Have you ever been so disgusted with pay tv?

[MikeD-C05]

I agree on the restructuring the packages for lower prices. IF not the current model will price most people out of the game. I will be paying $59.99 a month in January for just top 120 without the rsn. That is the lowest Top programming pack I can go down to and stay with the bare minimum of channels I watch. If I didn't have the hopper /super joey/joey system my fees would also be much lower. That is why I have bitched so much about DISH fees since 2010. These fees are something DISH creates and charges because they can . So they can also lower them or restructure them, to have much less impact on customer bills than they do today. Yes I realize that some here think that they fees are there to deflate some of the costs that DISH has on their end, but I don't feel that they do. I have always thought they are full revenue enhancers for DISH's bottom line. One of the reasons I feel this way ,is that DISH can lose subs just about every quarter for years and yet their profits continue to rise -give a write off for unexpected losses here and there. So while we restructure the programming packs , lets not forget the ever increasing DISH fees that could use a cut as well. That would also go along way to keeping current subs from cutting the cord as well.

 

[harshness]

I blame the content owners as in the media companies that are the channels who charge the MVPD's along with Hollywood's never ending greed.

My beef is that the content providers aren't providing us with much in the way of new and compelling content. Even the alternative carriers like Netflix and Amazon Instant are having troubles delivering interesting content without manufacturing their own.

It starts with Hollywood to be sure as they haven't had a very good track record of late at delivering movies that live up to the trailers.

Not even the direct-to-video stuff is making it to the subscription TV channels it seems so they're protecting their PPV business to the detriment of the carriers.

I'm generally not looking for news or sports or weather -- I just want some relief from the grind and it should have to come from watching movies over and over again.

 

[Scherrman]

I agree on the restructuring the packages for lower prices. IF not the current model will price most people out of the game. I will be paying $59.99 a month in January for just top 120 without the rsn. That is the lowest Top programming pack I can go down to and stay with the bare minimum of channels I watch. If I didn't have the hopper /super joey/joey system my fees would also be much lower. That is why I have bitched so much about DISH fees since 2010. These fees are something DISH creates and charges because they can . So they can also lower them or restructure them, to have much less impact on customer bills than they do today. Yes I realize that some here think that they fees are there to deflate some of the costs that DISH has on their end, but I don't feel that they do. I have always thought they are full revenue enhancers for DISH's bottom line. One of the reasons I feel this way ,is that DISH can lose subs just about every quarter for years and yet their profits continue to rise -give a write off for unexpected losses here and there. So while we restructure the programming packs , lets not forget the ever increasing DISH fees that could use a cut as well. That would also go along way to keeping current subs from cutting the cord as well.

Are Dish's overall subscriber numbers going down every year? I thought they usually stay right around 14 million which is just staying even. I really think you are quite delusional if you think Dish just keeps increasing programming fess and equipment fees for no reason other than to increase their profit. Do you truly believe that Dish hasn't had increased expenses year after year? With your philosophy Dish will be making an extra $5-$7 of pure profit per customer with this upcoming increase.

Dish has their price structure the way it is in order to make the profit they need right now. Making a more competitive package could help keep customers but also lowering the equipment fees could be a risk. My hopes would be that Dish would have a more affordable priced package with some popular channels in it and if they could have some lower priced equipment fees maybe they could pick up enough new customers to outweigh the loss of money from their current fees. If Dish was able to pick up an extra million customers then maybe that would be worth making less on equipment fees. It may be too risky of a strategy for Dish though.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Are Dish's overall subscriber numbers going down every year? I thought they usually stay right around 4 million which is just staying even. I really think you are quite delusional if you think Dish just keeps increasing programming fess and equipment fees for no reason other than to increase their profit. Do you truly believe that Dish hasn't had increased expenses year after year? With your philosophy Dish will be making an extra $5-$7 of pure profit per customer with this upcoming increase.

Dish has their price structure the way it is in order to make the profit they need right now. Making a more competitive package could help keep customers but also lowering the equipment fees could be a risk. My hopes would be that Dish would have a more affordable priced package with some popular channels in it and if they could have some lower priced equipment fees maybe they could pick up enough new customers to outweigh the loss of money from their current fees. If Dish was able to pick up an extra million customers then maybe that would be worth making less on equipment fees. It may be too risky of a strategy for Dish though.

Ok ,Sherman. I forgot you are squarely in DISH's corner, NO MATTER WHAT. Keep shaking the pom poms and I will move you back on ignore.

 

[Scherrman]

Ok ,Sherman. I forgot you are squarely in DISH's corner, NO MATTER WHAT. Keep shaking the pom poms and I will move you back on ignore.

