Dish / Gannett Dispute Settled! No Channel Removals!

Passing on the cost, to be expected. Dish is a business. A business is there to generate income,if they don't, they don't stay in business long.

Price increases, every service or product I purchase has increased. But I am glad Dish has not increased their subs prices like I had with cable service back in the late 90's.

A few questions to all those who complain about the disputes. Are you saying that Dish should just pay whatever is put in front of them in a new contract? Are you willing to pay for those increases not matter what those increases are? Or do you believe Dish should absorb all increases? If you believe Dish should absorb increases, how long do think Dish will stay in business.

All businesses make their income from "US". Even the U.S. government gets its money to give away from "US".

Yes, so why is it everyone wants there taxes lowered?....Everything goes up in price, but we expect taxes to go down?......Wonder why there is such a debt? Thats a good start!
 
The discussion really has become something it did not start to be.(Common thing we do lol) I do not know for sure how the Gannett contract got settled obviously. I happen to think Gannett blinked, but not because they are afraid of losing Dish per se, but rather because it was never about the Hoppa. When they realized Dish has a history of letting stations be taken off and not caving, and the time had come, they had to go back to what really makes a difference, and the real motive, money. To that end, did Dish give a little? Very possibly, but I am convinced it was not to allow the skip feature to continue and it's an amount that Dish would have agreed to the Hoppa not with any standing.
 
I guess you haven't been with DISH very long. I've been with them for going on 16 years come January 18th. We have had yearly price increases just about every year except these last two since 2000. The only reason we didn't have a increase last year , was because DISH hiked the prices up to cover two years worth and then claimed a price "freeze". It was an advertising gimmick, kind of like blockbuster has turned out to be. As for price increases, yes you can expect a large one in the $5.00 - $8.00 range and possibly an equipment fee or possibly a dvr fee increase . It has been almost three years since the equipment FEE shakeup that rattled the DISH world. Any one remember the price for additional receivers before the hopper? Used to be $6.00 for a sd and $7.00 for an hd additional receiver and then it went to a scale of $7.00 single tuner /$10.00 for the 612/ $17.00 for dual tuner dvrs / $21.00 for an extra 922 dvr.

NO, I don't think that DISH should absorb all costs, but I am saying that for DISH to settle so quickly with Gannett ,there is a reason . DISH never settles anything quickly without some drama and channels being taken down for a while. NO, I don't have any inside information, but I do have a almost 16 year history with this company as a sub and I've seen the lawsuits that go on for ever: Distant network lawsuits, Tivo, Voom,and now AMC, the auto-hop lawsuit with the networks. DISH has a long history of holding out on lawsuits and extending them to make the other side lose money . Then they settle for a lot less. The very thing that is going on with Voom /Amc right now. Even the judge figured this out and called DISH out for it in trial yesterday. For DISH to settle so quickly without the usual drama, there has to be something bigger at stake. There entire marketing campaign is dependent on the hopper and auto hop. Without the locals staying in contract with DISH ,the entire campaign is meaning less. So DISH is now in the position to have to pay more to KEEP locals on their service. This is a reversal from DISH's negotiation tactics in the past, where they would jerk a station down, or not even carry it ,if the company didn't agree to DISH's idea of what fair value for the carriage of their channel is worth. For example in Lake Charles, Louisiana they have never carried the Fox station, because they can't agree over money. So look for this new agreement to cost more money for DISH ,which means we subs will pay more in some way ,shape or form. The question is where will it be reflected: basic programming packs, new fees or increase in old fees ?

OH and for all the wanebe moderators out there : THIS is my OPINION and not FACT.

No I have not been with Dish that long. My 1st Dish setup I paid $750.00 for and it was either 1997 or 1998.

Yes we have had increases, but not at the frequency or rate I had with cable(for a far inferior product). My subscription rate increase here with Dish seems to be in the $3.00 to $5.00 range. That is since I am only a "recent" Dish subscriber. Maybe the next one will be more.

Now the equipment fee is a valid concern. But I look at it as if I want all these features, then I should expect to pay for them(my opinion). And you being an old time Dish user let me ask you a question, when you first went to Dish, did Dish "give" you all the equipment and installation or did you pay for everything as I did?

