Dish Network Earnings Call

[billymac]

The big difference is content. Most people will watch the shows they want to see whether in HD or SD. The number of people who will decide which show to watch based soley on HD or SD is very small. In order to survive, Voom will have to improve the content of their channels. Monsters was starting to improve, but they may have waited too long.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Most people aren't HD snobs. They just want to watch the shows they watch, and have them look as good as possible.

 

[audiomagnate]

RE: Dish dumping Voom:

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

H.L. Menken 1880-1956


Voom wasn't for everybody, but I guess the World Fishing Network is.

 

[tomcrown1]

I really hope They are bluffing, As far as some of you and your take on Monsters, its sounds like my take on Speed hd. I would never watch Speed and do not need it! That being said I know some people like it and would not wish away or call it useless. Some of you do not like Monster Fine, thats okay, but some of us like do, saying it is useless is a matter of who you are speaking too. I see you guys begging for speed HD, well I am begging for Monsters HD! I know Voom not mainstream, but it was true HD...scifi,usa ,disney,cartoon, mgm, hallmark,etc none are close to the quality. Mainstream is not always better.

I let you in on a little secret Dish did a focus group on Voom. I was in on one of the focus group. Their were 30 folks their and only two of us knew Dish had Voom and what was on. Most said they would not miss Voom as their was nothing on worth a damn.

Dish had these focus group across the country and belive me Dish can stand to lose 1% of its customer base. By adding a national reconize channel Dish will gain more customers. So yes Dish did its homework and knows the true value of voom to 99% of its customer base.

 

[tomcrown1]

I really really enjoy the Rave channel & MHD channels, I will really miss those if they take them away. Will there be any other music video or channels that carry Soundstage?

?? well if you watch MHD you know they carry Soundstage and are not part of VOOM--MHD(MTV ETC)

Also you can view first run of Soundstage on your local PBS station.

 

[DSpud]

Thanks. Real mature response guys. Feel better? So, why is my rant considered sad? Care to explain? I'm upset over the handling and the loss of a channel I enjoy. It's nice to see there are others out there that feel the same way.

Go ahead, take my lunch money guys! Feel better!? You are 12 aren't you! Seriously, I figured you would have a response stating that you realized that you went a little (WAY) overboard but was just frustrated because you really enjoyed the channel. It amazes me that you have had over an hour, been able to read over your comment and the responses, and STILL can't understand the 12 year old comment. :yikes

 

[mjrusso45]

Do they post a recording of this conference call somewhere to listen to later. I know my company does something similar.

 

[8bitbytes]

Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Most people aren't HD snobs. They just want to watch the shows they watch, and have them look as good as possible.

You are correct. In fact they are so far from being HD snobs they don't even know that most of what they watch is NOT HD. As long as it fits their widescreen tv, that's HD. That's why many of the premium movie channels zoom out the cinemascope movies so that Joe SixPack won't call in to complain about the black bars on his screen.
In poll after poll, it was discovered that many new HDTV owners thought that if you watched anything on an HDTV, that means you were watching HD. When they were shown real HD, most were blown away at what they were missing. Others got down right mad, as they say.

Amazing that so many here have no problem taking away what others like so that they can have what they like. Use whatever justification you want to feel better about it.

 

[varcieri]

?? well if you watch MHD you know they carry Soundstage and are not part of VOOM--MHD(MTV ETC)

Also you can view first run of Soundstage on your local PBS station.

I can't get soundstage HD on my local PBS station, I live in the boonies and signal is not good on that channel and dish doesn't carry locals in HD. I have seen soundstage on MHD, and I didn't know that it wasn't part of voom, but am very happy to hear that - thank you for the info!

 

[billymac]

You are correct. In fact they are so far from being HD snobs they don't even know that most of what they watch is NOT HD. As long as it fits their widescreen tv, that's HD. That's why many of the premium movie channels zoom out the cinemascope movies so that Joe SixPack won't call in to complain about the black bars on his screen.
In poll after poll, it was discovered that many new HDTV owners thought that if you watched anything on an HDTV, that means you were watching HD. When they were shown real HD, most were blown away at what they were missing. Others got down right mad, as they say.

Amazing that so many here have no problem taking away what others like so that they can have what they like. Use whatever justification you want to feel better about it.

I don't think that anyone on here took anything away from you. Some people just aren't as cultured as you, and are happy with the new channels they got, and hope to get more of the same.

 

[kstuart]

Amazing that so many here have no problem taking away what others like so that they can have what they like.

Actually it is the least amazing thing.

We are all descended from the guys who took the women of the other guys (who then did not pass their "nice guy" genes on to anyone).

10% of Central Asians are descended from Genghis Khan, for example.

 

[FitzAusTex]

Just talked to a CSR in the U.S. (rather unusual, for me anyway). I'm betting E* is overstaffed today due to all the changes. As a matter of fact, there is a new VRU option "if you're calling about your HD channels". Anyway, I spoke to a very knowledgeable CSR, who I could tell had been around for a VERY long time and was even able to get me 'Cinemax for a Penny', even though I had AEP in February. Ok, so she SWEARS that the Voom takedown is a bluff. Even after I told her Charlie announced on the earnings call today that the other 5 Voom channels are outta here soon, she was like "nope, he does this all the time. I know for a fact that the opposite is true. He calls things undesirable to re-negotiate the deal."

I am NOT saying I believe it, nor that anyone else should either, and I know I'll get slammed for listening to anything a CSR says (and I tend to agree with the knock on poorly trained CSRs), however this chick knew her stuff, and I could just TELL she was far, far brighter than whom I normally talk to.

