OLN Dropped by Dish over Programming Disputes

[Juan]

This is what I was talking about in my other thread (Rant)

"For customers impacted by the loss of OLN, DISH Network recently added College Sports TV (CSTV), NFL Network and ESPNU at no additional cost"

They take a channel that people watch and put up genre specific channels and say they are doing it at no charge... Now I know that the cost of the OLN network does not even come close to the cost of those three networks put together I have all the channels... so I am the one getting ripped from this, not E*

.

what!!!! OLN is a half a** network at best

 

[Brewer4]

I think everything should be ala carte. However, my brother and I were talking and he said that more than likely the cable/sat companies would figure out how many channels on average most people would subscribe to and charge a crazy price per channel that would come up to the average package price. So for example, we pay around $40 for a certain tier. Lets say the average number of channels most folks watch is 10. Thats $4 per channel. Guess what, price per channel, $4. If folks subscribe to more, thats actually more money to the cable/sat.

We really need Telco's to get in the mix. We really need more competition to keep prices down. For whatever their own personal interests, I am glad to see Dish push back every now and then.

 

[Juan]

When all the consolidation in the cable/telco/world is complete most likely there will be one telco,one cable company and one satellite tv service.. at that point prices will skt rocket and service will suck much worse than it does now.. If you think comcrap is a bully now..just wait till they but the REST of the competion!!!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

This was sent late last night to all Dish Retailers...

Is the Mens Channel (which is just informercials) agood substitute?

October 20, 2005

Dear DISH Network Retailer,

Effective Thursday, October 20, 2005 (10:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time), DISH Network will no longer carry Outdoor Life Network (OLN), a Comcast subsidiary, within AT180 or America’s Everything Pak entertainment packages, located on channel 151.

The Comcast-owned programmer refuses to provide OLN programming to DISH Network and recently demanded that EchoStar force millions of additional DISH Network customers to pay for its outdoor programming as a condition to continued availability. EchoStar was unwilling to impose those additional costs onto its customers. For customers impacted by the loss of OLN, DISH Network recently added College Sports TV (CSTV), NFL Network and ESPNU at no additional cost.

Where else can AT180 customers view programming comparable to OLN?:



• The Outdoor Channel – Features quality programming promoting traditional outdoor activities, including fishing, hunting and shooting sports, located on channel 153



• The Men's Channel – Home of the most comprehensive male lifestyle programming on television, located on channel 218



For hockey fans:



• Regional Sports Network – For NHL games and other sports, customers can check their guide for schedules



• NHL Center Ice – Customers can subscribe to NHL Center Ice, which has the most coverage possible with over 1,100 games during the season, a much broader variety than OLN offers. It also includes the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs and select games broadcast in high definition.

Thanks for Supporting DISH Network!

October 20, 2005 Facts Blast 102005 V1 Page 1 of 1

 

[riffjim4069]

I don't agree with your figures, but there is certainly going to be additional consolidation in the Cable, Telco, and DBS communities. IMO there will be only a handful of major Cable and Telco providers, and E* and D* may likely have to merge since DBS growth will cease or shrink. One thing is for sure, consumers will finally benefit.

 

[korsjs]

I don't agree with your figures, but there is certainly going to be additional consolidation in the Cable, Telco, and DBS communities. IMO there will be only a handful of major Cable and Telco providers, and E* and D* may likely have to merge since DBS growth will cease or shrink. One thing is for sure, consumers will finally benefit.

i agree with you that there will be a lot of mergers.

i also agree with charlie on what he is doing.

 

[Juan]

there are only 3 baby bells left!!! (one is on life support so i dont count them any more)..Once comcast and time warner merge(time warner is being pressured to spin off or sell their cable system biz this very second) Att is gone MCI is gone Once Verizon and SBC finally find a way to merge(years away) there wont be much of any competition or choices availble for the average joe consumer

 

[Juan]

This was sent late last night to all Dish Retailers...

Is the Mens Channel (which is just informercials) agood substitute?

The Mens channel is a lot more than average infomercials..some of those hunting shows are pretty good!!

 

[avsfan33]

Oln

what!!!! OLN is a half a** network at best

So were their NHL broadcasts. The commentators were bland at best. It seems like they were trying to do the whole thing on a shoe string budget.

 

[dtanderson]

I won't miss OLN one bit. I'm glad that Dish fights these battles.

same here

 

[cablewithaview]

Dish advertises value. This would have been a better value by being moved to the top 120. However Dish did not want to do that. I don't like the 60, 120, & 180 package set up because in reality it's more costly. these networks charge so much for channel placement and if they are in a less watched package the price of the channel is higher. just like Golf moving from a la carte to 180, in the long run it was cheaper then a la carte. the a la carte issue is the channels fault as why they are costly, so OLN as an a la carte would been more then moved to the 120 but the 180 hardly has any subs because of cost. as for ABC Family, I feel it had lost it's value from when it changed from Fox Family and before "The Family Channel". The Family Channel was better viewed then then it is now.

 

[cablewithaview]

in order for Comcast and Time Warner to merge after Adelphia would never happen. That would put Comcast well over the 30/33% ? ownership cap the FCC has in place. Time Warner would have to be bought by someone else or spin off totally separate from everything else. If Comcast did by chance bought Time Warner then they would have to shed off systems they can't group together and keep those they can. which would be kind of hard since they are the largest. FCC would not approve that kind of sale and Adelphia isn't final niether, something else people need to keep in mind.

 

[cablewithaview]

OLN Looks to Ice Sports-Tier Carriage

READ posting: http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=88633
I had posted this well ahead of time so there should have been no surprise as to what is going on. (think outside the box)

 

[Brewer4]

i agree with you that there will be a lot of mergers.

i also agree with charlie on what he is doing.

