FamilyNet and Educating Everyone Yanked From Dish.

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TNGTony

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Sep 7, 2003
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Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
As of this afternoon Dish no longer broadcasts FamilyNet and Educating Everyone. Channels 9414 and 9413 are currently showing a slate saying "Dominion/Sky Angel has enforced its contractual right to prohbit DISH Network from Carrying this channel. Dish Network sinceraly regrets any inconveniece."

It's also VERY funny to point out that the music behind the slate that keeps repeating over and over again is "Aint Misbehavin'" I just caught that as I was typing this. LOL!

Interestingly enough, Daystar, the main channel in the dispute that started months ago is still on channel 9408 and on 110°.

More as it developes. Also keep an eye out on the Sky Angel web page http://www.skyangel.com/echostarlawsuit

See ya
Tony
 
The following was posted by hehdaddy to our homepage, but I am posting it here as it deserves to be read. :)
I emailed SkyAngel about the E* issue, because I bought Dish for my grandma so she could watch Daystar. Here is what I got back...

It's disappointing to us that Daystar interferred with our contract with DISH Network even though Sky Angel had been carrying Daystar at no charge to Daystar and still continues to do so to this day. May I ask why you didn't get Sky Angel for your grandmother to receive Daystar?
It would have actually been a lot less money. You can arrange to have your grandmother's dish repointed to receive Sky Angel. Just give us a call at 1-800-759-2643 (1-800-SKY-ANGEL) or visit us at www.skyangel.com for more information.

In defense of Sky Angel (Dominion) since you have accused us of not being "Christian like," in all fairness you owe it to us and yourself to get all of the facts before making such a judgement. There is much more to this issue than what I can explain to you here, however, I will provide you with some of the major details, and then for further information, including court-documented evidence, I would like to refer you to a special web page we have set up at www.skyangel.com/echostarlawsuit that provides extensive background of the facts and events concerning Dominion, EchoStar and these channels.
It's important that you get all of the facts regarding this issue since a lot of misinformation is out there about it.

Without coming to Dominion first, FamilyNet and Daystar, which were very well aware of our agreement with DISH Network, secretly put together a deal with DISH Network for carriage. In doing so, both FamilyNet and Daystar claimed in documents received during Dominion's litigation with DISH Network that they are not Christian religious networks. And FamilyNet's president told EchoStar that it considered some Christian ministries that it carried to be non-religious/educational in nature such as The 700 Club (Christian talk show), Life Today with James Robison (Christian ministry show), Acquire the Fire with Ron Luce (Christian youth show), Quick Study (Christian Bible teaching show), and Precepts for Life with Kay Arthur (Christian Bible teaching show), because they "make occasional references to a higher power, or God in a more general sense." A federal court judge ruled in July 2003 that FamilyNet engaged in some "monumental fibbing" in presenting its network to EchoStar.

After Dominion discovered what FamilyNet, Daystar and EchoStar had done to breach Dominion's agreement with EchoStar, and only after Dominion was unsuccessful at resolving the breach with EchoStar outside the courts, in order to defend our agreement, Dominion saw no other choice by to take defensive legal action by filing suit against EchoStar - not Daystar, not FamilyNet, even though we had a legitimate legal right to do so. Their apparent modus operandi was to first get on DISH Network, making it more difficult for Dominion to enforce its agreement after the fact; after all, what would the "court of public opinion" think, according to Daystar's President Marcus Lamb in a letter he sent to Dominion Sky Angel's founder and my father, Robert Johnson, who passed away last month, insinuating the public relations disaster that would result if Dominion were to enforce its agreement with DISH after the channels were already on. "Bob, we can either be enemies or allies,"
Lamb wrote. "The choice is up to you. What will you really accomplish if you 'win the battle but lose the war?'" Unfortunately, Lamb made good on his threats of a so-called PR war with misleading and even libelous comments against Sky Angel and personally against our late founder through on-air diatribes and a letter that he sent to Sky Angel programming associates which he was later forced to retract.

