Social Feed
Supporting Founder
Satellite companies increasing market share, research finds
By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News
March 17, 2004
Led by EchoStar Communications Corp., the nation's two largest satellite-TV providers continued last year to eat away at cable's market share.
Douglas County-based EchoStar, which operates Dish Network, and News Corp.'s DirecTV grabbed an extra 1.82 percentage points of the pay-television pie in 2003, according to research released Tuesday by Bloomberg News.
At the same time, the nation's eight largest public cable companies lost nearly 1 percentage point from their market share.
The findings highlight the intense battle for viewers between cable- and satellite-TV providers. The cable industry has lost 8 percent of its market share since 1998, mainly to satellite.
Several analysts said they expect satellite TV to continue to chip away at cable's empire.
"Satellite has a lower price, it's got better picture quality, and it's got the perception, at least, of better customer service," said Bill Jacobs, a cable and satellite analyst with Harris & Associates in Chicago. "That's why they're able to gain share."
At the end of 2003:
• The nation's two largest satellite-TV firms had 21.64 million subscribers, up 11.8 percent from 2002.
• The nation's eight largest cable companies had 56.36 million subscribers, down 0.3 percent from the previous year.
• Satellite-TV now has roughly 20 percent of the market share; cable has 52 percent.
• EchoStar was the fastest growing pay-TV provider in 2003, adding 1.24 million net new subscribers. It now has 8.69 percent of the market share.
For the entire article click here
By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News
March 17, 2004
Led by EchoStar Communications Corp., the nation's two largest satellite-TV providers continued last year to eat away at cable's market share.
Douglas County-based EchoStar, which operates Dish Network, and News Corp.'s DirecTV grabbed an extra 1.82 percentage points of the pay-television pie in 2003, according to research released Tuesday by Bloomberg News.
At the same time, the nation's eight largest public cable companies lost nearly 1 percentage point from their market share.
The findings highlight the intense battle for viewers between cable- and satellite-TV providers. The cable industry has lost 8 percent of its market share since 1998, mainly to satellite.
Several analysts said they expect satellite TV to continue to chip away at cable's empire.
"Satellite has a lower price, it's got better picture quality, and it's got the perception, at least, of better customer service," said Bill Jacobs, a cable and satellite analyst with Harris & Associates in Chicago. "That's why they're able to gain share."
At the end of 2003:
• The nation's two largest satellite-TV firms had 21.64 million subscribers, up 11.8 percent from 2002.
• The nation's eight largest cable companies had 56.36 million subscribers, down 0.3 percent from the previous year.
• Satellite-TV now has roughly 20 percent of the market share; cable has 52 percent.
• EchoStar was the fastest growing pay-TV provider in 2003, adding 1.24 million net new subscribers. It now has 8.69 percent of the market share.
For the entire article click here
0 Replies
·
1443 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs
My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.
Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.
After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.
I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.
52 Replies
·
746 views
Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs.
S
have you even been abroad. talk about the cost of health care the whole cost of living in merica is a scam. were taxed to death so bad everyone's a slave to the govt. explore the cost of living in other countries it might blow your mind!!!Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs.
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68715 Replies
·
2683569 views
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Additional tabs provide:
OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
2172 Replies
·
950220 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Was raining yesterday so I went to Sams up in Dothan to stock up on some things. Haven't been there in quite a while. I was amazed at how large most of the TVs were. When I walked in they had a 100 in Vizio (I think it was Vizio) that was marked down to something like $1,200. The first rows of TVs were all in the 80 in + sizes. The next couple of rows had the "smaller" models....those 75 and under. I was amazed at how small the 75s looked when lined up with the larger screens.
8 Replies
·
140 views
I remember buying my 1st Sony .... a whopping Big 27" CRT XBR .... $1200.
Yep....because they weren't going to get any bigger and the CERTAINLY weren't going to get any cheaper.I remember buying my 1st Sony .... a whopping Big 27" CRT XBR .... $1200.
I remember MANY years ago I went into Sams Club and saw a thumb drive on sale for $49.88....the storage capacity was a whopping 256mb....yes, MB. I just KNEW that was as cheap as they could ever go and there was simply NO way they could fit any more memory into something that small.
