AT&T Drops ESPN 3D, Citing High Carriage Fee

Network still available on Comcast, DirecTV, TWC, Bright House and Verizon

 

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/2/2011 10:48:05 AM

After carrying ESPN 3D during its rookie year, AT&T dropped the network after its carriage agreement expired Sunday, July 31, saying that the price tag was simply too high.

"We're always listening to customers and working to make sure we're delivering the channels they want, while keeping costs down," AT&T said in a statement. "The price tag for ESPN 3D was too high, especially considering the low demand we've seen from customers. We've decided not to renew our agreement for ESPN 3D."

Asked to comment, ESPN said that "unfortunately we could not reach agreement on a renewal at this time" with AT&T. The sports programmer said ESPN 3D has featured more than 120 events in its first year, and is available to more than 60 million households through Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV.

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