Up until April 2003 when Dominion was forced to file a lawsuit against EchoStar, EchoStar had refused all reasonable requests over three months by Dominion to stop violating the EchoStar-Dominion agreement.
Under that agreement, EchoStar insisted that Dominion's Sky Angel service carry only channels with predominantly Christian themes and content while EchoStar's DISH Network service would carry all other types of channels for the 12- to 15-year life of the agreement.
However, Dominion ensured that there were some Christian channels grandfathered into its agreement with EchoStar so that the Gospel would be abundantly available for the lifetime of the agreement to DISH Network subscribers who are not believers. One of those channels is Angel One, where virtually all of the ministries, large and small, are provided no-cost airtime; we have made a conscience effort to put programming on Angel One that is evangelistic and that doesn't just merely appeal to Christians, and there are no telethons on that channel, which can be a turn-off to unbelievers trying to be reached with the Gospel.

In a recent news article, FamilyNet's chairman of the board stated that coming off DISH was "not a major disaster or major setback for FamilyNet", that the network's "strategy" is to "enter cable markets,"
which, again, is the stated reason why they took themselves off Sky Angel back in 2001 even though we had no problem with them pursuing carriage on cable while still airing on Sky Angel. We had actually wondered why FamilyNet and Daystar targeted DISH Network in the first place when there are scores of other secular outlets that have no Christian channels at all, unlike the DISH Network. Could it be because Sky Angel has helped attract a large ready-made Christian audience to DISH Network? Many of Sky Angel's subscribers are also DISH subscribers. If this is all about soul-winning, shouldn't these networks be targeting their resources at cable systems that don't have any Christian channels?

In 1980, God placed a call on Robert Johnson's life to secure a multi-channel television and radio outlet that would insure that Christians who are called to teach, preach and minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ electronically would have a secure platform from which to do so in the end times when secular-owned and -operated media TV station, cable system and satellite TV gatekeepers will eventually shut-out the Gospel. If there is any doubt about this, just look at how negatively Jesus Christ and Christianity are being perceived today here in America, in the electronic media, and certainly around the world.
Secular cable and satellite systems are not required to carry Christian networks like Daystar and FamilyNet, therefore, they can decline to carry them or remove them at will. In fact, both Daystar and FamilyNet received short-term carriage agreements from DISH, and FamilyNet was placed by DISH on "wing" satellites that are not viewable by all DISH subscribers. Daystar was given more access but apparently had to trade away all current and future valuable "must-carry" stations to DISH Network, resulting in each station's community losing the programming, in this case Christian programming, directed to the local community's needs and interests which a local station is required by the FCC to provide. The FCC is currently investigating this trade and other related issues.

All of this is why it's so important to protect and preserve the Sky Angel platform and to stress to Christians the importance of subscribing to and supporting this Christ-centered, Christian-owned platform, the only one of its kind in the world, so that Christian programmers will always have a secure outlet. And our mission is to expand the Sky Angel service globally and make many of our programs free-to-air in many parts of the world with Christians' support here in America.

Had we not taken this action, EchoStar would have been free to continue to add Christian theme and content channels to their DISH packages, in all likelihood short-term, making it uncompelling for existing and future Christian subscribers to DISH Network to sign up for Sky Angel and subsequently putting Sky Angel out of business, a potential viable DBS competitor, for good. Then, no one really knows what would have become of these channels on DISH with Sky Angel out of the picture.
Those Christians who currently subscribe to DISH Network, not Sky Angel, to receive Christian programming prove my previous point. Are you willing to trust these commercial-secular companies to carry even one let alone multiple Christian television channels permanently or long-term when DISH Network was unwilling to honor its agreement with Sky Angel and other secular carriers are becoming increasingly hostile to Christian values? (Isaiah 31:1-3)

After more than a year of litigation, an arbitration panel has unanimously ruled that EchoStar violated its contract with Dominion and has ordered EchoStar to pay monetary damages to Dominion and to come into compliance with the eight-year-old contract between the two DBS operators. EchoStar wanted the agreement to be this way in the beginning, so it is not right that they would break the agreement while we uphold our end, thus, causing harm to Dominion while causing a lot of unnecessary confusion and grief among viewers such as your grandmother. In all fairness, Sky Angel has been wronged here, too.

Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail. I know it is lengthy, but it really is necessary in order to properly convey all of the key facts and hopefully give you a clearer understanding of them.

I would like to still encourage you to visit our web page at www.skyangel.com/echostarlawsuit for additional information.

Thank you again for this opportunity. God bless.

Sincerely in Christ,


Nancy Christopher
VP, Public Relations
Dominion Sky Angel DBS Television & Radio System
 
Sky Angel Awarded Damages and Legal Fees

justalurker said:
Ms Christopher of the Dominion is good at passing around that story. Guess that's why she's head of public relations.

