Fox, Charter Dispute Drags On

Fox Networks Group continues to be locked in a carriage dispute with Charter Communications, but has yet to play its biggest card – pulling its signal – as three deadlines have passed without an agreement.

Fox began warning Charter customers on April 7 that they were close to losing access to programming from FX Networks, National Geographic Channels, Fox Sports and several regional sports networks on April 8 if a deal wasn’t reached. When that deadline passed without an agreement, Fox said Charter had until April 10 to sign a deal or face a blackout. Early Tuesday, that deadline was moved to April 11. Now, with no deal again in sight, the line in
the sand has been pushed to April 12.

According to sources familiar with the dispute, Fox’s original carriage deal with Charter expired on March 31.

The dispute continues to center on pricing. Charter claims that Fox is demanding double the rate it had previously charged for the channels.

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