Dish Network said regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago pulled its programming from the satellite TV service provider’s customers on Oct. 1, after the two failed to reach a carriage agreement.

NBC Sports Chicago had warned Dish customers earlier in September that it may go dark after the final regular season game for Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs formed their own RSN -- with broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group -- earlier this year, called Marquee Sports Network. NBC Sports Chicago no longer has the rights to carry Cubs programming.

NBC Sports Chicago, owned by Comcast,  has beefed up programming from other teams -- it carries games from the NBA Chicago Bulls, NHL Chicago Blackhawks and MLB's Chicago White Sox -- and has directed Dish customers to other providers that carry the channel. 

Dish has claimed that NBC Sports Chicago, despite the loss of the Cubs games, was demanding payment on a minimum number of subscribers. 

“The regional sports model has been broken for years, and we’re facing a critical point in our industry,” Dish SVP of programming Andy LeCuyer said in a statement. “NBC Sports Chicago is losing its most popular content in the Cubs, while demanding payment on a guaranteed minimum number of subscribers, when only a fraction watch the channel. It simply makes no sense for our customers.”

Dish said it offered a short-term contract extension to keep the channels available while negotiations continued, but NBC Sports Chicago refused.

In a statement, NBC Sports Chicago said that it values Dish and is working in good faith to reach a deal, but claims the satellite TV service provider is "unwilling to meaningfully engage."

“NBC Sports Chicago thanks the many distribution partners who recognize the great value of our channel and have decided to continue serving fans with the most local games and best coverage of Chicago sports," the RSN said in a statement. "We are disappointed Dish has dropped NBC Sports Chicago, denying its subscribers more exclusive local Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox games than the network has ever had before. Dish subscribers have other options and can learn how to switch providers on www.mysportschicago.com.”

NBC Sports Regional Networks has named Matt Murphy as senior VP and general manager of NBC Sports Bay Area & California as of Jan. 2. He is responsible for the networks, their multiplatform content and relationships as the league’s local sports networks of the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Oakland A’s, Sacramento Kings, San Jose Earthquakes, and San Jose Sharks, NBC Sports said in a release.

He reports to Bill Bridgen, president and group leader of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The opening was created when the prior GM, Tom Stathakes, opted to step down, the networks group said.

“As we continue to put fans first and strive to serve them with the most engaging content across all platforms, it became clear that Matt’s expertise and leadership in this space made him the ideal candidate to take these networks to the next level,” said Bridgen.

Murphy had been SVP of platforms and strategy for NBC Sports Regional Networks. Most recently, he led the launch of the MyTeams by NBC Sports app, a team-centric app for the 25 pro teams covered by the RSNs, NBC said.

Murphy had served for 20 years at Disney and ESPN Media Networks, lastly as SVP of digital video distribution. A Connecticut native, Murphy and his family will relocate to the Bay Area, NBC said. (Photo courtesy of NBC Sports Group.)

NBC Regional Sports Networks has jumped into the direct-to-consumer market by launching NBC Sports Gold’s Blazers Pass, a streaming product that lets fan buy 15 telecasts of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers games without subscribing to cable.

The Blazer Pass costs $34.99 for all 15 games, with a 10% discount if purchased by Dec. 1.

NBC Sports Northwest will continue to offer Trailblazer games on traditional TV and streaming via its TV Everywhere app,

“When we set out to renew our rights last year, distribution was a top priority,” said David Preschlack, president, NBC Sports Regional Networks and Platform and Content Strategy. “In today’s media environment, fans have the ability to follow their favorite teams in a variety of ways. We’re pleased to offer Rip City this new DTC product, so that fans can follow Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and the team during key games. In addition, we’re pleased to offer NBC Sports Northwest customers access to more games than ever before.”

NBC Sports has gotten into the direct-to-consumer game by offering Gold Passes to sports including Premier League Soccer, rugby and cycling.

“NBC Sports Regional Networks has worked hard to make our games accessible to our passionate fan base,” said Chris McGowan, president and CEO of the Trail Blazers. “This DTC offering is another example of our two organizations working together to provide a way for all fans in the region to watch across any platform. We continue to make access to our games a top priority."

NBC Sports Gold is available on Apple iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast platforms and online at NBCSportsGold.com. NBC Sports Gold is powered by Playmaker Media, NBC Sports Digital’s technology service.

Blazers Pass subscribers will also receive a complimentary gift package, and will be entered into a monthly drawing for a chance to win a pair of tickets for a courtside experience to a home game. Fans can also enter at http://www.nbcsports.com/blazerspass.

Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT TV service, will soon broaden its bundle with the launch of NBC Regional Sports Networks in select markets later this month.

In time for MLB’s opening day on April 2, eligible Sling Blue customers will get access to CSN California, CSN Bay Area, CSN Chicago and CSN Mid-Atlantic at no additional cost. The regional nets will also give those subs access to certain, additional NBA and NHL games.

That complements MLB games Sling TV gets on national feeds from TBS, ESPN, Fox and FS1, and select access to regional sports nets from Fox and via Yes Network.

YouTube TV, the OTT TV service that will launch later this year, will also have access to certain regional sports nets from its initial slate of programming partners.

Sling TV, meanwhile, continues to broaden the appeal, lineup and bundling options for what started as a skinny bundle service when it debuted in February 2015.

Of recent note,  Sling TV introduced discounted access to four of its “Extra” programing packages -- Kids Extra, Lifestyle Plus Extra, Comedy Plus Extra and News Extra.

Offering access to larger, more diverse OTT TV programming options is allowing Sling TV “to attract a much broader audience than we were able to in the beginning,” Roger Lynch, Sling TV’s CEO said on Dish’s recent earnings call.  “Plus, we're starting to get past at least the early phase of early adopters and able to attract people who are more comfortable switching to something like this now…We're seeing a broadening in our demographic.” 

Dish no longer breaks out Sling TV subscribers, but MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett estimates that the OTT service has about 1.18 million subs.