As for the Gannet dispute being settled and it being a big issue here let me throw this out there. Direct TV was in a contract dispute with a local station here. The station was running banners about the dispute and their website also had a separate web page to give their side of the story. But much to my amazement there was not a peep mentioned here or on the Direct TV forum here. The dispute was resolved I think the day the station was to be taken off Direct TV. No outrage, no nothing, just settled.
 

1. And I used to pay cents for gasoline, not dollars
2. And yet, with those increases, Dish is still less overall.
3. Every carrier has increased prices, many more than Dish has, they may do it in different ways.
 
Passing on the cost, to be expected. Dish is a business. A business is there to generate income,if they don't, they don't stay in business long.

Price increases, every service or product I purchase has increased. But I am glad Dish has not increased their subs prices like I had with cable service back in the late 90's.

A few questions to all those who complain about the disputes. Are you saying that Dish should just pay whatever is put in front of them in a new contract? Are you willing to pay for those increases not matter what those increases are? Or do you believe Dish should absorb all increases? If you believe Dish should absorb increases, how long do think Dish will stay in business.

All businesses make their income from "US". Even the U.S. government gets its money to give away from "US".


I completely agree with this. I wonder if customers would be happy if Dish had increases like the appliance industry has had the last couple years. Prices of appliances go up about once a quarter, can you imagine how everyone would react if their TV bill went up that often.
 
One more thing to think about. Living in a rural area here in Iowa, everyone is aware that there was a terrible drought. Be prepared for even more things in your everyday life to increase in price, like FOOD. It's a little different scenario since this was an act of God and no one could really avoid it but just another example of how so many things in our everyday lives are getting more expensive.
 

1. And I used to pay cents for gasoline, not dollars
2. And yet, with those increases, Dish is still less overall.
3. Every carrier has increased prices, many more than Dish has, they may do it in different ways.[/QUOTE]

Okay, I see that no matter what I was trying to say that many others here are in full DISH DEFENSE mode. I am only stating what I think is the reason for the settlement and that this will cost us in some way or another come next February. Also that other channel companies will follow suit and use the same auto hop threat as the reason they are demanding a large increase in carriage fees, or for DISH to drop auto hop. Either way the threat will cause costs to go up with each settlement that is reached , if it is reached. I am not bitching about DISH or saying that they are EVIL in any way shape or form for trying to make a profit. I am only speculating ,based on past history , that we will see an increase ,but not exactly sure where it will hit. Since everyone wants to shake their DISH pom poms to no end , then GO for IT! It is pointless to try to discuss a bigger meaning to this settlement , when all most people can focus on, is defending DISH at any costs over any perceived slights.:rolleyes:

Have a good day.:)
 
My response was from your pointing out equipment fee increases by Dish, that's what I am indeed defending or if not defending comparing overall costs to other providers. I did say we have gone off from the actual discussion . :)
I got what you were saying from the beginning, I just am not convinced an agreement was reached based on more money for Gannett because of the skip feature. In the larger scheme, defending it could add to our cost.
 
All I have defended in this latest round of discussion is logic and common sense. This one settlement for perhaps 10 cents per month (my speculation) per Gannett channel subscriber (a drop in the bucket of the entire Dish subscriber base) will have negligible effect on any price increase this Feb. Also, yes there will be an increase, based on past history, for all providers. I really doubt that even with this new bargaining chip that channel owners will attempt to use will cause costs to go up disproportionately compared to other providers. It's a non-issue to me.
 
AZ. said:
Yes, so why is it everyone wants there taxes lowered?....Everything goes up in price, but we expect taxes to go down?......Wonder why there is such a debt? Thats a good start!

It is annoying to not just pay for your service, but need to give a kick back to the state and federal governments. Furthermore if you don't agree to several programs your tax dollars serve. Without getting political I'll give a "safe" example. I'm a teacher. My job gets its funds from state taxes. My inlaws personally can't stand teachers, makes some discussions fun. So when they pay taxes they have a lot of disdain knowing that some of money will end up in the schools to pay teachers.
 
