Calm Before the Storm?

[Zero327]

As long as Charlie is hoping for a buyout he's NOT in this for the win as far as HD goes. He could care less what the competition is doing, he tends to focus on a single item at a time which at the minute is AT&T, the rest of the business and customer churn are secondary items at best (and even then are usually only a concern around budget.)

DISH only cares to keep pace with DTV when Charlie is interested in increasing value to his company. Now you're all right about the control angle, hence why a buyout results in Charlie taking 50% of the company elsewhere to start his own spinoff. AT&T is only interested in the programming and customer base. There's other parts of DISH they have no interest in, those Charlie can keep and use to maintain his own company.

That is why Charlie couldn't care less about the thread topics on NHL HD, LOGO, SCIFIHD and the like. That is why continued whining (yes... asking once is fine after that it's whining) will go answered. Until such time as the buyout is completely done or completely dead you will see little if no action from Charlie. Customer interests cost money, and right now Charlie needs to keep that buyout price attractive.

 

[tigerfan33]

As long as Charlie is hoping for a buyout he's NOT in this for the win as far as HD goes. He could care less what the competition is doing, he tends to focus on a single item at a time which at the minute is AT&T, the rest of the business and customer churn are secondary items at best (and even then are usually only a concern around budget.)

DISH only cares to keep pace with DTV when Charlie is interested in increasing value to his company. Now you're all right about the control angle, hence why a buyout results in Charlie taking 50% of the company elsewhere to start his own spinoff. AT&T is only interested in the programming and customer base. There's other parts of DISH they have no interest in, those Charlie can keep and use to maintain his own company.

That is why Charlie couldn't care less about the thread topics on NHL HD, LOGO, SCIFIHD and the like. That is why continued whining (yes... asking once is fine after that it's whining) will go answered. Until such time as the buyout is completely done or completely dead you will see little if no action from Charlie. Customer interests cost money, and right now Charlie needs to keep that buyout price attractive.

I would look at it just the opposite. I would beef up my company with more hd to look attractive to buyers for a better deal. Then again. Thats just me.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I would look at it just the opposite. I would beef up my company with more hd to look attractive to buyers for a better deal. Then again. Thats just me.

Exactly. I would think that adding Hd channels that customers want would add significant value to your product or service. THis would fetch a better price from ATT for DISH if they were adding subs left and right because of new channel hd additions that people really want. Charlie ERgen saying nothing and stone walling is like having Charlie Fiddeling while DISH customers churn. This would make the price of DISH stock drop in value and less attractive to ATT -unless that is what they had in mind to get the shares bought out at a lower price.

 

[tigerfan33]

Let me also say that Charlie needs to take a hard look at his p.r. dept. Times are a changing Charlie!!!! Every week we see now how one cable provider or another cable provider WILL have so many hd channels within the next year or so. We never ever saw this from tv providers!! They use to stay hush hush just like Charlie is doing now. They will also say how they are going to make things happen. This will keeps subs form leaving or guessing on what is going on. People will say that Charlie never makes announcements to let people know anything, that is just how he operates. Charlie, times are a changing!!!

 

[ghostyroastytoasty]

If it wasn't for my Center Ice Subscription, I probably would have looked at switching since there has been great advances right and left on D*'s front. I do love Dish's 622 and the external HDD capabilities though.

 

[Lord Darth Vader]

My contract is up in February with Dish, and I'm hoping by then things will be pretty even. Also, the Dish DVR with its two room capability etc... just seems to be much better. Just my 2 cents.

I can't see any way DISH will be anywhere close to DirecTV's HD offerings by February. They might be able to light up a few HD channels between now and then, but they're not even going to be able to launch any new satellites until March/April/May at the earliest. Factor in 2 months or so of testing, and well...you do the math.

 

[ScoBuck]

Maybe, just maybe until they clear some space - they CAN'T add anything. I know people HERE say they have space - but does that take into consideration the anomolies and other issues with almost EVERY Echostar satellite? There is plenty of public info about this, and many of their sats have some reduced capacity (and yes, its also true of other companies sats as well).

I again just think they are the most UNFORTUNATE victim of the 2 launch accidents this year - without those occurring, things would be way different now. And hopefully 2008 will be a better year for the launch companies and they can get all of the expected new stuff up ASAP.

 

[jacmyoung]

The bad churn in the 3rd Q couldn't have much to do with HD because E* was still the HD leader till the very end of the 3rd Q. Likewise as much as we HD subs like to think we are a force to be reckoned with, we are not. If E*'s churn is to get worse it will not be because of the new HD's on D*, but the monthly cost.

E* has always relied on being the low price leader, but now with the wide use of HD and DVRs, monthly costs between E* and D* are comparable, as a result who has the best sales outlets and commercials will win, all things else being equal.

