During perhaps one of the best seasons for watching sports on television, FOX TV channels in 17 markets including FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, Big Ten Network, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes were removed from the Dish Satellite TV and Sling TV provider platforms on September 26 as the sides wage a war of words in a carriage dispute that will affect millions of sports fans who count on all sides to provide them with live coverage of their teams’ games.

The dispute comes at the worst possible time for sports fans as college football and NFL are just now heading into the heart of their seasons while Major League Baseball fans will miss out on the playoff chase as the season winds down as well as the playoff games once those series get underway in the coming weeks. Soccer fans who use Sling and Dish platforms will also take a big hit as top flight soccer leagues like the Premier League and Spanish La Liga are just getting their season underway and Major League Soccer is just a couple of weeks away from the playoffs.

“DISH/Sling is at it again, choosing to drop leading programming as a negotiating tactic regardless of the impact on its own customers. DISH/Sling elected to drop FOX networks in an effort to coerce us to agree to outrageous demands. While we regret this is DISH/Sling’s preferred approach to negotiating, we remind our loyal viewers that the FOX services are widely available through every other major television provider,” FOX officials said in a statement.

In their own press release, Dish claimed that FOX is “attempting to ‘force bundle’ its local channels and unrelated cable networks to get more money and gain negotiating leverage.”

Andy LeCuyer, Dish’s Senior Vice President of Programming, railed against FOX in a statement, saying the company is "raising prices and turning its back on its public obligation to provide channels to consumers for free. It’s clear that FOX cares more about padding its bottom line than serving its viewers.”

Sling TV released a statement on their website and FAQ page essentially echoing those sentiments:

“We’re constantly working to provide you with the best service at the best value, with the greatest flexibility. Unfortunately, the owners of FOX Network, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 have made the deliberate decision to block your access to their channels. They have made unreasonable demands, and we refuse to impose those demands on you, our customer.''

So, now what are my best options for watching live sports that include FOX channels this fall?

If you are a college football fan looking to watch Pac-12 games this season and don’t want to sign up for a cable package or satellite provider, your best bet is likely to give Fubo TV a try. Luckily, Fubo currently offers a free 7-day trial when you sign up, so if you are interested in seeing what they have to offer, you can give it a whirl without paying a dime. Not only does FuboTV have Pac-12 Network as an option, they also carry most of the channels that would feature nationally televised college football games (FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, FS1 and much more). However, one of the big drawbacks of Fubo is that they do not carry ESPN, so you would have to find another way to watch Pac-12 games being broadcast on the Worldwide Leader, unfortunately.

The price might seem similar to a cable package, but remember, if you have a friend or family member that is willing to split the monthly dues with you, Fubo allows you to have at least two concurrent live streams, meaning at least you and one other person can watch the same game at the same time. If you cut the cost in half by sharing it with another person, you can get a great value on the service.

Try out Fubo today in order to watch Oregon State vs. Stanford and see if the platform works for you.

It’s unfortunate that Sling is now without the FOX sports channels. Their a la cart pricing platform made it easy for sports fans to pick and choose what they needed to get the most for their money. It was also the cheapest way for college football fans in the Pacific Northwest to watch Pac-12 games and other live sports. Now, with the FOX channels gone, their selection is limited to just Pac-12 Network and ESPN game broadcasts.

When will the carriage dispute between FOX, Sling TV and Dish be resolved?

There’s no end to the carriage dispute in site, unfortunately. All sides have claimed that negotiations are ongoing, and that they are working to resolve the issues that will keep FOX channels off those platforms for the foreseeable future.

— Tim Brown, The Oregonian/OregonLive | @timfsbrown

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