Dish Network: 21st Century Fox Blacks Out Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network

(RTTNews) - 21st Century Fox, Inc. (FOXA, FOX) blocked DISH customer access to Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, as the media conglomerate introduced other channels into negotiations despite those channels not being included in the contract up for renewal, Dish said in a statement early Sunday morning.

Dish said that Fox is demanding too much to carry the channel while the latter said it is only asking for what other providers are paying.

"Fox blacked out two of its news channels, using them as leverage to triple rates on sports and entertainment channels that are not in this contract. It's like we're about to close on a house and the realtor is trying to make us buy a new car as well," said Warren Schlichting, DISH senior vice president of programming.

Dish said it had offered a short-term contract extension that would preserve the channels as the two parties continue to engage in a war of words.

"DISH has had a productive relationship with Fox for many years," added Schlichting. "We regret the service disruption to our customers, and remain committed to reaching an agreement that promptly returns this content to DISH's programming lineup."

Meanwhile, Dish signed a multi-year pact with NBC Sports Group to carry four regional sports channels: CSN Chicago, CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Bay Area and CSN California.

Earlier this month, the companies agreed to a short-term extension following the expiration of the old contract. The channels continue to stay in the air while negotiations for a longer agreement continued. Dish said Saturday that they have reached the long-term deal, although the financial terms were not disclosed.

DISH Network Corp. (DISH), through its subsidiary DISH Network L.L.C., provides approximately 14.041 million satellite TV customers, as of September 30, 2014.