My response was from your pointing out equipment fee increases by Dish, that's what I am indeed defending or if not defending comparing overall costs to other providers. I did say we have gone off from the actual discussion . :)
I got what you were saying from the beginning, I just am not convinced an agreement was reached based on more money for Gannett because of the skip feature. In the larger scheme, defending it could add to our cost.


Thank you . That was my main point . To continue to Keep auto hop feature , DISH is going to have to pay more to keep locals . Because they will all follow Gannett's lead and use the threat of removal of their channels over the continued use of auto hop feature. This entire auto hop feature, from what I read elsewhere, was supposed to be used to give DISH more leverage over the ota channels . If they keep their channel carriage increase reasonable, then DISH was supposed to stop using auto hop . But it looks like it is now being used against DISH by both local channels and by the networks themselves in their ongoing lawsuits. Yes we will all pay more because of it. The question is where will it show up? Basic channel pack increase or in some other fee, whether equipment fee increase, or dvr increase or some new fee , yet to be created. My bet is that DISH will make the $10.00 dvr fee standard on ALL dvr accounts -except 211k with dvr software.
 
All I have defended in this latest round of discussion is logic and common sense. This one settlement for perhaps 10 cents per month (my speculation) per Gannett channel subscriber (a drop in the bucket of the entire Dish subscriber base) will have negligible effect on any price increase this Feb. Also, yes there will be an increase, based on past history, for all providers. I really doubt that even with this new bargaining chip that channel owners will attempt to use will cause costs to go up disproportionately compared to other providers. It's a non-issue to me.


Look at the big picture here. Do you really think that other channels won't follow Gannett's lead and ask for more money because of auto hop ? Once that trend was established by Gannett , the rest of the local channels will do the same thing. Monkey See/Monkey do. And all those local channels will add up , whether it is 10 cents more or 25 cents more. DISH will not absorb this cost , I can almost bet on that. So look for them to displace this increase cost elsewhere. There will be a price hike next February , but the question is whether it will be in the basic channel packs, or whether it will be a equipment fee increase, or my bet is a dvr fee increase. I can see DISH making the $10.00 dvr fee standard on all dvr accounts -except 211k with dvr software. THis would more than make up for any increases on the local channel increases. Because one thing I have learned about DISH: even when they are losing subs in great numbers , their profits continue to go up every year. I don't expect this year to be any different.
 
I understand your logic on channels using the autohop feature against Dish in order to get more money from them but the autohop feature only affects the network channels, not the rest of what we watch. I guess a few of the other channels we watch are owned by some of the networks but overall it shouldn't matter.
 
No one knows just how much of the increase being asked for (200%-300%) was actually agreed to by Dish. As Dish stated, they were willing to go to 200% but not 300%, so it was probably somewhere in between. Also, the fact that Dish was willing to agree to 200% says that most of it was just market rates. Sure in the big picture, many local channel owners will try to use AutoHop as a bargaining chip, but how many of them will really succeed? The big picture also gets muddied by the current AutoHop lawsuits, so it's too early to claim that AutoHop will be the death knell of lower prices.
 
No one knows just how much of the increase being asked for (200%-300%) was actually agreed to by Dish. As Dish stated, they were willing to go to 200% but not 300%, so it was probably somewhere in between. Also, the fact that Dish was willing to agree to 200% says that most of it was just market rates. Sure in the big picture, many local channel owners will try to use AutoHop as a bargaining chip, but how many of them will really succeed? The big picture also gets muddied by the current AutoHop lawsuits, so it's too early to claim that AutoHop will be the death knell of lower prices.


I'm not saying that the auto hop will cause the death knell of lower prices. I am saying that when all the local channels come up for renewal , that the auto hop threat will be used in order to extort better carriage deals from DISH , than they have ever been known to pay in the past. Now when you add all these companies over the country up , that is going to be a lot of extra money that somebody is going to pay. It won't be DISH paying these added costs. It will be you and me , the subscriber. I am saying that the increase next February ,will most likely include an increase to cover these added costs for DISH. The ironic thing is that the auto hop threat was supposed to be used to keep prices low by DISH and now it is being used as a threat to extort better carriage fees for the local channels.

