DISH Reaches Long Term Agreement with DISNEY / ESPN / ABC

I would like to think I'm a little more serious about my tv watching over the average Joe & in considering to sign up with Dish I overlooked the fact that Disney and some of Espn channels were not in HD. Many people like myself, when considering tv service, erroneously take for granted that basic & popular channels like Disney, ABC Family, ESPN channels, etc are in HD just like they are on 90% of the other providers. Dish CSRs, eager to sign you up, try to hide that fact & if you do even notice it, outrightly lie to you that's it's just a temporary situation and the HD feeds will be up "in the near future".

When I discovered this after I was hooked up I just took it as a minor inconvenience and decided to be patient. But that's the problem with Dish (and many Cable Providers), you keep taking these little body blows from them like living through channel blackouts, below par picture quality, constant rising bills, average customer service and it accumulates on you. After a while you do realize you're paying premium price for a below par service.

I do admire what Dish is trying to do with this espn/disney dispute but I think it's time for them to draw a line and find their niche market. That is, forget the sports lovers like myself and cater more to the individuals & families that are not sports lovers. From my short experience of both satellite service, both have their advantages and disadvantages. I just think Dish has the real possibility of being the low cost tv provider that can offer a good value service just like T-Mobile does in the cell phone market.

I have posted that you (the general you) know what DISH has when you sign up, or can know. You however make valid points that I understand. Asking a CSR questions does not yield reliable results, and a new subscriber may not know that especially when they answer like they really know. And it might not occur to someone who has X carrier that going to Y won't have their channels in HD if they did with X. Yes you could go to their site and look and for the most part the info there is correct, though not 100%. But then we are back to asking the CSR about a channel them saying it is being worked on and coming soon. (I know for a fact they give similar answers) So you did give me pause to put all the blame on the new subscriber.

I thought DISH was going to go the route you suggest when they decided to get out of the NY RSN market, (And the remarks by Charlie about sports not being watched by as many subs) and have limited sports with much lower subscription costs. But if they were considering that they went the opposite direction and have picked up most of the sports channels that they either did not have or that have come along since. (But not the NY RSN's)

I will only add, it is very possible the same happens when someone signs up with Direct TV or many other carriers. I don't know that their CSR's answer correctly or that there are are not surprises as to what is not carried. But with Cable there generally is no contract so it not as crucial, and in some cases they are the only choice so it does not matter.
 
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But YOU overlooked what was available. YOU didn't do your due diligence. YOU made assumptions, AND accepted a sales person's word. The bottom line, it's no secret the channels weren't in HD when you signed up.

If you're not happy with what you're getting for the money, why continue to get it?

This I agree with. I think there is a market for a provider to have no sports. BUT, I don't think that's a very large market. Even if Dish dropped all the sports channels, even if they drop their prices, they're not going to get enough volume to make up for those they lose.

I agree I assumed in error but it's a common mistake I think the average customer makes when switching providers, especially when they're doing it to save some dough. And I did switch to DirecTV after the accumulation of things that annoyed me about Dish. Now that I'm with them I now realize that they're actually a better fit for my needs and now I'm 99% pleased and unexpectedly, saving a ton of money while doing it.

I know Direct will be increasing their prices over time just like all the rest but, for me, no more little annoyances I have to live with while paying them. That's why I have compared the two and made the suggestion about Dish dropping, not all, but those sports programming providers that's asking extortion like prices. Maybe if companies like ESPN have less providers clamoring for their channels then they'll act more reasonablely. I know the solution is not as simple as that but maybe Charlie Ergen wasn't so crazy to suggest dropping ESPN.
 
Disney probably wants more money for the logos

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Man, you guys are really hung up on these channel logos.
I noticed that several other channels are missing logos on the Hopper: beIN sports HD (392) and beIN overflow (873) (but not beIN SD on 871), Blockbuster @ Home (389, 375), several of the Encore suite of channels (343, 344, 345), and TMCXW (330) just to name a few. Does it even mean anything? I'm so tired of trying to speculate what these minor omissions may or may not mean. I am just curious if anyone actually knows whether, in general (not just ESPN/Disney case), if a channel logo disappears, does it mean anything at all, or is it usually just a glitch?
 
I agree I assumed in error but it's a common mistake I think the average customer makes when switching providers, especially when they're doing it to save some dough. And I did switch to DirecTV after the accumulation of things that annoyed me about Dish. Now that I'm with them I now realize that they're actually a better fit for my needs and now I'm 99% pleased and unexpectedly, saving a ton of money while doing it.

I know Direct will be increasing their prices over time just like all the rest but, for me, no more little annoyances I have to live with while paying them. That's why I have compared the two and made the suggestion about Dish dropping, not all, but those sports programming providers that's asking extortion like prices. Maybe if companies like ESPN have less providers clamoring for their channels then they'll act more reasonablely. I know the solution is not as simple as that but maybe Charlie Ergen wasn't so crazy to suggest dropping ESPN.
Thank you for clarifying. I'm glad you have a system you're happy with.
 
