Charlie speaks..... Finally!!!

[skottey]

I believe FIos is requiring a 12 month commitment to secure a certain price point. I don't know what the difference is for the non commitment

I know people with FIOS (including mommy) and they never mentioned a commitment here in Florida. But I am pretty sure if they have one, like you mentioned, it is only for a certain price point and not a requirement for service.

I would rather pay a little more and not have a commitment.

The way I see it, if a company is good enough to keep it's customers happy, they have no need for a contract. I have my own business and I am secure enough with my offerings that I know my monthly maintenance customers (computer service) will use me month after month without me forcing them to commit to me in the form of a contract. I am not going to rope them in and force them to use me. That just pisses people off. I have yet to lose a maintenance customer after years of monthly service and they have the option to leave me at any time. Not having a contract gives me the opportunity to weed out the crappy customers anyway.

Yes, I have a cell phone contract, like most people that don't have pay as you go service. I guess I could spend full price on the phone and not have a contract but I tend to stay with a phone carrier so it isn't a big deal with phone. For me, a phone is a phone. I don't care about the bells and whistles of a new phone every other week. I look at TV differently. TV is entertainment to me and I don't want to be stuck with a provider I am unhappy with. I like the idea that I can drop Bright House or Dish at any time if they piss me off. Obviously, I am happy enough to stick around since I am still with them. Roping in with a contract shows insecurity on the part of the company. They fear you will leave if you aren't roped in. Like Dish right now, they are really pushing contracts because they know it is only a matter of time before the average Joe bails on them in favor of DirecTV or cable, since Dish's offerings are becoming less and less lucrative by the week.

It really boils down to a company offering what the customer wants or not. A contract is more a sign of desperation on the company's part, in my humble opinion.

[wmi]

They are going to focus on HD locals??? How crappy. They send up three birds and they are focusing on HD locals? Screw it... I guess I will drop them soon. I have cable and Dish and with the exception of NatGeo, Starz, and Voom channels, my cable provider (Bright House) is getting pretty near what Dish has now as far as the HD I watch. It is getting to be all the same. When I got Dish it had way more HD than BHN and a better DVR. Now it still has a better DVR, but not much more HD. There is no point in me paying for a second provider anymore. They want to focus on HD locals, fine, count me out. I don't get my locals through Dish anyway. I gave an OTA antenna on each of my main HD TVs and my cable subscription gives me all the HD locals too.

Are they just going to give up on being the national HD leader? Because if they are, I'll go elsewhere. I think Voom was before its time but I think it is now time for a new provider to come out with an HD only satellite lineup to feed the HD needs as a secondary provider for those that want and can afford it, with ALL the HD channels offered nationally. I'd keep cable, and ditch Dish, going with them at almost any price.

The next best thing is to shell out for DirecTV and ditch Dish. Looks like it is going to be a while before Dish catches up. Focusing on HD locals with their new sats. Please!!!

It is people like you who make me want to puke.

So as long as you get your HD locals, screw everyone else who doesn't have them yet??

Another spoiled HD customer who thinks Dish should be planning everything thing around them and them alone.

[Yes616]

If TWC offered Voom, it would then be the time to go back to cable. Voom is the only reason I am hanging around right now.

[ScoBuck]

It really boils down to a company offering what the customer wants or not. A contract is more a sign of desperation on the company's part, in my humble opinion.

A contract is way more than an act of desperation in the case of the satcos.

First off, to receive a sat signal, you have to have some hardware, don't you? There is a dish (or dishes) there are receivers/DVRS, etc., correct? There is the cost of the coax from the dish to the receivers, isn't there? Sometimes there is additional hardware as well (switches, etc.) isn't there? There is a labor cost to install all of that in you home, isn't there?

That STUFF all costs real money, and most of it is given for FREE to the customer when they sign up for service. But, the box manufacturer has to still get paid, the coax manufacturer still has to get paid. The dish manufacturer still has to get paid. The installation company still has to get paid. And so on.

If there was NO committment, guess what - subscribers would have to pay for ALL OF THAT - wouldn't they? Would YOU give all of that STUFF to a new customer if they could walk away 3 months later? If you answer yes, please call me, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

So, take the average cost to the satco for an installation, add in the cost of programming, the cost of their uplink facility and for brand new satellites, their own labor costs, the cost for them to open their doors every day and so on. Then add on a profit (they should make a profit don't you think?). Now maybe you see why they want a contract for giving away all of the wonderful FREE stuff they do.

[WiCkeDuDe]

It is people like you who make me want to puke.

So as long as you get your HD locals, screw everyone else who doesn't have them yet??

Another spoiled HD customer who thinks Dish should be planning everything thing around them and them alone.

