There are a few things that make people change their mind when it comes to satellite.......
The marketing guys breathlessly hype how great things are, and how cheap it is.
Unfortunately, they fail to disclose the gotchas that can quickly tick off a new customer.....
Rain Fade in Florida and other places susceptible to heavy downpours, poor line of sight to the dish, leaves on the trees that can block a signal, nickel and dime fees that are never disclosed clearly enough, overcompression, flaky receiver software (wasn't an issue as much until the latest 622/722 release), unresponsive or clueless customer service, and blown installation appointments. Channels they assume are there but aren't ("What do you mean I can't watch the Yankees?") Oh, and 100 channels of HD that really isn't 100 channels. The only ones happy with their 100 channels are the hackers.
None of these are the fault of the consumer, but he/she is expected to keep the service for 2 years or whatever the commitment is.
If you want to cut down on the frequency of these cancellations (yes, I realize many customers are flaky and just change for no good reason, but that isn't all of them) then no more sleight of hand while playing fast and loose with the facts.
It may be time for a full disclosure form like the banks have to give with their credit card offers......
FULLY list all fees, and list all currently carried channels by all MSPs and check off the channels and packages they do have access to, and those they don't. Fully list all fees, especially those that just about everyone has to pay (receiver fees, DVR fees, etc.). List all the gotchas that can inhibit the signal to set up reasonable expectations, so the customer goes into things eyes open.
Oh, and allow an escape clause if E* chooses to turn off channels. If they get into a pi$$ing contest with Viacom, customers should have a right to bail on E* as well. E* may have the right to change channel offerings at their whim, but then customers should have the right to tell them to take their dish and shove it someplace uncomfortable.
Will, this happen? I doubt it. But you can't whine about the Feds stepping in since they created the mess by playing it cute, and then hiding behind a commitment when the customer got disgruntled.