Dish to Drop Weather Channel?

satgirl51

SatelliteGuys Pro
Oct 3, 2007
380
106
USA
What was Dish's Net Profit per sub last year? If anything like the previous year, then their profit was less than their average charge per sub. I find it hard to beleive that it is a "just because we can" fee when if we were to remove that fee, for every sub, there would be no net profit, thus forcing those without DVRs to pay more because the cost of programming packages would have to go up significantly. We are all talking about why they charge the fee just because they can, but don't you think that would be reflected on their annual financial statements as a much much larger gap? That was one of the points trying to make earlier. Dare2 I think understood it. All that sAid, if you have dish, and do not want to pay thAt fee, get a 211, and record to EHD and give up all the software that takes money to continuously improve and correct.

I agree if they stopped charging outlet fees, dvr fees etc, they would have to raise subscription fees significantly to make bank, but that looks bad to the consumer when you charge one large amount on a bill, that is why they nickle and dime ya, literally every company does it.
 

Bobby

Publican
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
Sep 7, 2003
69,950
25,568
Rohnert Park, CA
I am in the business, earnings reports etc. If you want the details they are easy to google.

The assumption you pay the monthly fee for software upgrades is silly, apple doesn't charge for their software upgrades, even on older devices, buy the equipment they support it, I suppose they could start if they wanted too though.
Using Apple, you pay a premium for that..... And I am an Apple person....
 

MikeD-C05

Pub Member / Supporter
Pub Member / Supporter
Nov 25, 2003
33,205
31,564
Nederland , Texas
I have no problem with equipment fees if you lease them. If you OWN the equipment, paid full price to OWN the equipment, the equipment fee becomes nothing more than a "because we can" fee.
THANK YOU TONY! :bow

I have felt that for years. I am so glad someone else can say it too.:clapclap
 

ChadT41

THE BEST THERE HAS EVER BEEN
Apr 20, 2014
11,080
4,512
Mesa, Az
I agree if they stopped charging outlet fees, dvr fees etc, they would have to raise subscription fees significantly to make bank, but that looks bad to the consumer when you charge one large amount on a bill, that is why they nickle and dime ya, literally every company does it.
That's why every customer has ultimate control over their bill, of this very luxury service. To go off topic on this off topic subject...

I was watching tv with my dad earlier, while we wait to hear that my sister is ready to pop out a baby. A commercial comes on CMT and it is identical to all that reality crap that comes on MtV, GAC, VH1, and most other stations. This is the crap we are bitching about our bills going up for, so they can give us this BS, non creative crap and dumb us down more. Long gone are the days of quality creative programming. Gone are shows that make you think. If a show just so happens to become that good, they spin off 4 or 5 times and ruin the overall integrity of the long term program. Look at CSI, Bones, L&O, and JAG(NCIS is the spinoff from JAG). These are some of the best and hottest shows on regular cable.

I am quite jealous of those that don't pay those fees, because they can just walk away from it. I am a power watcher... One that can walk away from a specific show if it is not available, but will do everything I can to catch my series. I wish I could just walk away from TV, but I am literally going through Business School for this damn service. Hahaha.
 

navychop

Member of the Month - July 2014!
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 20, 2005
60,016
27,290
Northern VA
They are going to make the money. Pure and simple, if you got your wish they would just raise rates elsewhere. I think it more fair to charge folks more that have more equipment. Then you at least have the option to cut costs by having less equipment.

Gee, I wonder if they're working on a way to defeat HDMI splitters.....
 

dare2be

SatelliteGuys God
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 15, 2011
12,742
7,775
FL
I am in the business, earnings reports etc. If you want the details they are easy to google.
So, you're saying the content owners don't drive much of the DVR and outlet fees in their contracts with MVPDs?
The assumption you pay the monthly fee for software upgrades is silly,
The assumption that the DVR and outlet fees are mostly pure profit for the MVPD is just as silly. Content/channel owners have as much if not more of a stake in collecting those fees, as I have outlined previously.
 

satgirl51

SatelliteGuys Pro
Oct 3, 2007
380
106
USA
So, you're saying the content owners don't drive much of the DVR and outlet fees in their contracts with MVPDs?
For residential accounts, that is correct, a customer is a customer. While every content provider would ban DVR's if they could, they aren't receiving any revenue from them, that doesn't mean that they don't indirectly raise the content fees though.
 

