Fisher Communications Channels are BACK on Dish!

[long_time_DNC]

I hate going down this rabbit-trail...

Subchannels are a dearth to a station's digital bandwidth, causing them to reduce their HD quality on their xx.1 channel. And what do they show on the subchannels? Not much of use.

Back on-topic: broadcast channels don't deserve a huge slice of our subscription fee. They get more revenue as it is and more dollars for their ad time because their getting seen by more people in their given DMA. What it boils down to, simply, is greed on both sides - Fisher wants more money, Charlie doesn't want to spend more money (or lose subs).

 

[LJALLEN97]

The on going dispute with Fisher continues, but as we question the ability to get another ABC feed were told the rules (laws) disallow that choice. Why does the local Cox Cable Northwest Oregon system carry both the below listed 2 NBC stations. At one time they carried all the major channels from both Seattle and Portland on their entire local system. We are not allowed any Seattle stations on E*.

1 KING - NBC Basic Seattle Washington

2 KGW - NBC Basic Portland Oregon

Rules are tilted towards the cable systems in my opinion.

 

[Hall]

Why does the local Cox Cable Northwest Oregon system carry both the below listed 2 NBC stations.

If it's likely the local Time Warner, come "prime time", the out-of-market station switches to syndicated programming, i.e. re-runs of Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, info-mercials, etc, etc. It happens to be FOX and viewers in Dayton will NOT be able to watch American Idol on either channel, only the Dayton FOX station.

 

[mike123abc]

Many cable systems have multiple channels of networks. Where my parents live they have 2 CBS, 2 NBC and 2 Foxs. The rules for cable are different than satellite. Cable has a significantely viewed clause that allows them to import more stations. Satellite has a watered down version of significantely viewed.

 

[pdxsam]

Satellite has a watered down version of significantely viewed.

Add to that the court injunction, which I believe prohibited Dish from even offering significantly viewed and you can see where Dish is really without a paddle in offering a replacement channel.

Come to think of it, even if they didn't have the injunction over then, they couldn't Just because they don't carry the channel isn't a justification for replacing it with another channel. KOMO is still on air in Seattle, KATU in Portland and so on. The law states if the affiliate can be received, Dish can't provide it.

 

[geonaz]

Seems like Dish is not the only one having trouble with local stations and contract disputes. I just heard NBC affiliate WCNC channel 36 in Charlotte NC announce that Charter Communications cable would not be carrying their signal. They could not reach an agreement. I missed the date but it must be soon. I wonder where they stand with Dish. Will they be next or do you think they would be affraid to allow two contract disputes at the same time? Lots to look forward to in the coming months. Merry Christmas all!

 

[geonaz]

WCNC 36 in Charlotte, NC is owned by Belo Corp. They own twenty TV stations. The cut off date for Charter Cable is Dec. 31, 2008. Hope they are on good terms with Dish. Their web site advises they are available on Dish and that other satellite company.

 

[birkoff]

I caught Charlie Chat and to Dish's credit, they dropped a buck off our bill!
So its not about the money. Charlie and crew made some good points.
A) Broadcasters like Fisher get their license for free, nauta, zip. B)Its a
free, over the air public broadcast c)To paraphrase Danny DaVito in Other's
People Money, "I'm not making you money, least you forget, Dish is
extending their picture to people who wouldn't see it otherwise, and
you do get to make money off of that from advertisers. I live in the
sticks, so KATU has done squat to provide me with a 'signal.'

Tomorrow I will be calling my Congressman who was re-elected because he's
in a safe jerrimandered district thanks to the power of tv, and that cute
relationship between KATU and Congress. At this point I don't care if I
see another KATU program or ABC program.

 

[NightRyder]

Dear KATU advertisers,

As you may or nor know Fisher Broadcasting, the parent company of KATU is involved in a contract dispute with Dish Network over carriage of their stations. As of 12/17/08 KATU is no longer available to Dish Network customers. Dish Network has lowered the rates it charges its customers for local stations by 20% in affected areas. Has KATU offered you any discounts on your advertising? If not I suggest you contact them immediately and request a similar discount dating from the time KATU willingly cut their viewership.

All of the other Portland stations are still available to Dish Network subscribers and I'm sure would be more than happy to provide you with maximum value for your advertising dollar. I resent being taken for granted by greedy companies already given free use of public airwaves; if you feel the same please express your displeasure with KATU and let them know you don't like being taken for granted either.

Thank you

 

[footballer11]

I will not give KOMO(seattle ABC affiliate)my local newscast viewership from this day forward.We can't let them win this....Direct TV viewers you are next.If these stations can hold this over us and make it work,who is next?Are eyes are money to them,we are the ones with the power ,stop thinking we are victims.I know that their advertisers want our eyeballs.Show your power and send an e-mail to your local affiliates and tell them you will be watching their local newscasts and not the ABC affiliate that think we are worthless pawns.Let's flex our muscles people!!!

 

[ckgrick]

NightRyder: I appreciate your posts. What you say makes sense to me.

I did get an email reply finally from CEO Colleen Brown which I won’t bother to copy as it is just a boilerplate response like the first one you received and does not answer my specific questions. The reply you got from Robert Dunlop was certainly an improvement; your reply was better.