What does this matter to you? He has no bearing on future E* HD plans. Just because his opinion doesnt match yours you called him spoiled? His opinion is his own and it is his right. Get over it.

[skottey]

It is people like you who make me want to puke.

So as long as you get your HD locals, screw everyone else who doesn't have them yet??

Another spoiled HD customer who thinks Dish should be planning everything thing around them and them alone.

No, don't get me wrong. I feel for you if you watch network programming and can't get your locals in HD. But seriously, what a waste of bandwidth to try and offer every HD local in every market. Broadcast network viewing has been dwindling for a dozen years or more now, while cable viewing is on the rise. It is only a matter of time before the "locals" are old news. What we need is a little innovation here. How about a master NBC for example fed to Dish with only the ads and news run locally, in SD. That way there would only be one NBC HD feed.... or do one for each time zone.. but why waste 50+ feeds of each network in HD? Seems like a lot for nothing. Just run the master feed and spot fill the ads in each market in SD, saving bandwidth. That is just one option... there are other newer ways of doing things.

It is a global world now.. screw the local affiliates. Let's see National NBC, FOX, CBS, ABC, etc.

[skottey]

A contract is way more than an act of desperation in the case of the satcos.

First off, to receive a sat signal, you have to have some hardware, don't you? There is a dish (or dishes) there are receivers/DVRS, etc., correct? There is the cost of the coax from the dish to the receivers, isn't there? Sometimes there is additional hardware as well (switches, etc.) isn't there? There is a labor cost to install all of that in you home, isn't there?

That STUFF all costs real money, and most of it is given for FREE to the customer when they sign up for service. But, the box manufacturer has to still get paid, the coax manufacturer still has to get paid. The dish manufacturer still has to get paid. The installation company still has to get paid. And so on.

If there was NO committment, guess what - subscribers would have to pay for ALL OF THAT - wouldn't they? Would YOU give all of that STUFF to a new customer if they could walk away 3 months later? If you answer yes, please call me, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

So, take the average cost to the satco for an installation, add in the cost of programming, the cost of their uplink facility and for brand new satellites, their own labor costs, the cost for them to open their doors every day and so on. Then add on a profit (they should make a profit don't you think?). Now maybe you see why they want a contract for giving away all of the wonderful FREE stuff they do.

Yeah, but if they keep me happy with service I will be a long lasting customer and they will make their money. Also.. don't they refurb and reuse the boxes for new customers?

[richiephx]

A contract is way more than an act of desperation in the case of the satcos.

First off, to receive a sat signal, you have to have some hardware, don't you? There is a dish (or dishes) there are receivers/DVRS, etc., correct? There is the cost of the coax from the dish to the receivers, isn't there? Sometimes there is additional hardware as well (switches, etc.) isn't there? There is a labor cost to install all of that in you home, isn't there?

That STUFF all costs real money, and most of it is given for FREE to the customer when they sign up for service. But, the box manufacturer has to still get paid, the coax manufacturer still has to get paid. The dish manufacturer still has to get paid. The installation company still has to get paid. And so on.

If there was NO committment, guess what - subscribers would have to pay for ALL OF THAT - wouldn't they? Would YOU give all of that STUFF to a new customer if they could walk away 3 months later? If you answer yes, please call me, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

So, take the average cost to the satco for an installation, add in the cost of programming, the cost of their uplink facility, their own labor costs, the cost for them to open their doors every day and so on. Then add on a profit (they should make a profit don't you think?). Now maybe you see why they want a contract for giving away all of the wonderful FREE stuff they do.

If I had the option to buy my own dish and hd receiver and install it myself, I don't see why I have to commit to a programming term. Unfortunately, D* made the decision to lease all new hd receivers and I don't have the option to buy it. Many people object to any kind of lease commitments and prefer to pay upfront and own it. I think D*'s business decision to not offer a purchase option may be short sighted on their part.

[rad]

If I had the option to buy my own dish and hd receiver and install it myself, I don't see why I have to commit to a programming term. Unfortunately, D* made the decision to lease all new hd receivers and I don't have the option to buy it. Many people object to any kind of lease commitments and prefer to pay upfront and own it. I think D*'s business decision to not offer a purchase option may be short sighted on their part.

I thought D* did have an option to purchase a HR20 for around $750, just that it's not something they really push.

[wmi]

What does this matter to you? He has no bearing on future E* HD plans. Just because his opinion doesnt match yours you called him spoiled? His opinion is his own and it is his right. Get over it.

That's the whole point. Yet, I run across HD customers who act like Charlie Ergen should personally consult them and make plans around what they want and screw all the other customers.

"High-maintenance" doesn't even begin to describe them.