MikeD-C05

Pub Member / Supporter
Pub Member / Supporter
Nov 25, 2003
33,205
31,564
Nederland , Texas
The problem you are missing with this argument , it isn't about why they are charging the fees that they are charging. The article that I read in this thread, was saying that content providers like TWC , and yes DISH too, are dropping channels that don't get good ratings in order to drop their costs. One company has decided to drop the Viacom channels because they are nothing but reruns and infomercials with some stupid reality tv thrown in here and there. They no longer serve the purpose they did when they were launched. So all cable providers and DISH have lost subs- DISH lost 79,000 subs last year alone. IF DISH is to survive in the long term , they need to drop the loser channels like The Weather channel, Ovation, and a whole lot more if you ask me, and they need to look at lowering their programming pack prices. With less channels that are no longer of value are dropped , then DISH should be able to lower the programming price. This to me is a small way around the force bundling we have today. Make sure you channel is useful and watched by subs , or we will drop you , lowering our cost and our subs costs to watch DISH.

The other thing I suggested was to look at re-aligning their various DISH fees and consolidating and reducing them to make their company attractive to potential subs and to keep existing subs as well. Charging $17.00 for a second 722k is stupid. So is charging $12.00 for a second hopper and even for a dvr fee. It is pushing people away. Go back to a clean, easy to understand fee for additional receivers -no matter what class there is. One DVR fee per account and lower it back down to $5.00 -no matter what kind of receiver. Stop hiding the cost of the dvr fee PER dvr receiver, by combining it in the additional receiver costs , like they have done since 2010 and charge just $5.00 per additional receiver. Easy fees that are uniform across the entire company regardless of receiver ,would mean more subs would upgrade to the cutting edge tech receivers and dropping older receivers, that should of been gone years ago. This would mean DISH could stop supporting all those older receivers and could work on making the few that they keep the best they could ,lowering cost for DISH. Remember Charlie the K.I. S.S. method: Keep it simple stupid.

Obviously DISH has a problem attracting new subs and retaining existing ones. Charlie better look at changing the status quo and come up with a way to beat the competition. The days of the existing satellite/cable structure or numbered. I said in less than 5 years it will not exist like it is today. You can get ahead of this change now Charlie ,or you can be left behind and watch your numbers continue to dwindle, like Cable has been seeing since Satellite first came out. The very definition of insanity- is to do the same thing, the same way and expecting a different outcome. This is the time to make a serious change in the way they run DISH -especially with Joe Clayton leaving and Charlie taking back the CEO title.
 
  • Like
Reactions: yomama

Jim S.

When someone asks you if you're a god, you say yes
Lifetime Supporter
Jan 2, 2006
5,669
1,291
FN11od
Guys, OTA and Tivio Roamio is and will be the only option for no fees..oh well yes, Tivo's. And one I am not taking.

You're missing the point, which is that there is no technical, logical reason for that to be the case.
 

Jim S.

When someone asks you if you're a god, you say yes
Lifetime Supporter
Jan 2, 2006
5,669
1,291
FN11od
Three letters.... V C R
How many monthly fees were required for that? There was also VCR+ that made it a breeze to get only the new episodes.
DVRs are nothing different. The only difference is that content providers convinced subscribers that it was a premium service. It's not.
http://www.cnet.com/topics/dvrs/best-dvrs/

I should also point out that a VCR doesn't encrypt what you record on it. And, the Supreme Court ruled that making recordings for your own use was legal. So why was the government allowed to kowtow to big business and make unencrypted DIGITAL recordings illegal?
 
  • Like
Reactions: yomama

Jim S.

