Fisher Communications Channels are BACK on Dish!

[TNGTony]

The stations are aware of the impact on their audience and ratings. Notice how these disputes rarely happen anywhere near sweeps weeks? These last two weeks of December are some of the lowest rated weeks on TV. This is why all the regular TV shows go on Hiatus and all these "specials" come on.

The timing is strictly to get the biggest time frame to get something ironed out and have the cable-co or satellite companies get the most amount of negative press without affecting the station's bottom line.

It is only the rare occasion when the station overplays its hand and is left off the system over the sweeps period. The next sweeps is in February.

See ya
Tony

 

[whatchel1]

Yep

The stations are aware of the impact on their audience and ratings. Notice how these disputes rarely happen anywhere near sweeps weeks? These last two weeks of December are some of the lowest rated weeks on TV. This is why all the regular TV shows go on Hiatus and all these "specials" come on.

The timing is strictly to get the biggest time frame to get something ironed out and have the cable-co or satellite companies get the most amount of negative press without affecting the station's bottom line.

It is only the rare occasion when the station overplays its hand and is left off the system over the sweeps period. The next sweeps is in February.

See ya
Tony

I notice this and said something similar in the Fisher Communications thread. I hope the mods merge the 2 threads.

 

[EatMyVolts]

Everybody who stands to loose the Fisher channels should write/phone/email their complaints to Fisher. I did, and will continue to do so. Let them know that this is nothing but a shakedown. Note how they won't tell how much they want, they just show what certain channels get. Are they embarrassed by how much they are trying to milk us for? Remind them that carriage on Dish is beneficial to them: more viewers = higher ad rates = more revenue.

Perhaps, until this is resolved, we should try to avoid companies that advertise on their channels?

 

[Kevin1514]

I can confirm that KOMO tv in seattle is now off the air on E*.

 

[Kevin1514]

Sorry, double post.

 

[Joe Capitano]

10:57 PM PT: Welcome to the Eric Sahl show in place of KOMO/4. On 51, Univision East in place of KUNS, which means Noticias Noroeste is gone (the only locally-produced content they had).

Start the clock.

(Meantime, I'm going over to KING for the news, and FTA for the alphabet soup)

 

[dbstv]

I always believe in OTA dish nor dtv carry all my locals and since all have 2nd channel in digital like weather 24/7 for my area

PBS here in Omaha NE has a number of stations in Sd but digital none of these satellite company will carry them all

Dish so far is the worst for carrying locals in HD in Florida where I lived up to now no CW mynetwork PBS or the Spanish channels are in HD

So if you can OTA is the way to go for locals

 

[Sammy033]

more viewers = higher ad rates = more revenue.

So that means the costs paid to get those viewers is offset by the higher ad rates. The trick is to make sure you get much more ad revenue than you pay out. It's the cost of doing business but of course this is all obvious.

 

[pabeader]

The only reason that satellite is forced to carry LOCAL stations is because that's how they get the networks.
When I say BURN ALL LOCAL STATIONS to the ground. I mean that. There really only needs to be, at most 20 NATIONAL broadcasting companies. ABC CBS NBC FOX CW for the four time zones.
Make these available to the people living in those timezones and get rid of all the redundancy. If you want local news get a paper, that's what they're there for.

 

[kerry]

This is why im glad im not with dish anymore.

 

[lownote2]

Scott's link to the KOMOnews was a fun read. I really liked at the bottom where they gave alternate means of viewing their locals besides dish. Notice D* in in all caps..DIRECTV. Hmmmm is that a small underlying hint of a threat by them to push E* customers to D*? Just found that interesting.

 

[pdxsam]

Scott's link to the KOMOnews was a fun read. I really liked at the bottom where they gave alternate means of viewing their locals besides dish. Notice D* in in all caps..DIRECTV. Hmmmm is that a small underlying hint of a threat by them to push E* customers to D*? Just found that interesting.

I don't think so. That's SOP to give people all options. Other broadcasters have done the same. I remember not so long ago a retrans issue with a cable system where the TV station pushed viewers to both E* and D* with 50 dollar coupons.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Maybe it is time for some DISH subs to "move" elsewhere till the dispute is over.

 

[digiblur]

And Comcorp is next in their dispute We are already missing ABC here over a dispute for 6+ months, now looks like NBC and Fox are going to go by the end of the year. Glad I have OTA and don't "live" in my city.

 

[darrencp22]

This never seems to end with Dish. One dispute after another.

 

[cparker]

What does the local cable carrier pay to have those local stations?

I think locals to satellite (and cable for that matter) should be free.
We don't pay to get them OTA. Having them on satellite (or cable) is doing the local stations a FAVOR and broadening their viewership (is that a word?) to people who might not otherwise watch at all due to poor OTA signal.

If the locals want to compare themselves to CNN and that tier, let's find out if they are charging their local ADVERTISERS the kind of rates that ads on CNN cost.

This is all just bull***. It's like extortion.

 

[Quantum]

TWhen I say BURN ALL LOCAL STATIONS to the ground. I mean that.

Hell YEAH! Less competition is always better!

Let's keep destroying the system which has made this nation great over the past 60 years! Let's all agree to PAY for that which we got for free for decades!

Having too many companies, is just confusing. Let's narrow this down to just one TV provider so we don't have to worry about it anymore.

War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

FISHER COMMUNICATIONS, INc. FORCES DISH NETWORK® TO REMOVE ITS

BAKERSFIELD, CA. CBS AND FOX ChannelS from its Lineup



ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Dec. 17, 2008 – DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) today announced that it has been forced to remove KBAK (CBS) Ch. 29 and KBFX (FOX) Ch. 58 from its programming lineup in Bakersfield, Ca.

Fisher Communications is demanding unreasonable contract terms and an excessive programming rate increase of 82 percent for continued carriage on DISH Network® – an increase that DISH Network is unwilling to pass on to customers. To protect customers from unreasonable rate increases and to ensure they pay only a fair amount every month, DISH Network draws the line at such excess and challenges strong-arm tactics. In the last few years, DISH Network has negotiated for retransmission consent with nearly 1,000 other local TV stations and has reached a fair agreement with all of them.

"Fisher Communications' demands have forced us to remove this channel from our local programming line-up, forcing this disruption to our customers," said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of programming for DISH Network. "We continue to fight for our subscribers by remaining the leader in value and in order to do this, we need fair contracts and competitive pricing for our customers. This is why we refuse Fisher Communications' request for increased pricing and unreasonable terms.
DISH Network's contract with Fisher Communications expired on Dec. 17, 2008. The absence of a contract means that DISH Network is no longer able to provide KBAK and KBFX to its subscribers.

As programming fees comprise a significant percentage of DISH Network's expenses, Fisher Communications' demands would translate into a significant cost increase that DISH Network would have to pass along to its customers in the form of higher monthly bills.

"We deeply regret the inconvenience this disruption may cause any of our subscribers," Sahl added. "Subscribers should rest assured that we continue to take the necessary steps to ensure that DISH Network remains the source for the best quality TV at the best total value."

DISH Network encourages subscribers to visit DISH Network for more information.

 

[yourbeliefs]

It never seems to end..

 

[NightRyder]

I'm tired of being used as a pawn by Dish when I see no benefit from it. I'm sick of free broadcast spectrum being given to companies that use their position for extortion and fail to serve their customers.

NightRyder