Of course D*'s HD advantage is icing on the cake, I just dont think it will be the determining factor. And I think D* knows that, which is why they are offering some of the best monthly programming promotions I have seen.

Just to give you some ideas what I was offered:

$100 instant rebate on the 1st HDDVR;
$100 programming credit for the 1st and/or 2nd monthly bills;
$50 referral credit on the 2nd bill;
$20/mo. programming credit for 12 months;
Three months free all premium movies packages.

There maybe some more minor programming freebies had I actually placed the order.

The only thing now is I want to be sure that my wife can easily adjust to the new HDDVR functions, since she can care less about the new HDs, or HD in general. But I keep hearing those who just switched to D* from E* that the D* HDDVRs are quite less user friendly than E* 622s.

 

[Rangers484]

It's the calm before the calm.

The doctors called and there is no brain activity at E*. This is the coma before the calm before the storm.

 

[JohnL]

NOW I am Bent

DirecTV adds FSN NY and MSG HD. So not only does DirecTV have the ability to carry Islanders, Devils, Rangers and Sabres in HD for local Subscribers they will also be able to add all four teams HD games to the NHL Center Ice.

What I don't understand is that Dish only needs to sign one agreement to get both channels with the rights to 4 NHL Teams, as well as several other sports.

If Dish can't add some more HD within the next several months, I'm gone when my commitment ends which is VERY SOON. Once the NHL Season ends I will leave for more HD even though I'd rather have my Vip622 and its corresponding External Hard Drive instead of the DirecTV HD DVR HR-21 without an ATSC tuner.

John

 

[Lord Darth Vader]

Just get an HR20 and an eSATA drive then.

 

[rad]

DirecTV adds FSN NY and MSG HD. So not only does DirecTV have the ability to carry Islanders, Devils, Rangers and Sabres in HD for local Subscribers they will also be able to add all four teams HD games to the NHL Center Ice.

What I don't understand is that Dish only needs to sign one agreement to get both channels with the rights to 4 NHL Teams, as well as several other sports.

If Dish can't add some more HD within the next several months, I'm gone when my commitment ends which is VERY SOON. Once the NHL Season ends I will leave for more HD even though I'd rather have my Vip622 and its corresponding External Hard Drive instead of the DirecTV HD DVR HR-21 without an ATSC tuner.

John

There was just a post from someone either here or the other site that said they had a new install with three HR20's so it looks like you can still get them. And as others have recommended, go to a local store which has them and pick one up and get D* to give you the $100 new customer credit for purchasing it.

 

[jacmyoung]

I should add that when I called E* to complain about them not responding to D*'s aggressiveness, I got free HD for 6 months without contract, and also moved to the "DVR Advantage" tier which saves about $4/mo. So I will save almost $24/mo for the next 6 month, and I can still switch to D* anytime I want.

With the latest HD uplink it seems Charlie is listening, maybe not willingly rather forced to, but better than nothing.

 

[MikeMara]

From the Arizona Republic Nov 28, 2007:
Parker McConachie, a spokesman for Dish Network, says the service offers 75 high-definition channels now and will get to 100 by the end of the year. He also says the Dish digital recorder features a connection for an external hard drive. That means you can store programs - say all of The Sopranos or Ken Burns' The War - on a separate drive you can store like a library.

"That's something we believe puts us ahead of the competition," McConachie says.

Was Dish misquoted?

 

[jacmyoung]

...Was Dish misquoted?

Yes.

 

[tigerfan33]

It seems to be a little cloudy out there. Dark clouds are gathering.

 

[FitzAusTex]

Which obviously worked better for them than the total 'unknown' factor which is causing lots of threads, posts, and people with DISH saying they are leaving. I would want to know what the plan is if I had DISH. I hope they release some info - I think it would be in their best interest.

Like heck. The D* boys whined and complained and whined and complained...about no new HD...until when...3 months ago.

Wonder if there is a way to quantify how many posts there are of D* boys complaining for what...2 years...vs how many E* boys are now complaining...

 

[FitzAusTex]

Maybe, just maybe until they clear some space - they CAN'T add anything. I know people HERE say they have space - but does that take into consideration the anomolies and other issues with almost EVERY Echostar satellite? There is plenty of public info about this, and many of their sats have some reduced capacity (and yes, its also true of other companies sats as well).

I again just think they are the most UNFORTUNATE victim of the 2 launch accidents this year - without those occurring, things would be way different now. And hopefully 2008 will be a better year for the launch companies and they can get all of the expected new stuff up ASAP.

ScoBuck, although you make a slight effort to seem objective, your input regarding E* is nearly always negative. Are staff members required to post in both E* and D* forums? Most less-than-positive E* sub posters on the D* forums are usually accused of trolling. I realize you posted this yesterday, but unless E* has no plans of turning on the USA and SciFI HD uplinks from today, i guess E* CAN add some HD.