When someone asks you if you're a god, you say yes
Lifetime Supporter
Jan 2, 2006
5,669
1,291
FN11od
And to add to that, why would DISH or any of them pay big bucks for, and keep updating the software that runs the receiver and then give it away free? If you could buy a DISH receiver without the software what good would it be as a DVR? Remember you are not paying a lease fee, you paying for the owned software

For everybody else, LEASING software for home consumer use ended in the last millennium, if it existed at all.
 

Tampa8

Supporting Founder - I'll stand up and say so
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Sep 8, 2003
18,259
8,049
Tampa/Eastern Ct
It isn't a lease. Can you buy a Direct TV receiver and pay no fees to use their DVR functions? It is a use fee. Maybe TIVO can explain it better on why they charge a monthly fee;

"The TiVo service provides functionality to a TiVo DVR, including providing program guide information and the following features:

  • Season Pass® recording: automatically finds and records every episode of a series all season long
  • WishList® search: finds and records programs that feature your favorite actor, director, team or even topic
  • Smart Recording: automatically detects program line-up changes for your cable/satellite provider and adjusts recording times so you don't have to worry about the details
  • TiVo Suggestions: TiVo can be programmed to suggest and auto-record programs that may match your interests
  • Parental Controls: lock channels or set ratings limits based on content.
https://www.tivo.com/shop/roamio#/roamio
 

Willh699

SatelliteGuys Pro
May 20, 2009
1,096
260
Campbell, TX
this thread clearly got threadjacked, stop talking about fees and please go back to the topic of The Weather Channel and Dish getting into a new dispute 5 years after the first one, which was a historic first for The Weather Channel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: satgirl51 and Hall

JSheridan

SatelliteGuys Master
Lifetime Supporter
Feb 16, 2008
8,899
10,028
USA
this thread clearly got threadjacked, stop talking about fees and please go back to the topic of The Weather Channel and Dish getting into a new dispute 5 years after the first one, which was a historic first for The Weather Channel.

Wow! That was 5 years ago already?
 

Rolling Joe

SatelliteGuys Pro
May 12, 2012
444
231
Spokane, WA
this thread clearly got threadjacked, stop talking about fees and please go back to the topic of The Weather Channel and Dish getting into a new dispute 5 years after the first one, which was a historic first for The Weather Channel.

Yeah, and they still haven't learned anything, have they? In the face of the breakdown of the old paradigm, they stubbornly cling to it. The old we-can-do-whatever-we-want-and-you-will-pay-whatever-we-demand-no-matter-how-bad-the-product-becomes system. Makes no difference if it's Weather Channel/Universal/Comcast or Sumner's sweet baby, Viacom. The MVPD's are finally discovering they have cajones and backbone. 'Bout time.
 

ChadT41

THE BEST THERE HAS EVER BEEN
Apr 20, 2014
11,080
4,512
Mesa, Az
Yeah, and they still haven't learned anything, have they? In the face of the breakdown of the old paradigm, they stubbornly cling to it. The old we-can-do-whatever-we-want-and-you-will-pay-whatever-we-demand-no-matter-how-bad-the-product-becomes system. Makes no difference if it's Weather Channel/Universal/Comcast or Sumner's sweet baby, Viacom. The MVPD's are finally discovering they have cajones and backbone. 'Bout time.
Once the consumers realize that as well, we just might see either quality programming again, or lower bills. I'll accept one or the other. I have no problem paying more, as long as I get what I am paying for. I agree with your assessment.
 

Laddyboy

SatelliteGuys Pro
Dec 12, 2006
3,149
12
Central IL/SW FL/Big Island
I saw that Verizon dropped The Weather Channel from Fios and now Dish isn't as likely to renew the contract. Gee one less reality channel, what are we to do?
We lost The Weather Channel which was replaced by AccuWeather. AccuWeather is so so. The on air personnel are pretty weak thus far. Still they do concentrate on weather and not Coast Guard rescues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheKrell

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 2)

Latest posts