Dish announced price increases, your thoughts for DirecTV...

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jcrandall

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Dish announced to their retailers today their 2009 price increases.

Most SD packages went up about $3.

HD packages went up $5 - $10....With most of the good ones (Turbo HD DVR advantage) going up the $10.

That is a pretty sizable increase for alot of customers, $120 / year.

DirecTV typically raises rates a few dollars $2-$3 each year, and is fairly consistent across the packages. Also, the HD Access being a seperate offering and not tied to a "HD package" means, to me, we are less likely to see a lopsided increase like the HD Dish customers will.

I like that a company would spread an increase across all customers, if an increase is needed. If my bill went up $10 and others only went up $3, I would be upset.

Lastly, if there was ever a time for a company to announce "no increase, we care about our customers....econony...etc" this would be the perfect marketing opportunity to do it. I don't think it will happen, just pointing it out.

My predection...we'll see an increase just like last year, $2-$3 on most packages. I have the Plus HD DVR package for $73/mo. I expect it will go to $75 or $76. If it goes above $80, I would be shocked and upset (Hello Dish customers).

Now, to be fair, the comparative Dish package will be $60/mo with the $10 increase, but it is HD only, and there are still many SD channels not included in that pack. I'm not sure what a HD/SD comparative package would cost on Dish.

Your thoughts? (Please keep this related to a persepctive DirecTV increase, this is not the warzone. Also, while many would vie for no increase - with the economic situation - keep politics out of it).
 
I thought D* already said they would increase the price, just no details yet. D* also said they would cut back on some capital projects for 2009.
 
I can't imagine D* won't have a price increase, but i also don't see it being as much as E* increase.
 
I am hopeing as well that the increase will be in the 3-4 dollar range. While I dont think this is a warzone issue, I was researching moving to Dish, but if I am reading all the price increases correctly, There packages would cost more then Direc
 
Directv already said they will increase prices..but not by how much. Since Darth Malone and Cheapo Charlie are best friends and neighbors I figure the D* increase will be very similar to E*
 
I think they will but I dont feel itll be anything like the Dish increases, which were BS. I guess making their TurboHD packages uncompetitive with the vaporware promise of more HD is a good business model for someone who is losing subs every month. I too have the HDDVR package and its a great deal at $72
 
I'd guess probably the same $3 to $5 increase, depening on the package, that we've seen the past couple of years
 
The other issue is, you cant continue to raise prices by $2-4 every year, or you price yourself outta the market. Will the HDDVR Package ever be worth $90/mo, hell no. It gets to $80, Ill downgrade.
 
I get double whammied in February, not only do I get the regular price increase but I also see the end of my first year promotion and at that point I'll be dropping my second receiver and downgrading to the basic package.
 
Historically DISH has raised their price in Feb. and D* has raised theirs in March. This looks like SOP just need the amounts filled in by D*.
 
As long as it's only a few dollars, no complaints here at all. If it's as much as Dish Network, I'll have plenty of complaints. Directv will start looking very attractive to Dish subscribers if their prices only go up a few dollars vs. Dish's $2 or $3 to $10 a month.
 
I am a current Dish subscribriber looking around at what's available. I know as a new customer with Directv I can save $23 a month and get the 3 months free hd and price is loced until 2010, but what happens in Early 2010 how much more will the packages be compared to what they are now without the 23 rebate? Is a $3-4 dollar increase all current Directv customers see happening?? I will be mad if I buy my Dish contract out and find out later Directv goes up $8 on the package I have just like Dish did. Don't wanna get burned twice!!! Any advice??
 
After having both, all I can say is that if they are both equal in price, or even if D* is a little more, I take D* any day. More professional company IMHO and better PQ.
 
I am a current Dish subscribriber looking around at what's available. I know as a new customer with Directv I can save $23 a month and get the 3 months free hd and price is loced until 2010, but what happens in Early 2010 how much more will the packages be compared to what they are now without the 23 rebate? Is a $3-4 dollar increase all current Directv customers see happening?? I will be mad if I buy my Dish contract out and find out later Directv goes up $8 on the package I have just like Dish did. Don't wanna get burned twice!!! Any advice??
Since Directv hasn't made any official announcement what the increase might be I'd recommend just waiting, especially since you say you'd need to buy of out your contract.
 
Since Directv hasn't made any official announcement what the increase might be I'd recommend just waiting, especially since you say you'd need to buy of out your contract.

Or this might be the time to commit to Directv since they are advertising now increase to 2010 for new subs.
 
Personally, I think anyone who is considering switching based on $$ alone needs to rethink their strategy. To me both companies are fairly close. Just pick the service that has the closest package and offerings to what you want.
 
The large increase is only for the TurboHD packs, which are currently much lower than any other providers, as the OP said, even after the large increase they remain to be much lower in cost.

My guess is before or at the price increase time, many new HD channels will be added to make the TurboHD a real alternative for everyone with HD service. The hold up is likely the programming cost, so after the large increase the cost issue is resolved, and the new HD channels can be turned on, since the price will still be much lower, and the channel selections will be head and shoulder with the AT packs, the TurboHD will be a very attractive option.

I hope D* will respond in kind.
 
The large increase is only for the TurboHD packs, which are currently much lower than any other providers, as the OP said, even after the large increase they remain to be much lower in cost.

My guess is before or at the price increase time, many new HD channels will be added to make the TurboHD a real alternative for everyone with HD service. The hold up is likely the programming cost, so after the large increase the cost issue is resolved, and the new HD channels can be turned on, since the price will still be much lower, and the channel selections will be head and shoulder with the AT packs, the TurboHD will be a very attractive option.

I hope D* will respond in kind.
as a longtime E* subscriber:shh I would love to see some proof on this one!!
 
I suspect D* will raise their prices about as much as E*. I also suspect they prefer to be just a bit more expensive than E*, in general, to give the impression of being more of a "premium" service. Remember the publicity they put out when they said they were going for a higher class of subscriber, or a subscriber with greater credit worthiness?

Easy to wait until word gets out, even if it's close to 3/1/09, to make any decisions on moving. Moving is always a hassle. Of course, I'm sticking with Dish and their ViP DVRs, but I can see the appeal to others that value different aspects more than me. I place little value on sports, for example. But there are plenty that prefer to get more sports, or even the $unday Ticket, and that makes D* more appealing to them.

I expect my bill to rise $3 to $10. But if it's more, I'll have to look at downgrading. But not moving. Dish has a good hook in their ViP receivers, for as long as that lasts, and especially in their external storage. I'd have a HUGE amount of watching or recording (in SD) if I chose to move to D*. Frankly, I'd be more likely to move to Fios, if it came down to it. Others will have different choices to face. After the treatment I received in my previous subscription to the local cableco, I'd go to Netflix, Blockbuster, and the library before I'd ever go back to cable. Others have had different experiences.

We'll all see price increases, even if inflation nears zero. It seems Hollywood is the truly greedy party here. All the pay TV companies will have to raise prices, even in these hard times, as their expenses (payments to content providers) rise. But I suspect the negotiations will get tougher, and some channels will fall by the wayside for some providers, especially a few locals.

Will locals even survive 5 or 10 years? Technology marches on.
 
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