Didnt the FCC already block Echostar and Directv from merging? I agree there will be consolidation but I think 2 dish companies will exist for a while. What I do see happening, is more News Corp/Directv ownership scenarios. Thats where it gets more interesting. Its the ownership of the content in question that will cause issues with providers. Thats what is going on with Comcrap pushing its weight on E*.

Comcast tried to buy them once and I think you will see someone vie for Disney/ESPN again. Let the games begin. Its gonna get more interesting than just OLN/Comcrap/E*.

 

[Peter Parker]

READ posting: http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=88633
I had posted this well ahead of time so there should have been no surprise as to what is going on. (think outside the box)

The article is not entirely accurate. DISH does not offer OLN on a "Sports tier".

 

[JohnL]

Dish advertises value. This would have been a better value by being moved to the top 120. However Dish did not want to do that. I don't like the 60, 120, & 180 package set up because in reality it's more costly. these networks charge so much for channel placement and if they are in a less watched package the price of the channel is higher. just like Golf moving from a la carte to 180, in the long run it was cheaper then a la carte. the a la carte issue is the channels fault as why they are costly, so OLN as an a la carte would been more then moved to the 120 but the 180 hardly has any subs because of cost. as for ABC Family, I feel it had lost it's value from when it changed from Fox Family and before "The Family Channel". The Family Channel was better viewed then then it is now.

Top 180 has hardly any Dish Subs, really then why do over 3 Million of Dish's 11 million subs have Top 180. By my Math that is over 27 percent, more than one in 4 subs. BTW Comcasts' demand was to be in a package that reaches at least 40 percent of Subscribers.

John

 

[riffjim4069]

Didnt the FCC already block Echostar and Directv from merging?

That was in 2002, but who knows what the future holds. Perhaps in the future it may be possible for both to share costly satellite and uplink facilities while still maintaining their own autonomy. Other than the technical limitations, I am not aware of any legal barriers preventing them from partnering should push ever come to shove in the video landscape.

 

[dishrich]

OK, while so many people keep waiving those cheap Charlie poms poms & getting all emotional that "he IS the great saviour of low prog prices" (sarcasm OFF now) the simple FACTS in the matter are actually VERY simple, all of which has been reported about in several trade mags:

-OLN let ALL their providers know in advance that when they started offering the NHL, they would be putting them on a separate feed that ONLY those providers that offer OLN to at least 40% of their customer base could take. Unfortunately, AT180 does NOT meet this requirement, just as TC+ on D* would most likely not meet this requirement, nor would some of the "sports tier" that cable co. offer on digital cable. Most cable co, with some exceptions, would most likely have to offer OLN on expanded basic cable to meet this requirement. Since D* has OLN on TC, I'm quite sure they well exceed the 40% mark. If by some miracle, E* COULD get 40% of their subs to cough up to AT180, this would all be a moot point, but it isn't like that.

-OLN is NOT singling out E* for this - they are being this way with ALL providers that offer their service. This is NOT a "big bad OLN is picking on poor, poor Charlie" thing.

-If a provider chooses NOT to comply with this mandate, they are free to continue offering OLN as is, BUT they would stay on the OLN feed that offers alternate programming in place of the NHL games - simple as that. E* could have kept things EXACTLY as is now, but his customers would NOT have got the NHL - again, simple to understand.

-Because Charlie couldn't get OLN to acquiesce to getting OLN on HIS terms, he acts like a spoiled child, takes his toys away (removes the channel ENTIRELY) & storms off in a huff. Again, in case you don't understand - E* PULLED the channel off because they could NOT get the NHL on THEIR terms; OLN did NOT take the channel entirely away from E* - regardless of the propaganda coming out of the E* PR mill.

-OLN is NOT asking for more money for this channel - all they are asking for is for it to be distributed in a package to a wider audience. Yes, in the long run, E* will have to pay a little more to OLN, since now more people will be seeing it, but in reality, E*'s costs would not go up that high proportionately, since typically the more subs you offer a channel to, the LOWER the provider's cost is to offer the service to begin with.

-Did anyone notice that E* just added Soapnet to AT120 - I can guarantee you, E*'s cost to offer this channel now probably just went up, since it is now in a larger distributed package, but nobody bitched when they got an extra channel for free. Why would it be SO hard for E* to do the same with OLN? (other than because Charlie didn't get his way)

Some of you guys need to quite treat cheap Charlie like some God you worship & get into reality here...

 

[GaryPen]

Sorry Gary, but I just look at the facts. Comcast is a vertical monopoly trying to leverage their cable monopoly's immense profits to be able to bully Dish over this NHL deal. That trumps everything. I don't care whose best interest Charlie has in mind. The bottom line is he isn't being anti-competitive.

Sorry. When I hear words like "vertical monopoly" and "leverage", I gotta tune out. I hear that nonsense all day long at work. I prefer English.

But, the point is, if OLN isn't asking for substantially more money, then what they are asking for is really not so bad. And, quite frankly, the people who will benefit most are the subscribers. Of course, if they are asking for a bunch of money, then you would be correct.

Now, I'm not saying it is Dish's fault or OLN's fault. However, the press releases from Dish sound just like the average White House press release, full of more spin than a NASA centrifuge. And, considering Charlie's history of doing business through confrontation, I think people need to try and get all the facts before automatically taking Dish's side.

Then again, I would expect no less from the Dishites than a total, frothing at the mouth defense of their spiritual leader, The Holiest of Holies, the exalted grand wizard of all things broadcast, his highness Sir Charles of Ergen.

 

[Juan]

How do you know any of what you just posted?