I checked and there's a movie playing now, but it's actually the Encore "Love Stories", movie channel that they are substituting in the place of Life Movie channels. When they first went off there was just a blank screen with the message about the dispute. I'm sure you're right about the rate increase.
The rate increase is a "sure thing". DISH Network has been increasing rates about this time of year for the last few years. I'm an annual subscriber, and I won't see an increase until my yearly billing cycle runs out in mid-July.