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
Thanks to Fitch Ratings ( who gives the ratings on Credit and debt, as approved by the SEC, so they have accurate numbers) we have the totals.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
37 Replies
·
1588 views
A
have you tried to call in and threaten to cancel and see how that works out??? have you tried going back onto directv.com and making a new acct for discounts posing as a new sub.. it worked for me when ATT destroyed it
I got a big discount for returning.have you tried to call in and threaten to cancel and see how that works out??? have you tried going back onto directv.com and making a new acct for discounts posing as a new sub.. it worked for me when ATT destroyed it
A
, the deal breaker was id'e be stuck with an HR-54 and not an HS-17. and there's no more wired gemini's for new subs or that's what i was told. and billing and tech support is still in the ATT eco system
they offered me the new customer deals and a 300.00 prepaid visa to leave DISH along there were going to waive the 49.00 activation fee
, the deal breaker was id'e be stuck with an HR-54 and not an HS-17. and there's no more wired gemini's for new subs or that's what i was told. and billing and tech support is still in the ATT eco system
Personally, IF I ever went back with Sat, I would definitely take the HR54 ... but each set up is different from house to house, what works for you ... in reality, I would probably go streaming instead, as my needs have changed, I no longer need a portable recvr to use while camping.they offered me the new customer deals and a 300.00 prepaid visa to leave DISH along there were going to waive the 49.00 activation fee
I've had a H3 receiver for years but just recently began watching and recording 4k content. I'm consistently having the display revert to the upper left quarter of the screen after fast forwarding or pausing the playback of 4k recordings.
Some research I've done blames it on the Hopper as not having the processing power to quickly shift between the FF or pause playback formats and it leaves the playback device in a mode thinking that it's no longer receiving a 4k stream. So it displays the 1/4 image.
I've found that I can quickly recover back to a full screen 4k display by using the remote sequence Pause / Info / Resume.
I've tested this on two different monitors, but they're both LGs, so maybe it's the TVs, and not the Hopper? Is this a known problem? Anyone else experience this?
Some research I've done blames it on the Hopper as not having the processing power to quickly shift between the FF or pause playback formats and it leaves the playback device in a mode thinking that it's no longer receiving a 4k stream. So it displays the 1/4 image.
I've found that I can quickly recover back to a full screen 4k display by using the remote sequence Pause / Info / Resume.
I've tested this on two different monitors, but they're both LGs, so maybe it's the TVs, and not the Hopper? Is this a known problem? Anyone else experience this?
2 Replies
·
124 views
Lifetime Supporter
Looks like dish is Bankrupt. Filling tomorrow Tuesday June 30th
435 Replies
·
14834 views
S
www.aboutamazon.com
Amazon to acquire Globalstar and expand Amazon Leo satellite network
Globalstar satellites, radio frequency spectrum, and operational expertise will enable Amazon Leo to add Direct-to-Device (D2D) services to future generations of its low Earth orbit satellite network.
www.aboutamazon.com
S
www.foxnews.com
SpaceX reportedly seeks 80,000 cell sites to become a wireless carrier | Fox News
SpaceX is reportedly pursuing 80,000 cell sites to turn Starlink into a wireless carrier that could compete with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile for cell coverage.
www.foxnews.com
Can't remember where or who I saw predict this.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Elon soon own all of DISH / Echostar in the future.
S
elon and charlie will have a sat phone network.. i just have a gut feeliingCan't remember where or who I saw predict this.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Elon soon own all of DISH / Echostar in the future.
Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?
11 Replies
·
575 views
After having continuing trouble with my eight+ year old Dell Inspiron laptop I am looking to hopefully catch a good deal on new one. My options to buy is Costco and Sam's Club. It seems like a lot of new laptops are 2 in 1 which I do not need. I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus. The keyboard would need to lighted also. I don't game any. It would have to be Windows instead of and not Mac. The brands I see the most are Asus, Dell and HP. My two last laptops has been Dell's. Of these brands are there any standouts over the other brands. My budget (hopefully) is $600+-. Also while researching I noticed that do not have ethernet ports.
12 Replies
·
286 views
I had an old Wireless Joey replaced by a Wireless Joey 4 (Android TV) - still have a Hopper 3 without the Hopper Plus. What do I have to do to get the EPG to show channel logos instead of "Dish"? This is annoying as hell and it's been this way for over a month…
4 Replies
·
135 views
