent years, failing to make the playoffs in the 2013-14 season for the first time in six years — just four seasons after it last made an NBA Finals appearance. Comcast SportsNet New England's request for a double-digit percentage license fee increase in the current sports rights landscape makes sense, as the value of local sports continues to rise. But as distributors continue to look at the value of RSNs on a market-to-market basis, it helps to have the ratings and the viewership numbers to back up your request.
DISH Network has refused to sign distribution agreements with some of the new RSNs that have popped up in the last few years, including: SportsNet LA, Time Warner Cable SportsNet/Deportes, Comcast SportsNet Houston and Comcast SportsNet Northwest. But not only is the satellite company opting out of adding new RSNs to its channel lineup, it is cutting its current local sports offering where it sees little value and demand from its customers.
Sports is not the only programming on DISH Network's chopping block, as seven Turner networks were recently dropped from DISH's lineup, including: CNN, Cartoon Network, truTV, TCM, HLN, CNN en Español and Boomerang. Turner's two flagship networks, TNT and TBS, are not involved in the recent removal, as they are covered under a different contract.
Economics of Networks is a regular feature from SNL Kagan, providing exclusive research and commentary.
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