Dish, Fox resolve fee dispute, avoiding blackout

News Corp and Dish Network Corp resolved a fee dispute over Fox channels that threatened to black out World Series games and shows such as “Glee” for more than 3 million Dish customers. The two companies said in a statement that they agreed on a distribution deal, without disclosing the terms. News Corp had said it would pull its signals if the two parties failed to strike an agreement by an October 31 deadline.

The accord allows the Englewood, Colorado-based satellite operator to keep broadcasting National Football League games, as well as programs such as “American Idol,” the most-watched US TV series. A blackout would have affected Dish customers in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington. “After prolonged negotiations to reach a fair deal, we’re pleased to enter into a long term agreement with Fox and to assure our customers that they can continue to enjoy these channels,” said Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming for Dish, in a statement. Other Fox programming, including 19 local sports channels, FX and National Geographic, have also been restored to Dish customers as part of the agreement. Those channels went off the air on October 1 after fee talks broke down between the two companies in a separate negotiation. On October 16, News Corp blacked out Fox for Cablevision Systems Corp’s customers, causing the longest-lasting blackout of a major broadcast network for a million or more people in at least a decade.