Wasn't that the bigger issue actually? FOX/Newscorp trying to push a whole slew of their channels on DISH for fairly high rates, and using FOX News as the leverage, when those other channels aren't popular and aren't worth the money that was being demanded of them?
Personal opinion on the merit of FOX News aside, I can see where it has fiscal value as it's turned on and left on all over the goddamn place. Lobbies, break rooms, waiting rooms, all seem to have left CNN for FOX News and it's rare to find other stations on these days. But, it sounds like it's FOX News that's worth something, not the other, lesser channels, and even then, FOX News' value might itself be overinflated if it's serving as background noise more than actually being watched by the people in those lobbies, break rooms, and waiting rooms.
We don't have any subscription TV because we didn't want to pay for channels that we don't watch. This licensing model that is being pushed on DISH in turn forces DISH to push on to consumers, as if DISH has to pay for twenty channels to get one or two that people want to watch, they must charge for those twenty channels and push them to consumers, even if no one watches them.
I didn't expect to hear myself say this, but good on DISH for standing up to FOX/Newscorp for now.