If you watch USC football on Dish Network or Sling, you might need to find another outlet

Early Saturday morning, The Walt Disney Company pulled ESPN from Dish Network and Sling TV when negotiations abruptly ended. Take note before USC plays on ESPN.

So this is a big deal, and a major inconvenience for a number of USC fans who rely on Dish Network or Sling TV to watch the Trojans and other college football teams.

Early on a college football Saturday is the worst possible time for satellite, broadcast, or streaming outlets to abruptly have specific channels or services removed from their platter of offerings, but this is exactly what has happened.

The Walt Disney Company was in talks with Dish Network, but those negotiations abruptly ended. Disney reportedly pulled ESPN (plus FX and Disney Channel) from Dish Network and Sling TV early Saturday morning.

So, if you were planning to watch USC’s night game against Arizona State on ESPN via Dish or Sling, you will need a Plan B, barring a last-minute change in the status of Disney-Dish negotiations.

Here’s our How To Watch post for USC-Arizona State. Note the free trial on FuboTV. That might come in handy:

USC vs. Arizona State: Stream, injury reports, and broadcast info for Oct. 1, 2022

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NFL Network, NFL Red Zone go dark on Sling TV, Dish Network

NFL Network and NFL Red Zone has gone dark in a battle with DISH and Sling TV

If you were looking for NFL content as a distraction during this pandemic, don’t look to DISH and Sling TV.

The league is at odds with both and they both have gone dark Thursday.

Of course, when it comes to battles, each side is blaming the other. An old-fashioned squabble in which consumers lose.

LOS ANGELES, June 18, 2020: As of 9 pm ET NFL Network and NFL RedZone are no longer available to DISH and Sling TV subscribers. While NFL Media remains committed to negotiating an agreement and has offered terms consistent with those in place with other distributors, DISH has not agreed.​

Without a distribution agreement in place for NFL Network and NFL RedZone, DISH and Sling subscribers will miss out on daily shows Good Morning Football, NFL Total Access and NFL Now and a newly launched Player’s Choice series featuring classic games and long-form storytelling from the NFL Films archive.

For the upcoming season, NFL Network remains the only place to watch all 65 preseason games, including a record 23 live out-of-market games. Regular season action on NFL Network continues with a slate of exclusive games kicking off with a trio of matchups at the start of the NFL Season in addition to two Saturday doubleheaders in Weeks 15 & 16. In addition to games, Sunday coverage on NFL Network features the most comprehensive pregame show on television – the Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning.

An icon of the sports programming landscape, NFL RedZone takes fans from game to game to see the most exciting plays as they happen. With host Scott Hanson, fans can follow the best of live NFL action from across the country and every touchdown from every game Sunday afternoons.

NFL content has never been more popular across the media landscape. According to the Nielsen Company, 180 million people tuned into the 2019 NFL regular season with an average of 16.5 million watching per game. NFL games accounted for 47 of the 50 most-watched TV shows among all programming during the 2019 regular season.

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.

NFL Network continues to be widely distributed across the United States, including distribution agreements with major cable, satellite, telco, and OTT providers throughout the country — including DirecTV, Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Verizon FiOS, Fubo TV, Altice USA Optimum and Cox .

Dish blames NFL Network on its website.

NFL
The NFL has chosen to remove their channels during these unprecedented times.

NFL Network
NFL RedZone
We appreciate your patience as we continue to work with the NFL. Our goal is to reach a fair agreement with the NFL, bringing their channels back before the season begins so that you don’t miss any live sports action.

In the meantime, below is a free alternative viewing solution that may work for you:

The NFL App – live streaming of NFL Network on mobile devices, available for free (NFL Network is available to stream using a cellular network on phones)

Stay tuned. Actually, you can’t if you are looking for NFL Network or NFL Red Zone on Sling TV or Dish Network …