AEP customer here and would drop if they got rid of ESPN. I enjoy having people over to watch whatever the big game is.
Dish HD vs Disney (DISH sort of won...)
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AEP customer here and would drop if they got rid of ESPN. I enjoy having people over to watch whatever the big game is.
If Dish lost ESPN and Disney for any length of time, it would absolutely torpedo new subs for Dish. How many new subs will pick Dish over Direct when Direct has ESPN / Disney, Dish does not, and they cost the same?
(Unless Dish drops its prices. Like that would ever happen ...
)
I'm in an area where you can't get the local RSN (CSN-Philly) on satellite. A large percentage of my neighbors absolutely refuse to even consider satellite because of this. Most satellite subs here use it to get international channels. A few have DTV to get Sunday Ticket, but still pay for cable to get their RSN. I think losing ESPN would be a similar disaster for Dish.
(Unless Dish drops its prices. Like that would ever happen ...
)I'm in an area where you can't get the local RSN (CSN-Philly) on satellite. A large percentage of my neighbors absolutely refuse to even consider satellite because of this. Most satellite subs here use it to get international channels. A few have DTV to get Sunday Ticket, but still pay for cable to get their RSN. I think losing ESPN would be a similar disaster for Dish.
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Depends for me. I have not watched ANY sports channel in the last 3 months. And when I did before it was just to have something innocuous in the background. I have been an AEP subscriber since the beginning of time. I would not jump ship, but I would expect something... like the AMC deal. And like the AMC deal I probably would not take it. (I already had 2 roku boxes anyway)
I would love to see E* drop ESPN just to see Disney get slapped in the face. E* is one of their larger distributors and it would hit them in the bottom line. No I don't watch sports. But I would watch the sports on her w/all the yelling and screaming that would take place.
Advertisers love ESPN networks and most any other live sports broadcasting networks for the sole reason it is the only place you're almost guaranteed to get people actually sitting through the ads anymore. Most any other kind of programming gets recorded and commercials get skipped. Most sports fans want to watch the games live. Btw, Dish likes having live sports as well. Whenever the bottom line disappears on an ESPN network, that is Dish Network running their own ads. Ads drive TV, Sports get some of the highest ad buys. Hate sports channels all you want, but they make money for the providers as well, or they wouldn't carry them. Keep telling yourselves that you'll get a credit from Dish if they pull ABC/Disney/ESPN, but I doubt it. If that happens during football season (again), I'm a dot on the horizon. I would have to move to Cable, Direct or Uverse after 17 straight years with Dish. There's no way I'd put up with no ESPN during college football season.
If they actually dropped ESPN I would drop Dish in a heartbeat on both of my accounts. That would not be acceptable to me.
I don't care rather or not they make money from advertising; that's not being disputed. That will not change the fact I'm pissed about paying BIG bucks for channels I don't watch.
And I don't doubt we could get credits if ESPN was pulled. Many of us got credits and/or free Rokus when AMC/IFC/We were pulled.
So you would be ok dropping one of the most popular channels just so you can get some credtis for 6-12 months? What about when your credits are over? Then your bill goes back to what it was or even higher and you still don't have and many channels. Why not just wish for some other crappy channel that doesn't get watched much to drop and then you can call Dish and pretend you really miss and demand a credit for losing that. Then we're all happy, you get your credits and sports fans keep ESPN.
It seems the only acceptable method would be to pull ESPN and put it into a sports package. Of course, that package would become somewhat expensive. But then again, Fox Soccer Plus is $15 a month for SD, and I hear little sympathy for soccer fans.
This seems the only way to force ESPN to be competitive with their pricing.
This seems the only way to force ESPN to be competitive with their pricing.
That does seem to be the most logical but you'll always get the response from big sports fans that they shouldn't have to pay for what they consider the crappy channels the rest of people watch. Then we start the whole a la carte debate again. What everyone needs to look at is how can you give everyone what they want to watch in one affordable package. So far the best idea I have heard is to just make all options available, keep the current packs, make a la carte available and make metered usage available. Give the customer the option and I think you see that the majority still stick with the current packaged model but you'll make thousands of other happy by giving them the choice.
So when you suggest that in the next contract negotiations with ESPN and they say no, what do you do?
I now DVR sports I record from the beginning of the event but don't start watching until it is half over. I get to the end of the game at about the same time as the live event ends and I can skip all the commercials I have no interest in. For football double headers I record from the beginning and start watching about the 4th quarter of the 1st game.
I do that for some events (games I don't really care about, NASCAR, etc.), but the games of the teams I actually follow I can't help myself. I watch them all live!
I don't give a rats behind if it is a "popular" channel. All I know is that in my house, ESPN is every bit as unpopular as those crappy other channels you talk about. It might as well be Centirc for all I care. And who is to say that the credit goes away so quick? I got 6 months of credits, but AMC didn't stay gone 6 months. Also, in the case of ESPN, I don't care I lost it! I barely watched it in the first place! I don't follow your logic. I say "I hate ESPN and want rid of it" and your reply is "Won't you be sorry to have fewer channels?" Why would I care about losing a channel that I have expressly indicated I don't want?
Maybe because ESPN IS THE ONE THAT COSTS BIG BUCKS! I think Dish is much more willing to cut a bill when many dollars are being saved by not having a channel, rather than pennies per sub.
Well, seeing I'm not at the table, that is a silly question. If you run the numbers, it would seem that Dish would lose more than Disney if there is no contract for ESPN. They both take a pretty strong hit. In the end, it could be a bigger problem for Disney, as Dish dropping them can be a slippery slope with the other providers. So in the end, nothing will change. Dish will up a contract, save a few pennies per subscriber and our bill will go up so that Disney can afford the ridiculous amount they paid for MNF.
My logic is, what is the point of wanting channels to go away when you may not save any money on your bill. I understand you hate the channel, don't watch it. You make it sound like you would be very happy for Dish to drop ESPN just because you hate the channel, even if your bill did not decrease.
I don't understand why you act so upset over this since it is purely your opinion. If Dish did everything just the way you wanted they would have millions of upset customers. I know you don't care but it doesn't work that way. Dish has to find a way to provide all the channels that 14 million people want and for a price they are willing to pay all while trying to make a profit.
The argument for not wanting to pay for sports channels goes both ways. People who do not watch sports do not want to pay for those channels and people that don't watch news, weather, reality shows, home and garden shows, women's entertainment and cartoons don't want to pay for those channels. Then there are people who want to be able to have access to all of these channels but don't want to pay over $100.
Sometimes there just seems to be a lot of, "I only care about what I want and nothing else" on here. I understand that making the sports channels separate would make a lot of people happy but it would make just as many if not more mad.
My point is, your opinion is that bills would not go down. To me, that's hogwash. Bills would have to go down for Dish to stay competitive. And getting rid of it would certainly help price inflation, meaning everyone else would go up more.
I sound irritated because you make it sound like how many of Dish's other customer's satisfaction is my prime concern. The only customer who's satisfaction I care about is mine.
And, yes, people have made that argument that it goes both ways. But it does not equal out. Sports channels are FAR FAR more expensive than the other general interest channels. The fact is, sports networks are the most EGREGIOUS offenders. Believe me, if ESPN and the RSNs cost $0.35/month/sub, I would not think it was a big deal.
And to me, it is about the future of sports as well. More people are cutting the cord, and so ESPN et.al. are asking for larger and larger increases, which will only lead to more cord cutting, continuing a vicious cycle. It can't keep going forever. By simply making the sports fans pay for sports now, we can avoid that catastrophe in the future.