But YOU overlooked what was available. YOU didn't do your due diligence. YOU made assumptions, AND accepted a sales person's word. The bottom line, it's no secret the channels weren't in HD when you signed up.
Most new subscribers to Dish Network aren't out searching for sites like satelliteguys to find out what channels really are in HD and which aren't. They look at the glossy brochure (which of course will not mention which channels are not currently in HD) and listen to the salesman's pitch and go on that.

In fact, Dish's own site does not state which specific channels are in HD and which are not.

I think it is unfortunate (to put it mildly) to blame the consumer for a situation where Dish goes above any beyond to hide which channels are in HD, and where their representatives actively lie about the subject. Where do you expect consumers to find this info out, if Dish and it's representatives hide and lie about it?
 
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I noticed that several other channels are missing logos on the Hopper: beIN sports HD (392) and beIN overflow (873) (but not beIN SD on 871), Blockbuster @ Home (389, 375), several of the Encore suite of channels (343, 344, 345), and TMCXW (330) just to name a few. Does it even mean anything? I'm so tired of trying to speculate what these minor omissions may or may not mean. I am just curious if anyone actually knows whether, in general (not just ESPN/Disney case), if a channel logo disappears, does it mean anything at all, or is it usually just a glitch?


I usually don't pay much attention to it. If the channel I want to watch is on then I don't care about much else. I have my channels memorized so I rarely even pay attention when changing the channel and I'm usually just hitting the recall button so I don't pay much attention to it.
 
Most new subscribers to Dish Network aren't out searching for sites like satelliteguys to find out what channels really are in HD and which aren't. They look at the glossy brochure (which of course will not mention which channels are not currently in HD) and listen to the salesman's pitch and go on that.

In fact, Dish's own site does not state which specific channels are in HD and which are not.

I think it is unfortunate (to put it mildly) to blame the consumer for a situation where Dish goes above any beyond to hide which channels are in HD, and where their representatives actively lie about the subject. Where do you expect consumers to find this info out, if Dish and it's representatives hide and lie about it?
Here's a link to Dish's site where they list the HD channels...
http://www.dish.com/entertainment/channels/#high-definition.

Yes, it wasn't where I thought it would be (under 'Entertainment'), but it wasn't exactly hidden (click 'Technology', then 'High Definition', then 'See our HD Channels'). The point is still if a certain feature (ie: HD) or channel (ie: ESPNU) is that important to someone that their experience will be ruined if they don't have it, shouldn't they be responsible for making sure it's available?
 
I usually don't pay much attention to it. If the channel I want to watch is on then I don't care about much else. I have my channels memorized so I rarely even pay attention when changing the channel and I'm usually just hitting the recall button so I don't pay much attention to it.

I wonder if that is part of the issue here, and by that I mean, perhaps logos are disappearing and reappearing all the time and we just don't notice it...until something big like these negotiations start and everyone is watching every little thing constantly looking for clues.
 
I wonder if that is part of the issue here, and by that I mean, perhaps logos are disappearing and reappearing all the time and we just don't notice it...until something big like these negotiations start and everyone is watching every little thing constantly looking for clues.


?Very possible.
 
Dish vs. Disney: What's Taking So Long?
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (October 16, 2013) -[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Editor's Note: TV's Answer Man, aka Swanni, takes your questions regarding how to best use the latest products and services in TV technology. If you have a question about TV technology, ask TV's Answer Man by sending an e-mail to [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]swann@tvpredictions.com[/FONT]
Q. It seems like a long time now that Dish and Disney said they were extending their deal so they could keep talking up a new deal. What's taking so long? -- Quinn, Statesville, North Carolina.

Quinn, you're not the only one asking that. Disney and Disney announced on September 30 that they were agreeing to a 'short-term' extension in their carriage deal to avoid a Dish blackout of ESPN, ABC-owned affiliates in eight markets and the Disney suite of channels.

The companies did not say how long the extension would be, but it was agreed to so they could continue talking.

When the extension was first announced, most people thought it might last a few days, or less; short-term extensions usually do. But here we are 16 days into the extension and the two companies have not said a word about what's going on with the negotiations.



Meanwhile, Dish is 'message bombing Media General in their fee fight, a sharp contrast to how the satcaster is handling the Disney dispute.

Bloomberg News has written that the Disney hangup may not be over how much Dish agrees to pay to carry Disney's channels, but what Dish does with its ad-skipping Hopper HD DVR. The Disney-owned ABC is suing Dish over the Hopper, claiming it violates its copyright. Disney may be demanding the termination of the Hopper's automatic ad-skipping feature as part of a new deal.

If that's the case, Dish might be receptive, but would require Disney to bend considerably on how much it wants to carry its channels. And in that scenario, you could see why the latest round of negotiations has taken 16 days, and could take quite a bit more. The companies would have to agree on a carriage fee number that would make both feel comfortable about making such a major concession.

In Dish's case, it would agree not to allow subscribers to use the Hopper's automatic ad-skipping feature when watching Disney programming. In Disney's case, it would have to agree on accepting a small carriage fee than it normally would for allowing Dish to carry its channels.

That would definitely take some time to negotiate. So my guess is that we may not see a final Dish-Disney resolution for a few weeks at least.
 

problems with DVD and DVR since hooking up new TV

Is this the same ehd ???

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