JL


Sky Angel has more than just a story. They've got more than $3 million if you add the damages and the court costs together. :)

I'm not a lawyer, but Echostar seems to have lost both in the Denver Court and in Arbitration. The bottom line seems to be that Sky Angel and Echostar have a valid, legal agreement, and Echostar won't be able to ignore it without paying a price.

---------------------


Link to the Star Telegram - Free Subscription Site

From the Dallas - Fort Worth Star Telegram

Last week, an American Arbitration Association panel found that EchoStar had violated the contract and awarded Sky Angel $2.43 million for past economic damages and $748,000 for legal fees.

_________________________________________

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/states/texas/northeast/9698303
 
DaveM said:
Sky Angel has more than just a story. They've got more than $3 million if you add the damages and the court costs together. :)
And yet there is still the appeal process. SkyAngel may get $3 million out of this, but what have they lost?

SkyAngel's action hurts themselves. They made a bad deal that ended up hurting them. They put themselves in bed with a secular company and wondered how they got in trouble. :shocked

SkyAngel needs to become independent of the ties they are bound by.

JL
 
Stargazer said:
And I bet most didnt even notice that the channels were dropped from the lineup.
True. One must have a wing dish to not get FN and EE. :D

SkyAngel+E* subscribers would be one group that would know, but IIRC SkyAngel only subscribers do not see the channels - even in their EPG - as they are hidden unless subscribed.

And, of course, those who have wing dishes for locals (or for HD) would "not see" FN and EE.

I guess that's the good news for E* ... not all viewers will know they are in another dispute. Some tempramental viewers might not like it after Viacom and TimeWarner/Turner discussions earlier this year.

JL
 
Sky Angel and Dish Network

justalurker said:
SkyAngel needs to become independent of the ties they are bound by.
JL

The original deal allowed Sky Angel to hold onto their transponders when Sky Angel had no satellite of their own. Most likely, that was the major motivation for getting into this situation in the first place.

Today, as you said, Sky Angel needs to become unhitched from Echostar's wagon.
 
Unfortunetly Sky Angel cannot afford to be independent from echostar. The neccesary capital to build and launch and then uplink to a satellite is astronomical. If the satellite they currently broadcast from were to fail sky angel would no longer exist. The contract with echostar is only as long as the life of the satellite and that is why the message from the PR lady at Sky Angel said the contract was for 12-15 years, the approximate operational life of the satellite.
 
DaveM said:
The original deal allowed Sky Angel to hold onto their transponders when Sky Angel had no satellite of their own.
Unfortunately past tense is also present tense. SkyAngel STILL has no satellite of their own, nor an uplink center. The uplink center was specified in their request to the FCC that allowed them to skirt the rules and use E3 instead of launching their own satellite.
justdaved said:
Unfortunetly Sky Angel cannot afford to be independent from echostar. The neccesary capital to build and launch and then uplink to a satellite is astronomical.
E* has managed to do it 9 times over, and is preparing to do it a tenth. D* has now done it 7 times? (I don't track D* as closely.) Cablevision even managed to finally launch their own satellite to create V*. Should SkyAngel get a pass?

Last time I checked, there was no exceptions in the FCC rules, and FCC the action given grudgingly to allow SA to use E3 was to promote diversity. (Better to allow SA not follow the rules than not be in business.)

I believe SkyAngel needs to build a better business model. More channels, giving every ministry an oportunity to reach E* customers (even if they have to pay SA for the priviledge). Their current dictator control of religious broadcasting should be broken. Where are the anti-trust lawyers? :D

JL
 
I payed the $400 to become lifetime subscriber back in 2000. I usually just watch Spirit TV, TVU, Guardian, and some outdoor shows on the weekend.

I agree that SA seems to air programs that fit their theological perspective. I sometimes refer to SA as the Benny Hinn marathon because it seems like I can find Benny Hinn on at least one channel at almost anytime of the day ;)
There just doesn't seem to be a lot of diversity in the programming. This might be due to licensing issues and other broadcast legalities, so I'm not dumping on the SA directors because I really don't know the reasonings behind the stations and programs that SA airs.

I was happy to see Guardian join the lineup.

