"On
the sports programming, it depends
on the willingness of our
programming partners to structure a
deal that works for us," Ergen said.
"I think that from a sports
perspective, we are not viewed as
the leading provider of sports.
Having said that...we still carry
the vast majority of the regional
sports networks."
Ergen acknowledged that regional sports channels may not be as important in the New York area because it has a "high degree of international customers where the sports programming is not as important to them."
He added: "So I don't think you can make a blanket statement that we've exited the regional sports business. In fact, I think of the 27 regional sports, I think we only don't carry 2 or 3 of them, or 30 regional sports, we don't carry but 2 or 3 of them."
Ergen did suggest that a TV provider could benefit from a strategy in which it did not carry regional sports.
"But there is a strategy potentially out there for one video provider not to carry regional sports. And I think there might be some short short-term pain, but they probably do pretty well long term, if that was the case. But that is not our strategy today with the exception of probably the New York market...if somebody's got a losing team, it's not doing very well and they want a 50 percent increase in price, it doesn't make any sense."
Ergen may have been referring to the New York Mets which has struggled in recent years. The Mets are carried by SNY, which Dish is now not carrying.
Ergen acknowledged that regional sports channels may not be as important in the New York area because it has a "high degree of international customers where the sports programming is not as important to them."
He added: "So I don't think you can make a blanket statement that we've exited the regional sports business. In fact, I think of the 27 regional sports, I think we only don't carry 2 or 3 of them, or 30 regional sports, we don't carry but 2 or 3 of them."
Ergen did suggest that a TV provider could benefit from a strategy in which it did not carry regional sports.
"But there is a strategy potentially out there for one video provider not to carry regional sports. And I think there might be some short short-term pain, but they probably do pretty well long term, if that was the case. But that is not our strategy today with the exception of probably the New York market...if somebody's got a losing team, it's not doing very well and they want a 50 percent increase in price, it doesn't make any sense."
Ergen may have been referring to the New York Mets which has struggled in recent years. The Mets are carried by SNY, which Dish is now not carrying.