The Fox News Network, which has become the bane of liberals due to their dominance in the 24-hour cable news sector, appears to have pushed their clout too far with Dish Network. The company wanted the nation’s number 2 satellite TV provider to pay a premium rate to carry their network. Dish Network refused and Fox News withdrew their top-rated channel along with the Fox Business channel from Dish. However, that wasn’t all.
Fox News went on the offensive and asked their viewers to drop their Dish Network subscriptions in favor of a competitor carrying Fox News. Thus far, neither side has budged. However, Fox News’ loss of a major carrier has temporarily hurt their ratings. Dish Network has a total subscriber base of 13 million. The political left is thrilled over Dish not carrying Fox News.
However, it is likely that the two companies will soon come back to the negotiating table with Fox News likely conceding their demands. The overall 2014 ratings for 24-hour cable news channels had Fox News being the only network that grew its viewership. CNN’s ratings held steady in the important 25-54 age demographic, but their overall ratings declined.
At the same time, MSNBC, whose CEO in 2008 famously pledged to make the place for progressives to find shelter, had their overall ratings collapse by 20%. Their decline was so pronounced that it made CNN rise to the number 2 spot in terms of most popular news network despite losing market share. Once Fox News eats some well-deserved humble pie, their ratings should return to their normal upward trajectory. What bothers liberals is that pro-Democrat MSNBC is losing viewers to the Fox News channel.