THANK GOD they don't use auto hop on the other national cable channels, like TNT , USA ,Syfy etc . Can you imagine how much they would ask to keep their channels on the air ,because of auto hop feature being used? It would be the end of DISH, because when DISH passed the increased carriage cost on to their subs, they would leave to avoid paying the increased costs. IN the end I see DISH dropping auto hop feature, in order to avoid continuing to pay the increased costs for local channels. Not right now. But look at Blockbuster. Now, Charlie is saying it might of been a mistake to buy this failing company. I see a similar statement about the auto hop feature , but will probably never hear him say it publicly. It will just be turned off via software someday.
 
I'm not saying that the auto hop will cause the death knell of lower prices. I am saying that when all the local channels come up for renewal , that the auto hop threat will be used in order to (1) extort better carriage deals from DISH , than they have ever been known to pay in the past. Now when you add all these companies over the country up , that is going to be a lot of extra money that somebody is going to pay. It won't be DISH paying these added costs. It will be you and me , the subscriber. I am saying that the increase next February ,will most likely include an increase to cover these added costs for DISH.

The (2) ironic thing is that the auto hop threat was supposed to be used to keep prices low by DISH and now it is being used as a threat to extort better carriage fees for the local channels.
1. That sounds like a chicken little death knell to me.

2. Again, you read that "somewhere", yet are using it as fact, just like you said earlier that your opinions are not fact, then why are you treating someone else's opinion as fact?
 
1. That sounds like a chicken little death knell to me.

2. Again, you read that "somewhere", yet are using it as fact, just like you said earlier that your opinions are not fact, then why are you treating someone else's opinion as fact?


Okay I give up since your are obsessed with what you consider facts. I guess I should now preface all my posts with "In my opinion" in order to discuss any ideas I have. Will see what happens come the new year and the next price hike. But mark my words, like all gimmicks that DISH rolls out and uses in their advertising campaigns (Blockbuster, TURBO HD, SLING LOADED 922 , DISHONLINE/TV Everywhere) they will drop their focus on the auto hop feature as well ,when it becomes to costly to keep fighting the added costs to keep it going. I don't see the auto hop feature staying around if all the local channels start pulling the same tactics as Gannett.


After all if this auto hop feature was going to be an easy software update , then DIRECTV , the #1 satellite company, would of already added the auto skip feature to their Genie receivers. Why didn't they? They will let DISH fight the legal battles and take on all the disputes over channel carriage , before they jump on the bandwagon. Because why ? THey don't want their costs to go up. They see the writing on the wall and they are more than happy to let DISH pay the costs. Every Local channel they lose in a dma , is another reason for a sub to churn to DIRECTV ,if they still want satellite tv.
 
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Okay I give up since your are obsessed with what you consider facts. I guess I should now preface all my posts with "In my opinion" in order to discuss any ideas I have. Will see what happens come the new year and the next price hike. But mark my words, like all gimmicks that DISH rolls out and uses in their advertising campaigns (Blockbuster, TURBO HD, SLING LOADED 922 , DISHONLINE/TV Everywhere) they will drop their focus on the auto hop feature as well ,when it becomes to costly to keep fighting the added costs to keep it going. I don't see the auto hop feature staying around if all the local channels start pulling the same tactics as Gannett.


After all if this auto hop feature was going to be an easy software update , then DIRECTV , the #1 satellite company, would of already added the auto skip feature to their Genie receivers. Why didn't they? They will let DISH fight the legal battles and take on all the disputes over channel carriage , before they jump on the bandwagon. Because why ? THey don't want their costs to go up. They see the writing on the wall and they are more than happy to let DISH pay the costs. Every Local channel they lose in a dma , is another reason for a sub to churn to DIRECTV ,if they still want satellite tv.
Sorry about the whole "fact" symantics. What I should have said was where and who did you read that from?

We are in agreement that the implementation of autohop is a high risk/reward proposition for Dish, yet I don't see one of the outcomes being ballooning rate hikes (in relation to other providers or market rates). A leopard does not change its spots, and Dish is not going to suddenly start giving in on carriage deals. It will be an interesting battle to be sure.
 
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