Dish forcing you to take locals when changing programming?

[bigdnwi]

This is from my online account:*Your Basic Programming is not a current programming option and is only available for you until you choose to switch to an available package below. You are free to keep your current Basic Programming, but if you elect to change, you will not be able to receive this package again.

I currently have AT250, HD Free, and HD Platinum. The price for AT 250 is $59.99 for me, but in the SD package listing online, it shows $64.99 implying locals are already included. I currenlty get locals OTA and don't need them from Dish. If I decide to drop Platinum, will I be forced to get locals since I changed my programming? I would rather pay $10 for unique HD channels than $5 for something I can get free already. Plus, there's 4 other reasons I prefer locals OTA:

1. Most Chicago stations broadcast in HD, yet Dish only carries the Big 4 and WGN 9 in HD so channels like WTTW, WCIU, WCPX, and WPWR would be SD only.

2. Dish doesn't carry subchannels (Me-TV being an exception).

3. OTA is free.

4. OTA HD picture quality is better.

 

[oljim]

But you get no EPG for local channels

 

[bigdnwi]

Yeah, I know the info won't show up in the guide if you don't suscribe to locals, but actually I use the TV's tuner for OTA so that's a non issue for me. My concern is if I drop HD Platinum will I be forced to pay for locals since it appears the AT packages are now including the locals in the price at least when viewing the online account. For example, AT 250 is $59.99 for me but shows up as $64.99 online under "SD Packages".

 

[JrC]

The quote you provided says that you can keep your basic programming. Platinum is not part of your basic programming.

 

[jakesnakemd]

Screwed again by Dishnetwork...

I am one of those disaffected Pre-pay customers that bought their own equipment last spring (2009) and was tickled with it until they cancelled it in September and made you go to "FlexTV", which is pay by the month (our setup was for a second place where we are only there less than half the time), but had a $5 reconnect fee if you let it get turned off. Then they changed that in February to a "$20.00" reconnect fee and no one knew since they don't send a bill if you have left if off for say 60 days. Now they have done away with Dish Family and make you take at least Dish 120 and on top of that they are now forcing you to take the locals in SD even if you don't need them. This is not a killer issue at our second place in Myrtle Beach since we want Dish locals (that's all we have turned on now to keep from paying those worthless bas$%R#@s $20), but it's a big issue in the Washington DC area since you can get at least a couple dozen HD channelsl for nothing OTA. Dish Network really needs to have someone sue them big time over this since they are forcing you to buy either locals you don't need (pure profit) or more programming that they "bait and switched" you into originally. And "bait and switch" seems to be their marketing scheme right now. If everyone wasn't addicted to HD on 250 channels I would recommend going down to locals only (enmasse) and see how they like that. They will probably just ban locals only and make you take $40 a month of something just to keep anything. Sucks big time. And this is someone who has had Dish since the late 90's and has recommended it over cable forever.

 

[blts]

I am one of those disaffected Pre-pay customers that bought their own equipment last spring (2009) and was tickled with it until they cancelled it in September and made you go to "FlexTV", which is pay by the month (our setup was for a second place where we are only there less than half the time), but had a $5 reconnect fee if you let it get turned off. Then they changed that in February to a "$20.00" reconnect fee and no one knew since they don't send a bill if you have left if off for say 60 days. Now they have done away with Dish Family and make you take at least Dish 120 and on top of that they are now forcing you to take the locals in SD even if you don't need them. This is not a killer issue at our second place in Myrtle Beach since we want Dish locals (that's all we have turned on now to keep from paying those worthless bas$%R#@s $20), but it's a big issue in the Washington DC area since you can get at least a couple dozen HD channelsl for nothing OTA. Dish Network really needs to have someone sue them big time over this since they are forcing you to buy either locals you don't need (pure profit) or more programming that they "bait and switched" you into originally. And "bait and switch" seems to be their marketing scheme right now. If everyone wasn't addicted to HD on 250 channels I would recommend going down to locals only (enmasse) and see how they like that. They will probably just ban locals only and make you take $40 a month of something just to keep anything. Sucks big time. And this is someone who has had Dish since the late 90's and has recommended it over cable forever.

Could you tell me what you pay per month to just have the local's?

 

[Beeper]

I applied for the HD for life recently. I had the Top 120 and added only HD for life.
I never had satellite locals for over 10 years of being a subscriber.

Dish now seems to automatically add the locals even though I made it clear I didn't want them.

I phoned Dish after the service change and told them to remove the locals. Which they did.