We shall see...

 

[msusig]

Just talked to a CSR in the U.S. (rather unusual, for me anyway). I'm betting E* is overstaffed today due to all the changes. As a matter of fact, there is a new VRU option "if you're calling about your HD channels". Anyway, I spoke to a very knowledgeable CSR, who I could tell had been around for a VERY long time and was even able to get me 'Cinemax for a Penny', even though I had AEP in February. Ok, so she SWEARS that the Voom takedown is a bluff. Even after I told her Charlie announced on the earnings call today that the other 5 Voom channels are outta here soon, she was like "nope, he does this all the time. I know for a fact that the opposite is true. He calls things undesirable to re-negotiate the deal."

I am NOT saying I believe it, nor that anyone else should either, and I know I'll get slammed for listening to anything a CSR says (and I tend to agree with the knock on poorly trained CSRs), however this chick knew her stuff, and I could just TELL she was far, far brighter than whom I normally talk to.

We shall see...

"So you tellin' me there's a chance!"...(dumb & dumber)

 

[bongohawk]

Just talked to a CSR in the U.S. (rather unusual, for me anyway). I'm betting E* is overstaffed today due to all the changes. As a matter of fact, there is a new VRU option "if you're calling about your HD channels". Anyway, I spoke to a very knowledgeable CSR, who I could tell had been around for a VERY long time and was even able to get me 'Cinemax for a Penny', even though I had AEP in February. Ok, so she SWEARS that the Voom takedown is a bluff. Even after I told her Charlie announced on the earnings call today that the other 5 Voom channels are outta here soon, she was like "nope, he does this all the time. I know for a fact that the opposite is true. He calls things undesirable to re-negotiate the deal."

I am NOT saying I believe it, nor that anyone else should either, and I know I'll get slammed for listening to anything a CSR says (and I tend to agree with the knock on poorly trained CSRs), however this chick knew her stuff, and I could just TELL she was far, far brighter than whom I normally talk to.

We shall see...

I am sure there is some truth to this being a bluff. I think Charlie had given VOOM all the chances in the world to get new content and VOOM might have thought it was just talk, but now since he elimiated 10 VOOM channels and now his tyraid that they "all could be removed" soon, tells me that he is partially bluffing and at the same time mad at VOOM for not living up to their contract. I honestly think Charlie is pissed off at VOOM and wouldn't think twice about getting rid of the last 5 channels, but if VOOM were to renegotiate a deal, he would definitely listen.

 

[nlk10010]

Thing is, if VOOM would update its content like it did before the "big slowdown" last Fall, Charlie would have a kick-a** lineup. Perhaps not in sports, but for those whose primary interests lay elsewhere Dish could even be tagged the "leader". Assuming of course that Charlie has the bandwidth.

 

[Yes616]

Does anyone have an e-mail address for Voom? I went to their website to click on "contact us" and it doesn't seem to work. It was probably a futile idea anyway as I did that months ago when Monsters was into their 2 movies a day mode. I wasn't happy about that and this all says to me that Charlie wasn't either. I never got a response from Voom on that e-mail so I don't even know if anyone even looked at my message.

I hope Charlie is just playing hardball for awhile and maybe Voom will shape up because of this. I would hate for them to be shipped out 100%.

I would very much miss Monsters and Rave. I watch those quite a bit.

If in the end they became better channels because of this, Charlie could become a hero.

I watched HDNews also and yes it was kind of cheap but I got the news fast. If CNN Headline News-HD became available, I wouldn't miss HDNews so much.

I will also miss Flipper on Family Room. Hopefully it will show up in some other way again.

Consolidation of some of these channels as mentioned earlier in this thread is a good idea. I wouldn't even mind some commercials but don't interupt the movies.

I, like some others around here would miss Voom going away altogether. I really hope this is just Charlie trying to get either:

1. A better money deal from them but they must spend the $100K on new programming or..

2. A cheaper price for what we are now getting.

I would prefer option 1. Thats my opinion.

 

[Jim S.]

"...we have been suppling mpeg 4 boxes exclusivlly for about 2 years..."


Huh? On what planet?

If he didn't say he was talking about HD boxes only (which I didn't know, since I didn't hear it myself), then he's lieing to the shareholders, and if I was one I would sue.

 

[Tyralak]

Well, it looks like Dish was the "HD leader" for about 12 hours. Good job, Dish!

 

[jacmyoung]

You would be surprised with the following this channel has. It alone has brought many people from D*/cable to E*. Charlie would be making a huge mistake especially if another provider picks it up.

Look people I know you all think how important you are, but when Charlie saw all the VOOMers combined could not add up to the Sci Fi HD subs, what do you expect him to do?

VOOM did nothing for DISH when DISH was losing subs big time for the last three quarters, especially the latest one. You can't expect DISH to lose shirt just to make a few of you happy, Cablevision tried remember what happened to the old man?

 

[goaliebob99]

I can't get soundstage HD on my local PBS station, I live in the boonies and signal is not good on that channel and dish doesn't carry locals in HD. I have seen soundstage on MHD, and I didn't know that it wasn't part of voom, but am very happy to hear that - thank you for the info!

Yep soundstage is produced by WTTW-DT Chicago and then distributed to PBS stations world wide. Older episodes are then distributed to rainbow media / MHD. I watch soundstage on WTTW as its produced locally and get to see all the new episodes first.

 

[varcieri]

lucky you Goalie Bob99 - I love the Soundstage concerts. I wish I could get PBS High Def. But I'll settle for the older ones on MHD, still better than nothing.