What Will DISH Do Next?

Many people, right or wrong, look at Dish's main page and only see

190+ channels = $54.99/mo
240+ channels = $64.99/mo

and so on. Of course, many people get up in arms 12 or 24 months later when their price increases and they have no idea why...

That said, many cablecos are worse. I remember when Time Warner had an add'l fee for your remote control ! They also had a fee for the "guide" !

All that is very true.

Very much user error as well.
 
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Many people, right or wrong, look at Dish's main page and only see

190+ channels = $54.99/mo
240+ channels = $64.99/mo

and so on. Of course, many people get up in arms 12 or 24 months later when their price increases and they have no idea why...

That said, many cablecos are worse. I remember when Time Warner had an add'l fee for your remote control ! They also had a fee for the "guide" !

That would be an advertising change needed if someone thinks it is misleading. That shouldn't be confused with fees are misleading and hiding the true cost.....
 
You realize a lot has changed since the days of the 501. Expenses have gone up drastically. Customers demand more features and channels but somehow don't expect to pay extra for it.

I have yet to see one person on this forum over all the years come up with a legit plan that would allow customers to get all the same features and channels for a much cheaper price while allowing Dish to still make a profit. Just complaining about it doesn't do any good. Actually think of a real business plan that benefits both the customer and Dish. It can't just benefit the customer because the addition of thousands of customers doesn't help if you're not making a profit.
On the threads I've read on here the discussion isn't about reducing the costs but still continuing to receive all the same channels. Quite the contrary, in fact. People are fed up with paying ever increasing prices for bloated packages with channels they never watch which is why the cord cutting. People are also fed up with having to subscribe to a higher cost package, with all it's bloat, just to get one or two channels they want. The only way Dish is ever going to start gaining subscribers again, rather than loosing subscribers, is to cut away the fat and associated costs by removing channels almost no one watches, consolidate packages into more appealing groups, and bring the prices down. Doing away with fees for owned equipment would also help but is not the single-solution cure all.
 
On the threads I've read on here the discussion isn't about reducing the costs but still continuing to receive all the same channels. Quite the contrary, in fact. People are fed up with paying ever increasing prices for bloated packages with channels they never watch which is why the cord cutting. People are also fed up with having to subscribe to a higher cost package, with all it's bloat, just to get one or two channels they want. The only way Dish is ever going to start gaining subscribers again, rather than loosing subscribers, is to cut away the fat and associated costs by removing channels almost no one watches, consolidate packages into more appealing groups, and bring the prices down. Doing away with fees for owned equipment would also help but is not the single-solution cure all.

I remember like it wasn't all that long ago that new channels were coming out pretty consistently and everyone was clamoring for Dish to carry them. Networks kept coming up with new channels to spread their content across on and trying to make more money. Customers wanted them and Dish kept adding them. Then they became available in HD and customers demanded them as well. More and more channels became available and content became too thin. Now everyone has well over 100 channels and somehow they can only find a couple channels they enjoy. Somehow they thought they'd get all this amazing quality programming from all these channels in HD and not have to pay anything extra for it.

I know some will argue that they only want the channels that they want to watch and forget the rest. That's just not reality in the TV world though. Dish can't just magically provide that to you because they don't own the channels and can't offer them to you how ever you want. If you want to blame Dish then blame the networks and general public that kept asking for more niche channels.
 
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Ok , I still say that the way DISH is running their business is costing them subs. They need to change what they are doing to not only attract new subs , but to retain existing subs. The fees structure is a hinderence to them for doing this very thing.

Owned receivers like the Joey should not have monthly fees. Those who want to rent their receivers can pay the monthly fees.

Negotiating with the channel providers for more live streams for each account, would allow many subs to go with Fire tv stick and they could drop additional receivers from their bill. The actual Dvr fee should not be so high .They could go with a smaller $ 10.00 fee and and it would go to making people feel much better about their bills. Either that or provide more service for their $15.00 fee.

How about providing a more accurate guide information and a full fleshed out guide information for All ota channels and sub channels . They could use the Internet to provide free Titan tv apps for full ota guide information for just ota channels and sub channels. Because the auto skip feature is now about useless ,unless you want to wait around 6-7 days on some local channels . Increase the worth of the Dvr fee and provide more service to the customer and you can justify that higher $15.00 Dvr fee.

