Both sides clearly have been hurt in the ongoing dispute between Fox Sports Net Ohio and Dish Network over the fee FSN-Ohio charges to carry its Indians telecasts. Dish has lost some area satellite TV subscribers since it refused to show all 150 Indians telecasts during the 2003 season - and chose, instead, to air only 75 games. And Steve Liverani, general manager at FSN-Ohio, admits Dish's shorter TV schedule may have been one reason why Indians ratings fell sharply in 2003. "It's hard to estimate, but it certainly didn't help," Liverani says of Dish's hardball move. The overall rating for Indians TV games on FSN-Ohio was 4.8 - well below the 6.9 number they drew in 2002. Dish and FSN-Ohio officials hope to settle their dispute in time for Dish subscribers to see every Indians telecast in 2004.
