NEW YORK -- Dish Network is offering a new skinny bundle of about 50 cable channels that doesnt include ESPN and some other sports channels, giving people who dont 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. That drives up the bill for all customers, whether they enjoy watching ball games or not.Dishs new Flex Pack starts at $30 a month, not including fees and taxes, while a big cable bundle typically costs about $90.Dish is not the first cable distributor to sell a smaller basic cable bundle without ESPN, however.Comcast has done so for nearly a decade. And Dishs package is similar to Verizon Fios Custom TV when it launched in April 2015. Verizon also made ESPN (and lots of other channels) add-ons to a smaller cable bundle. Then ESPN sued and other programmers protested. Custom TV was revamped in February to two core bundles, one sports-focused and one not, with fewer options for groups of channels to add.Custom TV has been diluted pretty badly since those changes, said Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson Research. 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. Verizon settled with ESPN in May.Dish has a good relationship with ESPN and let all the programmers know about the new package, said Warren Schlichting, the Englewood, Colorado, companys executive vice president of marketing, programming and media sales. It takes cooperation on both sides, he said.An ESPN spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.Moffett says that if entertainment companies dont fight Dish, other cable and satellite companies are likely to copy it, meaning savings for lots of TV lovers who dont watch sports.The Flex package comes as Dishs satellite TV service has been bleeding customers. 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.Schlichting said that the new Dish bundle is not aimed at cord cutters, or people who have canceled traditional TV. Neither is it meant to compete with Sling, Dishs internet TV package that starts at $20 a month. But it will compete with Dishs existing, bigger bundles and offerings from cable companies and DirecTV.Dishs Flex package has about 50 popular cable channels, including AMC, home to The Walking Dead; channels that show some sports, like TNT; theres also Food Network, FX, A&E and CNN. There are eight groups of channels customers can add that cost extra. Local networks like ABC and CBS cost $10 (theyre also available over the air free with an antenna). Other add-ons include news, sports and kids channels. A DVR costs more, not signing up for autopay means an extra $5 and of course there are the typical taxes that come with cable. Dish says the price of the original bundle stays the same for 2 years. It wont say what the price will be after that.Its cheaper than Dishs other packages, especially if you get local channels with an antenna. But you have to be fine with missing out on popular channels like college-focused regional sports networks, ESPN, Fox News or Disney Channel. If you wanted just those channels, you would have to add a bunch of additional channel packs that bring the bill to $80, more than Dishs existing bundles. Premium channels like HBO are also extra.And then most households will still want fast internet service, which often costs about $40 and higher by itself. Thats a disadvantage for Dish, because cable companies give discounts when customers pay for both TV and internet together.Schlichting said Dish Network Corp. would consider the Flex packages successful if much lower than a majority of customers choose them. Verizon has said the smaller Custom TV cable bundles make up about 40 percent of Fios TV sales.The more successful these sports-less bundles are, the more I think youll see it replicated by peers, said BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield. Thats not good for ESPN, he said, which has already lost millions of subscribers. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Christian Okoye Jersey . 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They were booed for every touch, but Australias female basketballers held their nerve to beat Brazil 84-66 in their opening game of the Rio Olympics.The Opals quelled the hostile crowd and overcame an early deficit that had them on the path to a shock defeat at Youth Arena on Saturday night.They were down 12 points early in the second quarter but came out a different side after the halftime break for their sixth consecutive victory over Brazil at an Olympics.Not since 1988 have they lost the first match of an Olympic campaign - the last time they did not win a medal at a Games.Star centre Liz Cambage led the way with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while effervescent guard Leilani Mitchell had 18 points and six assists. Captain Penny Taylor finished with 17 points.Cambage said the booing only served to pump her up.Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it, she told AAP, quoting lyrics by rapper Kanye West.It was always going to be a loud game. The Brazilians are very known for their energy and such passionate culture.This game has been a big focus all year - the home nation, the first game of the Olympics, and Im so happy its out of the way.It was a real grind but we got there in the end.The five-time Olympic medallists, chasing their first Games golld in Brazil, struggled to find the basket in the opening quarter.ddddddddddddThey trailed 24-14 at the first change, with 10 of those points coming from Cambage.The seventh-ranked Brazilians were shooting at above 80 percent from the field, compared to the Opals 37 percent accuracy.They were just feeling it. This is their home court, they wanted to put on a show and they did, Cambage added.But we kept our cool, and just went back to our game.Mitchell lent a hand with a scoring spree in the second term to trim the deficit to four points, and then helped turn it into a 57-53 lead at the final break.They outscored Brazil 27-13 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.The Opals have just 24 hours before their second match against Turkey on Sunday night (0630 Monday morning AEST).They beat them two years ago to win bronze at the world championships.So we know them pretty well, added Cambage.In London we lost an early game to France and that was a big lesson for me.We dont want to lose any of these pool games. Were not taking anyone too easy. We scout, we learn everything about every team. Weve got to know them inside out to win. ' ' '