Breaking up the bundle? Dish relegates ESPN to an add-on

NEW YORK (AP) — Dish Network is offering a new "skinny" bundle of about 50 cable channels that doesn't include ESPN and some other sports channels, giving people who don't care about sports a way to save money on TV without joining the ranks of "cord cutters."

Sports channels are among the most expensive for cable and satellite TV companies and are usually included in big cable bundles.

Verizon spokesman Ray McConville says the revised version of Custom TV is more popular and changes were made in response to customer feedback rather than programmer demands.

Dish has "a good relationship with ESPN" and let all the programmers know about the new package, said Warren Schlichting, the Englewood, Colorado, company's executive vice president of marketing, programming and media sales.

Moffett says that if entertainment companies don't fight Dish, other cable and satellite companies are likely to copy it, meaning savings for lots of TV lovers who don't watch sports.

The traditional TV industry overall has lost about 2 million customers over the past three years, according to research firm SNL Kagan, as online TV alternatives proliferate.

Dish's Flex package has about 50 popular cable channels, including AMC, home to "The Walking Dead;" channels that show some sports, like TNT; there's also Food Network, FX, A&E and CNN.