Maybe Leaving Dish for DTV: Good or Bad Idea?

dare2be

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How it's relevant: Are all the Premium Movie channels a must have? If you drop those (go to AT250), you'd immediately save $47/mo +taxes, which would be lower than what you are proposing to get from DTV.
 

dare2be

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So if I switch back to DTV, my satellite TV expenses for the next 12 months will be the following:
Dish: $1,918.80 + $200 ETF = $2,118.80
DTV: $1,459.44
There is a problem with that math. I get the $1,918.80 (159.90 x 12), but why are you adding the EFT on to the Dish bill? If you switch, the $200 EFT would be added to the DTV bill, if you don't switch, there would not be an EFT.

So, it's more like:
Dish: $1,918.80 (stay with Dish)
DTV: $1,459.44 + $200 EFT to switch from Dish = $1,659.44, a savings of $259.36
 

KAB

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Ok, here’s my current thinking regarding leaving Dish and returning to DTV.

My current monthly payment to Dish with 1 TV and America’s Everything Pack is $159.90, with 10 months remaining on my Dish 2-year commitment.

If I return to DTV, the monthly payment for months 1 through 12 with a Genie, 1 TV, and the Premiere Package will be $121.62.

So if I switch back to DTV, my satellite TV expenses for the next 12 months will be the following:
Dish: $1,918.80 + $200 ETF = $2,118.80
DTV: $1,459.44
12-month savings by returning to DTV: $659.36

I know that the DTV monthly payment will go up in months 13-24, but I will deal with that at that point in time, perhaps returning to Dish.

Is my math correct? Have I overlooked anything? Any other considerations?
No, it's not. You need to apply the $200 ETF to your Directv Cost, not Dish's....it's the cost of going to Directv.
 

lparsons21

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When you hit the one year point, it is not all that strange to have it be cheaper to pay the ETF and move to the new service. I've done it a few times.


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dare2be

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I'm loyal to my wallet, too. That's why I recently dropped down to AT200, and haven't upgraded to a Hopper and its fees.

...waiting (for replies) is the hardest part
 
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SpencerCat

SatelliteGuys Guru
Boy, do I feel stupid!!! 50 years ago I was good at math. I guess too many brain cells have died.

It's because of you sharp people on this site that I ask for help here.

But even the $259.36 savings look good to me, so I'm going to call Dish and see what they might offer me.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

And I've edited my above post to put in the correct math :redface .

Richard
 

KAB

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Boy, do I feel stupid!!! 50 years ago I was good at math. I guess too many brain cells have died.

It's because of you sharp people on this site that I ask for help here.

But even the $259.36 savings look good to me, so I'm going to call Dish and see what they might offer me.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

And I've edited my above post to put in the correct math :redface .

Richard
And also have a CLEAR understanding of what your apple to apple 2nd year Directv cost will be. That savings could get eaten up eventually. Do you know what your EXACT monthly Directv non-programming (equipment, etc) fees will be? Also, if you have many recordings yet to watch, you will have to say bye-bye to them. Make sure you are taking ALL things into consideration, not just the $$$. I hope teacher does his/her homework!
 

SpencerCat

SatelliteGuys Guru
And also have a CLEAR understanding of what your apple to apple 2nd year Directv cost will be. That savings could get eaten up eventually. Do you know what your EXACT monthly Directv non-programming (equipment, etc) fees will be? Also, if you have many recordings yet to watch, you will have to say bye-bye to them.

The monthly price includes an Advanced Receiver Service fee of $15.00, a Regional Sports fee of $2.14, a TV fee of $6.50, and a Protection Plan for $7.99. There is no tax mentioned, however my Dish monthly tax is $1.41.

The monthly cost for months 12-24 will be $168.62, slightly more than my current Dish bill.

I'm caught up on my recordings, so that's not an issue.

The biggest potential stumbling block is the one-time fee of $99.00 for a Genie, which brings my 1-year savings down to $160.36, which is not an insignificant amount but is not as much as I had hoped for, and then throw in having to reestablish all 40+ of my timers, and I begin to question leaving Dish before my contract expires.

I won't downgrade my package, because I enjoy many of the HBO and Showtime series.

Hopefully everything I've done regarding this topic might help others who are in the same situation as I am.

I think I'm going to call Dish and see what they might be willing to do to keep me :coco .

Thanks, everyone.
Richard
 

ChadT41

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The $259.36 savings is $21.61 per month savings. You can easily get that by talking to a retention agent and telling them you want a minimum $25x12 otherwise you'll pay the ETF and leave.
 

lparsons21

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When I tried to cancel HBO/SHO/MAX I was offered :
HBO = $10/month for an indefinite period
MAX = $7/month for 6 months
SHO = $7.50/month for 6 months
Dish Movie Pack = $5/month for 6 months

And that was just doing the cancelling at my account online and not talking to anyone.


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harshness

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May 5, 2007
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I don't understand how your response is relevant to my proposal to save $659.36 in the next year by switching back to DTV.
It is relevant to your stated goal of pinching pennies. You could save much of the difference by losing the movie packs and that difference would carry into the successive years.