As for the satellite deal with Echostar, I though SA had plans to launch their own satellite once Echostar 3 dies. Anyway, it's good to see a Sky Angel forum here.
 
I really like Spirit and TVU and RadioU myself :) Dont know but you may remeber rjc that Benny Hinn used to have a 24/7 Channel on SkyAngel :) I think it went off air when he moved his ministry to Texas, but you can still find Benny Hinn quite frequently on any TBN station (including the one from FL that is on Sky* :)
 
If SkyAngel ever does get their own satellite, I assume all subscribers would need to purchase new equipment. I doubt that Dish Network would allow them to use their equipment. The Dish Network equipment probably wouldn't work anyway. I doubt, after the lawsuit, that Dish Network will welcome Sky Angel with open arms in the future. Then again, I'm forgetting that ultimately God is in control of the situation, so let's see what happens in the future. Does anyone know if SkyAngel plans to add any more channels in the near future?

By the way, in case anyone hasn't already noticed, Spirit TV is FTA on C Band. I wonder if Sky Angel is broadcasting that channel for free. The people behind Spirit TV recently were forced to hold a telethon fund raiser to raise money to cover operation expenses. Since they rely on donations, I fear this channel won't be around forever.
 
Sky Angel cannot add any more video/audio channels unless they remove one first. They traded their extra room to Dish for use of the satellite.

TVU & Spirit hold telethons about twice a year to keep them on the air.
 
rjc3895 said:
If SkyAngel ever does get their own satellite, I assume all subscribers would need to purchase new equipment. I doubt that Dish Network would allow them to use their equipment.
It isn't E*'s equipment. It belongs to SkyAngel subscribers. (OK, technically an E* lease subscriber with locals on 61.5 could add SkyAngel without buying equipment but that is a rare case.)
rjc3895 said:
The Dish Network equipment probably wouldn't work anyway.
This would be the issue IF The Dominion ever gets their satellite launched and own uplink center built. Right now SkyAngel is integrated into E*'s EPG and authorization system. When SkyAngel is separated what will receivers do? Will they show EPG for E* only or SA only? Most likely. So if they got snotty with each other one would probably have to get a second receiver for SA or E* programming (whichever got lost).
rjc3895 said:
I doubt, after the lawsuit, that Dish Network will welcome Sky Angel with open arms in the future.
E* will do whatever is in THEIR best interest. For now, that is to honor the contract to carry SA until E3 dies. At the pace SA is going, they will go dark at that time. Unless they come begging to E* yet again for more help.

rjc3895 said:
Then again, I'm forgetting that ultimately God is in control of the situation, so let's see what happens in the future. Does anyone know if SkyAngel plans to add any more channels in the near future?
SA's poor decisions have limited them to the number of channels they currently have. Until they get off of E3 E* holds the rights to use the rest of SA's FCC given transponders. They are stuck until they can launch their own bird (unless, once again, they go back to E* and grovel for more help).

rjc3895 said:
By the way, in case anyone hasn't already noticed, Spirit TV is FTA on C Band. I wonder if Sky Angel is broadcasting that channel for free. The people behind Spirit TV recently were forced to hold a telethon fund raiser to raise money to cover operation expenses. Since they rely on donations, I fear this channel won't be around forever.
According to The Dominion, ALL SkyAngel rebroadcasts are done "for free" - no charge to the broadcaster. All expenses are paid for by subscribers and donations. (Broadcasters must pay for the backhaul to to uplink, but most SA networks have distribution through C and Ku FTA feeds to stations, so all SA has to do is set up a dish and receiver.)

JL
 
Spirit TV...

rjc3895 said:
By the way, in case anyone hasn't already noticed, Spirit TV is FTA on C Band. I wonder if Sky Angel is broadcasting that channel for free. The people behind Spirit TV recently were forced to hold a telethon fund raiser to raise money to cover operation expenses. Since they rely on donations, I fear this channel won't be around forever.

Spirit TV is viewer supported, which is why they hold the fundraisers, their sister network TVU does the same thing so does their RadioU Network (Has a local station in Columbus Ohio at 88.7) each of those ministries are supported 100% by the viewers or listeners (incase of RadioU)... Spirit Communcations, the mother ship of Spirit TV has been around 8 + years in Columbus running RadioU, they will not be disapearing even if SkyAngel would go under, I know in the case of TVU, Spirit TV's sister network, they have been presuring Cable TV Coverage.. The biggest problem with getting on cable tv is like a new station getting added to E* or D*'s Main programming lineups, It's all based on what the provider thinks is "compelling" enough to be added..

