Dish, Disney Gird for Showdown Over ESPN

Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen has long railed against the high cost of sports on TV. Now he has a chance to do something about it. Dish's agreement to carry ESPN, the highest profile and most expensive of the national sports channels, expires at the end of September. Dish and ESPN's majority-owner Walt Disney are now in negotiations on a renewal for the agreement, which dates back to 2005. The talks will also address the fees Dish must pay to carry Disney's other channels, including ABC broadcast stations. As a result, the negotiations will likely revolve around some of the pay-TV industry's most contentious issues—broadcast fees and sports costs.