If your real goal is to fool yourself into thinking that you're getting a better deal than anyone else, that's a different story.

Understand that under the current AT&T new customer promotion, the Genie will cost you $99 up front (unless they have offered you otherwise in the last couple of months). AT&T has gone back to the old offer of an HR2x for free for a single TV.

AT&T may ding you for a RSN fee of "up to" $5.64/month depending on where you live (not optional).

At month 13, all the AT&T discounts disappear and you experience a $47 jump in monthly price to $158.49 plus whatever your RSN fee is.

I'm not sure where you came up with the monthly AT&T cost of $121.62. Even with the highest RSN fee, it shouldn't exceed $117.09. Did you toss on the HD Extra pack?

Months 1-12: $111.49+RSN fee ($1337.88/year)
Months 13-24 $158.49+RSN fee ($1901.88/year)

In the net, you're saving less than $300 over the two year commitment (less any RSN fees) and having to go through a cut-over at least once. If you somehow manage a gift card, the savings jumps up accordingly. You can pretty much bet that DISH isn't going to cover your AT&T ETF if you decide to pop back in year two.

Net savings: $60 if you punch out at month 13.
 

lparsons21

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It is relevant to your stated goal of pinching pennies. You could save much of the difference by losing the movie packs and that difference would carry into the successive years.

If your real goal is to fool yourself into thinking that you're getting a better deal than anyone else, that's a different story.

Understand that under the current AT&T new customer promotion, the Genie will cost you $99 up front (unless they have offered you otherwise in the last couple of months). AT&T has gone back to the old offer of an HR2x for free for a single TV.

AT&T may ding you for a RSN fee of "up to" $5.64/month depending on where you live (not optional).

At month 13, all the AT&T discounts disappear and you experience a $47 jump in monthly price to $158.49 plus whatever your RSN fee is.

I'm not sure where you came up with the monthly AT&T cost of $121.62. Even with the highest RSN fee, it shouldn't exceed $117.09. Did you toss on the HD Extra pack?

Months 1-12: $111.49+RSN fee ($1337.88/year)
Months 13-24 $158.49+RSN fee ($1901.88/year)

In the net, you're saving less than $300 over the two year commitment (less any RSN fees) and having to go through a cut-over at least once. If you somehow manage a gift card, the savings jumps up accordingly. You can pretty much bet that DISH isn't going to cover your AT&T ETF if you decide to pop back in year two.

Net savings: $60 if you punch out at month 13.
I'm still trying to figure out his billing.
T250, 1 Hopper, Sho/Max/HBO, Dish Movie Pack = $125.99 using the current Premium discounts that are a snap to get. He will have to call and get them to twiddle the structuring since he has AEP. Change it to T250 and each of the movie channels except Starz have what amounts to 1/2 off for each. Starz can be gotten with the Dish Movie pack via VOD and you get Epix with it and that too is on 1/2 off. All but HBO are 6 month deals, HBO is an indefinite if he doesn't wait until after the deal offer goes away.

His goal of pinching pennies isn't to cut off his nose to spite his face. He wants all the channels, he just wants to save a bit of money from retail.

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boyer1337

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Nov 16, 2013
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i look at the cost of service over a two year period. the cost of the first promotion year and then the second year at regular price and divide that figure by 24. its a decent deal when you do that and then you can switch if you need to at the end of the contract. just a thought but it gives you a monthly rate over 2 years.
 

boyer1337

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Nov 16, 2013
32
5
cambridge ohio
i look at the cost of service over a two year period. the cost of the first promotion year and then the second year at regular price and divide that figure by 24. its a decent deal when you do that and then you can switch if you need to at the end of the contract. just a thought but it gives you a monthly rate over 2 years.
 

ChadT41

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i look at the cost of service over a two year period. the cost of the first promotion year and then the second year at regular price and divide that figure by 24. its a decent deal when you do that and then you can switch if you need to at the end of the contract. just a thought but it gives you a monthly rate over 2 years.
That would be good if comparing the two services side by side to decide who to go with, but when discussing leaving after the first year each time and paying the ETF, those numbers surely skew the results.
 

harshness

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May 5, 2007
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His goal of pinching pennies isn't to cut off his nose to spite his face. He wants all the channels, he just wants to save a bit of money from retail.
A little bit comes from modest discounts. >$45/month isn't fair to everyone else that has to throw in to subsidize them.
 

dare2be

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When I tried to cancel HBO/SHO/MAX I was offered :
HBO = $10/month for an indefinite period
MAX = $7/month for 6 months
SHO = $7.50/month for 6 months
Dish Movie Pack = $5/month for 6 months

And that was just doing the cancelling at my account online and not talking to anyone.
THIS.

And if it's just Showtime and HBO you need, you could drop the other unneeded Premium packages and get SHO/HBO for cheaper and save more than the $260 over the next year, without having to play the switch game year after year.
 

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