In a tersely worded statement, Dish Network said late Tuesday that it has reached a carriage agreement with the NFL Network, making the professional football channel available to customers in time for pre-season action slated for later this month.
In a one-paragraph statement, Dish said it has reached a multi-year agreement for carriage of NFL Network and Red Zone. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
NFL Network and Red Zone went dark to Dish subscribers on June 16. It was the first time in the network’s 13-year history that it had been dropped by a distributor, according to the league.
The deal comes in time for Dish subscribers to catch the network’s coverage of all 65 pre-season games, including 13 live contests, beginning on Aug. 11.
Whether that means Dish is open to a deal with Tribune Media – the station group that has been dark to Dish customers since June 12 – or is hedging its bets by offering pre-season football access through another source, remains to be seen. Tribune kicked off a campaign to inform Dish viewers in Indiana earlier on Aug. 2 that they could lose access to 17 Indianapolis Colts games if a deal isn’t reached.