I am really suprised Spirit is FTA, I beleive their sister network (TVU) is also FTA on the same Transponder (ofcourse I think both of these require a C-Band Dish to pick up) as their not on the KU Band (I know the uplink dish for TVU is a big 12' solid white dish ( I live near Radio U/TVU's HQ) I am not sure where RadioU is but I beleive its not FTA because of the fact its a National Radio Network and they use specialized broadcast receivers to feed the affilliates.

If skyangel goes under, I would love to see Spirit or TVU get carraige on E*'s main slots :) Ofcourse that is wishful thinking and probally will not happen as their not shopping channels :)
 
Thanks to everyone for the follow up to my questions and comments. This forum is definitely tops. From other postings and articles, it seems as if Ku Band may one day replace C since you can get more channels on Ku due to signal compression. I'm not saying that C will go away, but it seems as if Ku is where the technology is going. Does anyone know if Ku band is cheaper than C? I'm wondering if more of the FTA stations on C band will eventually move to Ku band. I'm sure there will be a sizable expense for purchasing the necessary equipment. If Sky Angel were to go away, I'd love to get Spirit TV, but I don't have the real estate for a C band dish. I guess I could do what a family did down the road and mount the BUD on my roof, but I really don't want to do that.
 
C also has digital signals and signal compression, but the dish size is still big. The size issue is what pulls most end user signals to Ku. C is a good haven for signals intended for professional reception by companies that are not worried about dish size.

At my work we get signals from AMC-8 and AMC-3 on C Band, as well as AMC-3 on Ku. The C Band dishes are 12 ft dishes and the Ku is 6 ft. We are not worried about dish size as long as we get the signals. (We also have two smaller Ku dishes, 40" and 36", that are used for data feeds.)

But consumers and consumer businesses would rather not have a 12 ft monster on their roof. a 48" or 36" Ku dish is an easier sale.

Since SpiritTV is primarily a feed intended for TV stations, cable systems and satellite systems, being on C Band is no problem. BTW: The TVU/Spirit feed is a combined DVB feed much like you will find on E* and SA, except that it is FTA. And those two channels are being broadcast at about the same bit rate as they would consume on SkyAngel. The compression is still there on C Band.

JL
 
Sky Angel seems to be No Angel

Sounds like Daystar TV tried to avoid Sky Angel's monopoly policy & is under attack via a lawsuit. Sky Angel won because... it was in the "contract". Was the contract unilateral or bilateral? I wonder.

In the letter above, Sky Angel's mission statement is or was:
"In 1980, God placed a call on Robert Johnson's life to secure a multi-channel television and radio outlet that would insure that Christians who are called to teach, preach and minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ electronically would have a secure platform from which to do so in the end times when secular-owned and -operated media TV station, cable system and satellite TV gatekeepers will eventually shut-out the Gospel."

In the same letter, Nancy Christopher VP, Public Relations Dominion Sky Angel DBS Television & Radio System, also stated:
"Had we not taken this action, EchoStar would have been free to continue to add Christian theme and content channels to their DISH packages, in all likelihood short-term, making it uncompelling for existing and future Christian subscribers to DISH Network to sign up for Sky Angel and subsequently putting Sky Angel out of business, a potential viable DBS competitor, for good."

Well, which is it?... a business decision to be the ONLY Christian network OR to insure that Christians who are called to teach, preach and minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ electronically would have a SECURE platform?

Hmmm, a monopoly dislikes competition. Could it be that competition keeps them honest and fair? Competition is good for consumers. For now, I guess we're stuck with Sky Angel's, the FCC's & the court's decisions. WWJD?

And why is Sky Angel now adding secular programs to their network? I also noted that taking their concerns regarding DayStar to God and to DayStar was not enough for Sky Angel... Sky Angel initiated the lawsuit for the courts & the FCC to decide! Well they won their worldly secular lawsuit. DayStar is off the air. I miss DayStar. I hope they will be able to get their very own satelite or find a competitor who will air their program again.

Sky Angel seems to be No angel. They should share the air with DayStar. Sky Angel seems to be the "gatekeeper" who shut out DayStar & added secular programming.

Again, WWJD?
 
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