These are just some of the ways they could help provide more value for their subs and to attract more new subs and retain existing. Running things like they are now are not cutting it . Long term it doesn't look good for DISH satellite portion of the business. They need Growth or they will continue to bleed subs . Doing nothing is really not an option.
 
Ok , I still say that the way DISH is running their business is costing them subs. They need to change what they are doing to not only attract new subs , but to retain existing subs. The fees structure is a hinderence to them for doing this very thing.

Owned receivers like the Joey should not have monthly fees. Those who want to rent their receivers can pay the monthly fees.

Negotiating with the channel providers for more live streams for each account, would allow many subs to go with Fire tv stick and they could drop additional receivers from their bill. The actual Dvr fee should not be so high .They could go with a smaller $ 10.00 fee and and it would go to making people feel much better about their bills. Either that or provide more service for their $15.00 fee.

How about providing a more accurate guide information and a full fleshed out guide information for All ota channels and sub channels . They could use the Internet to provide free Titan tv apps for full ota guide information for just ota channels and sub channels. Because the auto skip feature is now about useless ,unless you want to wait around 6-7 days on some local channels . Increase the worth of the Dvr fee and provide more service to the customer and you can justify that higher $15.00 Dvr fee.

These are just some of the ways they could help provide more value for their subs and to attract more new subs and retain existing. Running things like they are now are not cutting it . Long term it doesn't look good for DISH satellite portion of the business. They need Growth or they will continue to bleed subs . Doing nothing is really not an option.

I agree with the purchased receiver idea and I think everyone else agrees with it as well. As for your opinion on their $15 DVR not providing enough service to make it worth while then I think you need to try and remember how far the DVR has come. See if you think they added enough extra features to their DVR since they charged $5 for it.

I have yet to see you come up with a solid plan for Dish to make prices cheaper while remaining profitable.
 
I agree with the purchased receiver idea and I think everyone else agrees with it as well. As for your opinion on their $15 DVR not providing enough service to make it worth while then I think you need to try and remember how far the DVR has come. See if you think they added enough extra features to their DVR since they charged $5 for it.

I have yet to see you come up with a solid plan for Dish to make prices cheaper while remaining profitable.
The only way you will ever see a solid plan is if they allow full ala cart for channels like Canada now does. This is why many people have left pay tv now. They are too full of fees and they force you to take bundles you may not want to get a channel or two you do like.

As for the Dvr fee , it has lost value with auto skip feature being useless for many markets . Adding back value would make the Dvr fee more palatable for most. The Titan tvs app is free to anyone who wants it . DISH could negotiate a deal with TItan ,using it for their ota channels -if you have Internet connected to your receiver ,you get full guide information for ALL ota channels and Sub channels.

The way DISH starts making more money is through GROWTH. Charging more fees and higher programming prices on the ever dwindling amount of subs they have left ,just causes more Churn. I suggested many things that they could do to help attract new subs and retain existing ones. What do you suggest they do to start Growing DISH's sub count once again ? Because adding more fees is a non sequitur in my opinion.
 
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Not sure how profitable it would be and probably not possible with bundled contracts but to stop the bleeding and become competitive continue offering bundles but start offering non premium alecart allowing viewers their choice. Pick 20 for $35, 30 for $45 + $5 locals & DVR fee.
I only have about 25 channels on my favorites list I watch. I'm sure most are the same unfortunately I watch news, sports, history and science in that order with few exceptions. There isn't any Network shows I've watched for years in fact NBC,FOX,ABC,CBS could completely drop off the earth if I could get NFL,MLB and occasional Golf, & Olympics.
 
If 4K programming/channels take off what will Dish be able to do to carry those channels? Do they have the bandwidth in reserve to add and an ESPN, FS1, HBO and Discovery 4K channel if they became available? How much of a problem would that be if customers want 4K content but Dish can't provide it?
 
