Dish Network Corp. has dropped the NFL Network, the National Football League-owned channel that has exclusive rights to eight Thursday night football games.

The channel went dark in seven million Dish homes Thursday night after the two sides were unable to come to terms on a new distribution contract for the service, which is one of the most expensive to carry. According to media industry consulting firm SNL Kagan, the NFL Network has a monthly fee of $1.31 per subscriber.

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