EchoStar Blasts Comcast On HD Ads

[Poke]

http://www.tvpredictions.com/ergentwo050907.htm


The satcaster says cable op is losing credibility.
By Phillip Swann


Washington, D.C. (May 9, 2007) -- One week after the launch of a Comcast ad campaign saying that dish owners prefer its high-def picture to satellite, EchoStar has finally offered a retort.

In a shareholders meeting yesterday, EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen said Comcast's boast hurts the cable operator's credibility, according to an article in The Rocky Mountain News.

"That's not what our customers tell us," Ergen said, referring to Comcast's contention that satellite customers by a 2-1 margin picked Comcast's high-def picture over both DIRECTV and EchoStar.

In the ad, Comcast cited a Frank N. Magid Associates study conducted in March 2007 that said respondents were shown high-def signals from Comcast, DIRECTV and EchoStar. and asked to rate each screen.

According to the Magid study, Comcast was the preferred choice of the three.

Ergen charged that Comcast is making the claim because the cable operator is losing customers to satellite TV services.

"Most cable executives have satellite (TV) in their homes," he said, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

In other remarks Tuesday, Ergen said he was not surprised that News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch swap his stake in DIRECTV with Liberty Media.

"Murdoch loved DIRECTV, but he loves News. Corp. more," Ergen said, according to the newspaper.

The satellite executive also that EchoStar this year will introduce a Digital Video Recorder that can store up to 500 hours of programming.

 

[Kru83]

"Most cable executives have satellite (TV) in their homes," he said, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

charlies should have someone take pic of the cable executive's home with Dish network satellite.

 

[bowens]

"Most cable executives have satellite (TV) in their homes," he said, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

charlies should have someone take pic of the cable executive's home with Dish network satellite.

I was wondering about this quote. It sounds to me like he called Comcast out for making stuff up and then he made something up himself.

 

[Van]

"Most cable executives have satellite (TV) in their homes," he said, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

charlies should have someone take pic of the cable executive's home with Dish network satellite.

There is a comcast lawyer who lives in Novi Michigan that has Dishnetwork, I know because I installed it for him in 06

 

[mike123abc]

One assumes cable execs would have DIRECTV, Dish Network and cable in their houses for analysis. That is like saying a restaurant owner never eats at the competition to see what they offer.

 

[GeorgeLV]

One assumes cable execs would have DIRECTV, Dish Network and cable in their houses for analysis. That is like saying a restaurant owner never eats at the competition to see what they offer.

Yeah. It's not surprising at all. I'm sure plenty of Dish Network executives do the same.

 

[Dishlover]

I had Comcast, Dish's HD is better than I got from my antiquated cable system. I'll do another comparison when my cable system is rebuilt. I'm not holding my breath waiting, wondering if I'll get my HD-FSN before the cable rebuild.

 

[Van]

All of the dns offices have directv to watch for commercials.

 

[RealityCheck]

Does Charlie have cable in his house? Nah - he is too cheap.

 

[Sammy033]

Does Charlie have cable in his house? Nah - he is too cheap.

I would. Just to keep and eye on the competition.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

You dont think these CEO types hob nob around in the same circles.....they know becos they have been to one anthers houses before.

 

[mdwatt]

I can testify that the owner of the company that I work for who is an RSP for DISH Network has D* service in his home. I've been there and saw it with my own two eyes. It happens. Take me for instance, I've got DISH tv and Time Warner Internet. :0

 

[Bradtothebone]

It sure woudn't surprise me if the cable execs' second homes had satellite TV - at the lake, the mountains, etc. They might also live in another operator's territory, and elect to go the satellite route instead of buying from the cable competitor.

Brad

 

[Van]

Well it would make sense for anyone that has a weekend or vacation home(s) thats off the cable grid to have some form of pay 2 view satellite service. It also makes perfect sense for each company to have its competitors service(s), my old dish office had directv and the general managers had to have it from what I was told as well.

 

[riffjim4069]

Dish Network is a much better HD value than Comcast - D* is currently behind the pack in both quality and quantity - Comcast offers excellent PQ (your local mileage may vary) but are limited in quantity.

However, since FiOS TV is classified as "cable" then this very well may tip the scales in favor Comcast's claim that cable offers the best HD experience. My local FiOS (still three miles away) offers 19 pristine national HD and 8 pristine local HD channels. Verizon FiOS is the clear HD leader...period. Of course, with only 425,000 customers they are not widely implemented at this time.

Bottom Line: Echostar may be able to blast Comcast, but Verizon is clearly head-and-shoulders above DishHD and the other cable providers!

 

[Kru83]

Bottom Line: Echostar may be able to blast Comcast, but Verizon is clearly head-and-shoulders above DishHD and the other cable providers!

yeah but verizon lacks in FiOS service. its only in certain areas. not everyone has FiOS>

 

[riffjim4069]

yeah but verizon lacks in FiOS service. its only in certain areas. not everyone has FiOS>

I thought I mentioned they only had 425,000 customers and were not widely available...

 

[abricko]

Fios is simply amazing, both for TV quality and internet speed... no one will be able to beat them. Rollout is slow but I wonder what the numbers are looking like for people switching once it's built for their block. I know I was calling them daily when they were in my neighborhood asking if it was available.