 

[kikenovic]

I was in a similar situation, I dropped Platinum and was forced to get locals.

The best I could do was "move" and receive locals from a neighboring DMA. In my case I kept my RSN, plus I gained a new RSN.

I'm watching the neighboring locals more than I used to watch the Platinum channels

 

[radtech]

This is from my online account:*Your Basic Programming is not a current programming option and is only available for you until you choose to switch to an available package below. You are free to keep your current Basic Programming, but if you elect to change, you will not be able to receive this package again.

I had the same message on my on-line account. I figured I would have to take the locals since the basic packages were all listed for $5 more per month and included the locals. I decided to bite the bullet and pay the $5 additional if I had to. So, I went into my on-line account yesterday and down-graded my service from Top 250 to Top 120 as I had originally planned to do for the summer. When I selected the Top 120 plan, it was listed as $39.99 which included the locals, but much to my surprise, when I selected the next 'review order page' my selection was listed as Top 120 for 34.99 per month. So, I completed my transaction and now I have Top 120 at $34.99 per month without the locals.

Just what I wanted. Go figure!

Ed

 

[Brussam]

It is just the way it is.

We have DNS from AllAmericanDirect because we live in our RV and travel a lot. When we upgraded from a 622 to a 722K to have the dual OTA output on TV1 and TV2, we had to get Locals with the subscription renewal.

So we have locals that we may use two months a year if we are in the spot beam area. It is not worth the effort to keep changing our location every couple of days to use the Locals. That is why we have DNS.

Would you feel better if the Locals were for free and the $5 showed up someplace else? Part of marketing is to package things together that make the packages appealing and charge for add-ons to keep the packages competitive with DirecTV.

The only thing that counts it the total price for the package of subscriptions you want and the value you get. For me, DishTV is the best option (even with the locals I don't need).

Of course this won't fit with the group that believes that DishTV should supply satellite TV for free as a public service.

 

[Claude Greiner]

If you got a base package without locals now, then don't change your core programming package

 

[MikeD-C05]

Come on it's only 5.00 a month. I like it just for the ota guide data it provides. Besides having two sets of locals from DISH and ota provides me with 4 networks I can record at one time.

 

[radtech]

Come on it's only 5.00 a month. I like it just for the ota guide data it provides. Besides having two sets of locals from DISH and ota provides me with 4 networks I can record at one time.

In my case, I stated that I was willing to pay the additional $5 if I had to. But it turned out that I was not required to take the locals. I really don't know what criteria Dish uses to make this determination.

BTW, I am equally spaced between two DMA's and I can receive them both OTA very well, so there is no real reason to have them supplied via satellite, especially since they are higher quality OTA. Also, the DMA I prefer to watch is not the one Dish provides by FCC rules.

Ed

 

[r10fret]

I am one of those disaffected Pre-pay customers that bought their own equipment last spring (2009) and was tickled with it until they cancelled it in September and made you go to "FlexTV", which is pay by the month (our setup was for a second place where we are only there less than half the time), but had a $5 reconnect fee if you let it get turned off. Then they changed that in February to a "$20.00" reconnect fee and no one knew since they don't send a bill if you have left if off for say 60 days. Now they have done away with Dish Family and make you take at least Dish 120 and on top of that they are now forcing you to take the locals in SD even if you don't need them. This is not a killer issue at our second place in Myrtle Beach since we want Dish locals (that's all we have turned on now to keep from paying those worthless bas$%R#@s $20), but it's a big issue in the Washington DC area since you can get at least a couple dozen HD channelsl for nothing OTA. Dish Network really needs to have someone sue them big time over this since they are forcing you to buy either locals you don't need (pure profit) or more programming that they "bait and switched" you into originally. And "bait and switch" seems to be their marketing scheme right now. If everyone wasn't addicted to HD on 250 channels I would recommend going down to locals only (enmasse) and see how they like that. They will probably just ban locals only and make you take $40 a month of something just to keep anything. Sucks big time. And this is someone who has had Dish since the late 90's and has recommended it over cable forever.

Jakes,

The RCA residential customer aggreement still on the dish website today, you find under customer aggreement at the bottom of the home page which takes you here:

http://www.dishnetwork.com/legal/default.aspx

Still says pre pay customers only have to pay $5 to reconnect and may not be charged the agent handled transaction fee to make a payment or reduce services, you can also do like I do and just pay the $6 proramming access fee to keep your account active and add either tag misc KBSworld 0.00 a month or pick any al carte superstaion channel like KTLA for $2 a month. Of course you have to find a CSR that knows what they are doing!