July began with a revealing set of changes to the channel lineup in millions of Dish Network homes. An obscure channel called HDNet Movies replaced AMC, Style replaced WE tv and HDNet replaced IFC — all because of a quarrel between Dish and AMC Networks, which operates the three channels that were replaced.

Dish told AMC earlier this year that it planned on dropping the channels for reasons that are disputed by the two companies. The contract between the two expired on Saturday night.

Interruptions in programming happen from time to time when cable channel owners like AMC and distributors like Dish don’t agree on new contract terms. The current dispute is noteworthy in part because Dish is one of the biggest television distributors in the United States, with about 14 million customers, and in part because of the points of conflict.

In its public statements, Dish has complained about what has been a common cable industry practice: the bundling of channels by their owners during negotiations with distributors. That’s why most cable lineups have must-carry channels like ESPN alongside less popular channels like ESPN Classic, greatly diversifying the amount of programming for viewers. But the bundling strategy has come under scrutiny lately at a time of rising costs for customers.