If 4K programming/channels take off what will Dish be able to do to carry those channels? Do they have the bandwidth in reserve to add and an ESPN, FS1, HBO and Discovery 4K channel if they became available? How much of a problem would that be if customers want 4K content but Dish can't provide it?
4K channels are going to are going to be a big disappointment after all the anticipation. Good 4K upscaling TV's from HD are are just as good as 4K sources from Netflix. There is not enough difference to merit the investment in 4K delivery, IMHO.
 
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All it takes is offering a $200 or $300 Amazon Gift card--now that Charlie and Jeff are in touch these days--just like his competitors offer to snag new subscribers--and it DOES work. I think Charlie is just being stubborn, as he is known to be, and just can't swallow the idea of handing a few hundred $$$ (in the form of Visa or Amazon gift cards) to get people to sign up for his service. I've known people who WERE going to get Dish, but upon investigating options or getting a mailer, they went for the $200-$300 gift cards instead. When they have hundreds of $$$ put on the table for them to take, people stop caring about the best DVR tech, service, etc.

And Dish has always been weak on marketing and brand building, but its about the money--given to those in exchange for signing up.
 
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4K channels are going to are going to be a big disappointment after all the anticipation. Good 4K upscaling TV's from HD are are just as good as 4K sources from Netflix. There is not enough difference to merit the investment in 4K delivery, IMHO.
Netflix might be good for movies and folks that can get a fast enough internet connection. That doesn't help an ESPN, MLB or Fox Sports channel showing a live event.
 
Look, I agree that the FEES are killing DISH. What good is a having a great Dvr receiver like the Hopper 3 , if your customers don't want to pay the high fees associated with it to use it? I said it before and I will say it again: DISH needs GROWTH if it is to survive. There is simply no way to sustain the company the way it is. IF you would drop the monthly fees for the joeys once a customer buys them , you would see more people upgrade to the hopper and the joey system. Allow those who don't want to own the joey still pay the monthly fees if that is their choice. Your monthly fees shouldn't equal your programming costs . It makes you pay twice as much for your programming. Back in the early part of the last decade, DISH charged NO dvr fees on their 501 dvrs. They added like 2 million subs in one year due to the fact that they had NO DVR fee at all , where Directv was charging like $9.50 a month for their dvr. Doing what they are doing right now has done nothing for growth and each quarter losses show it is not working. Now the Amazon Firestick tv is a good start ,but having only one stream available is not enough to make this solution work for most families. They need to renegotiate the deals so they can have up to 3 streams at a time work . You allow this and the joey solution and I have suggested and build an Advertisement campaign around it and you would see more sub Growth and less Churn. Because doing things the same way and expecting a different outcome is the very definition of insanity. Certainly even Charlie must see this by now.
are you saying that if I have 3 tv's with the fire stick,that we can't watch different shows on each one? I just ordered two sticks after getting my first and thought it would be the way to cut out the joey's. hope I'm wrong
 
I honestly think Dish is out of gas.

An LTE network should have been built out 5 years ago so Dish could provide fast reliable internet to their customers.

Being able to offers a fast, cheap and reliable internet is what is essential today to retain the customer for video.

The problem is Dish does not want to invest any of their own money to build out their spectrum, and they have had such a rotten relationship with every company they have ever done business with, nobody wants to partner with them.

Rupert Murdoch got screwed by Charlie, AT&T no longer works with Dish and even the programmers don't want to deal with them.

I don't say this because I hate Dish, and hope they go out of business one day, but everything I just said is true.
 
are you saying that if I have 3 tv's with the fire stick,that we can't watch different shows on each one? I just ordered two sticks after getting my first and thought it would be the way to cut out the joey's. hope I'm wrong

You can only watch one at a time.
 
4K channels are going to are going to be a big disappointment after all the anticipation. Good 4K upscaling TV's from HD are are just as good as 4K sources from Netflix. There is not enough difference to merit the investment in 4K delivery, IMHO.
I have to agree Kab. I paid to upgrade to 4k joey and hopper 3 and buy a new 4k Vizio tv. I really see very little to any difference between 4k and hd. Now going from SD to Hd was a significant difference in viewing and going from HD to 8k might make a difference. Because 8k is supposed to be like the video movie theaters show. But 4k so far has been a huge disappointment to me so far.
 
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