The issue of DISH not legally being able to substitute with remote feeds is curious to me. I used to get LA CBS channel 2 as part of my HD package. It was dropped once the Seattle locals were offered in HD.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Congress killed distant locals, which I really liked getting, thanks to excessive pressure from locals wanting to protect their respective DMA's.

Now, the locals (some of them anyway) think they can hold us hostage by pulling their signal from E* unless they get paid more.

We didn't get KCPQ HD until about the middle of '08 because Tribune Broadcasting had been holding-out for carriage of KMYQ-HD as well. I don't know what the settlement was, but now we get FOX in HD (KCPQ is a FOX affiliate). However, even though we weren't getting KCPQ in HD, at least we were getting the SD feed...we're not getting any feed from KOMO.

The way I look at it, if KOMO wants to play hardball, I have no problem doing the same and switching permanently to another local station for news, sports and other programming...

 

[NightRyder]

NightRyder: I appreciate your posts. What you say makes sense to me.

I did get an email reply finally from CEO Colleen Brown which I won’t bother to copy as it is just a boilerplate response like the first one you received and does not answer my specific questions. The reply you got from Robert Dunlop was certainly an improvement; your reply was better.

The issue of DISH not legally being able to substitute with remote feeds is curious to me. I used to get LA CBS channel 2 as part of my HD package. It was dropped once the Seattle locals were offered in HD.

ckgrick: Thx

While I don't agree with his position (or he mine ) Mr. Dunlop seems like a reasonable gentleman and we have established a friendly informal dialog. The last I heard from him on the 24th was that Fisher was awaiting a reply from Dish on a proposal they had made. I have no details on that proposal or whether it differed in any measure from their previous one.

I will continue to post updates as I receive them.

NightRyder

 

[smroycro]

I sent the following trail (and the responses) to (from) KOMO:

Colleen,

I suggest you quickly come to an understanding that your "modest" request for an increase may still be too much. Compare your request to local broadcast tv stations that are similar to yours. If you are requesting an amount that is similar to what other local broadcast tv stations are receiving, then your request is reasonable.

Wake up and smell the coffee. I have something to share which will soon not be a secret: Most Dish tv viewers are not missing your station right now. The longer we get used to you not being there, the less we will care.

Get smart.

Steve

--- On Wed, 12/24/08, CEO Colleen Brown <colleen_brown@fsci.com> wrote:

From: CEO Colleen Brown <colleen_brown@fsci.com>
Subject: Re: Not being carried on Dish
To: no_regrets70@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 5:38 PM

Thank you for your email.

We want to thank you for caring enough about our programming to take the time to write. Please know that we attempted to extend the expiration of our current contract with DISH to work out the terms of a new agreement, but they rejected our proposal. We're obviously disappointed by their decision as it is you who is hurt the most.

We know that you don’t really care whose fault this is, you just want to be able to watch your favorite programs and local news. But we thought you might like to know how this works. DISH pays a small amount of your monthly fee to every network or local station they carry. Please know that despite DISH's claim, our request is for a modest increase and is still considerably less than the amount they pay for less popular program networks. In fact, we have preliminarily agreed on the rate, but other issues are preventing a deal from being finalized.

While I can’t go into greater detail, you should know that we believe DISH Network has violated the terms of our existing agreement. They have failed to pay us for one of our stations for the past two years! I would expect that if I were a DISH subscriber and I didn't pay my bill for two years, they would shut off my service and seek my back pay.

Please know that we are continuing our negotiations with DISH Network and doing all we can to reach a settlement. Thank you again for your email and we regret this has caused you any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Colleen Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fisher Communications, Inc.



Text of original message below:

Shame on you KOMO. I can live without you on my dish network lineup. I do not support you charging dish more than other similar local tv stations. If dish caved in to you, they would cave in to others and the increased fees in turn would be passed on to dish subscribers.

Charge a fair price and don't compare yourself to national stations, you are a local station. I and I am sure many others can live without your station. Better make amends before we get used to the many other choices out there.

Steve

 

[TNGTony]

Translation"

Blah, blah, blah it's not our fault, blah, blah, Dish cut us off because we weren't changing our demands and the extension we offered was only for two days due to a weather situation where we knew we would lose money if we were cut off, blah, blah, blah, we still want more money from you though we wont tell you that, blah blah blah...

See ya
Tony

 

[long_time_DNC]

I think the translation is more simple than that, Tony.

Blah, blah, blah, we want more money, blah, blah, blah, we're not getting the money we want, blah, blah, we're suing to get more money, blah, blah, blah...

 

[Stargazer]

We are greedy, blah blah blah, give me more more more, I want it NOW, gimme gimme gimme!!! The network stations aint the only greedy ones. Dish Network is greedy too with their nickel and diming. They are BOTH greedy companies!!! That is one of there reasons why it is not working out. Two greedy companies do not mix well together. Dish, being a greedy company, wants to pay less but charge more. Fisher, as a greedy company, wants to get more. What does it result in? Tada, its what you see today.

 

[TNGTony]

Dish hasn't raised their price on local channels since January 2002. It went from $4.99 to $5.99 at that time and hasn't budged since.

Stations demanding 60¢ a subscriber will make that price go up soon enough.

See ya
Tony

 

[long_time_DNC]

And rate hikes in a bad economy is simply stupid also...

 

[Greg Bimson]

And rate hikes in a bad economy is simply stupid also...

Yet both Dish Network and DirecTV are raising their rates over coming few months...