Not shaking Pom Poms. In fact I feel this way in defense for all businesses including DirecTV and cable companies. Maybe it's more accurate to call me a business pom pom waver. Stop thinking about things from one side only. Remember there are multiple sides to this; the customer, Dish and the networks. If you wish to ignore common sense and someone with some actual experience as a Dish customer, Dish retailer and business owner then go ahead. Ignorance is bliss as they say.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Not shaking Pom Poms. In fact I feel this way in defense for all businesses including DirecTV and cable companies. Maybe it's more accurate to call me a business pom pom waver. Stop thinking about things from one side only. Remember there are multiple sides to this; the customer, Dish and the networks. If you wish to ignore common sense and someone with some actual experience as a Dish customer, Dish retailer and business owner then go ahead. Ignorance is bliss as they say.

 

[Yespage]

This is taking Scherrman out of context.

Who paid over $100 million a game for the rights to MNF? Was that Dish?

Did Dish paying 20 times for the EPL rights over the last bid by Fox? Who is overspending for NBA rights, Dish or Disney/Turner? Which company rebranded channels and then asks for triple the price, despite them diluting their product and having less programming, Dish or Fox? These companies are upmarking the price of entertainment and then sending us the bill, not Dish.

Just how long can a 2 hour movie be shown (3 to 4 hours these days on some channels)? Is it Dish who is breaking up the movies into short attention span bites or Disney or AMC or NBCUniversal, and yet demand higher rates... to show more commercials?

The product is being diluted by the Channel owners and then they ask for higher rates. This is established fact. Dish is in this to make money, so they charge a markup and for equipment (some of the best equipment in the business), but the increases in price are the Channel owners who want to charge us more to watch a 4 hour presentation of Casino Royale. This isn't waving pom poms. This is accepting established facts.

Disney can not afford to pay $100 million per MNF without jacking up the price of their channels, which means we have to pay for their ridiculous bids. Dish doesn't get much of that at all. It goes straight back to Disney.

 

[satjay]

I think this is where one day, not sure when, the current pay setup implodes unless there is some kind of change

 

[ChadT41]

I agree on the restructuring the packages for lower prices. IF not the current model will price most people out of the game. I will be paying $59.99 a month in January for just top 120 without the rsn. That is the lowest Top programming pack I can go down to and stay with the bare minimum of channels I watch. If I didn't have the hopper /super joey/joey system my fees would also be much lower. That is why I have bitched so much about DISH fees since 2010. These fees are something DISH creates and charges because they can . So they can also lower them or restructure them, to have much less impact on customer bills than they do today. Yes I realize that some here think that they fees are there to deflate some of the costs that DISH has on their end, but I don't feel that they do. I have always thought they are full revenue enhancers for DISH's bottom line. One of the reasons I feel this way ,is that DISH can lose subs just about every quarter for years and yet their profits continue to rise -give a write off for unexpected losses here and there. So while we restructure the programming packs , lets not forget the ever increasing DISH fees that could use a cut as well. That would also go along way to keeping current subs from cutting the cord as well.

If you had just a 211 you wouldn't have any equipment fees. Your high increase, is by your choice.

 

[Scherrman]

I'm not trying to defend any company. I'm just trying to have an educated discussion on how the whole industry works and why each company charges what it does. It bothers me when people think a company is raising prices just because they can and that it's all profit. To me that is a person who just has their own interpretation of how things work and is not open to any other options. Lets try and have a discussion in which we look at things from all sides and try to understand why prices are getting high instead of just calling everyone greedy and I'm the poor person getting screwed.

 

[harshness]

I think this is where one day, not sure when, the current pay setup implodes unless there is some kind of change

If it implodes, it will be because subscribers have come to recognize that the programmers have utterly failed to deliver. The carriers (regardless of the transmission medium) are at the mercy of the programmers.

 

[harshness]

I thought they usually stay right around 4 million which is just staying even.

DISH's numbers have been hovering around 14 million for about five years.

 

[Scherrman]

DISH's numbers have been hovering around 14 million for about five years.

That's what I thought, just forgot the one. So to say Dish keeps losing it's subs but keeps making more money is not accurate when Dish has pretty much remained even with it's subscriber count.

 

[richyrich]

Well then, what i like about dish network systems is the equipment's ability to provide. However, they are up against a glass ceiling and continue to be energized way too much every month. I have more channels for free than they have provided today. I have every channel they do not have; and all local channels they do not have, and no longer pay for hdtv or recording or using my droid/ipad/iphone tv system either; and i can use their dishes; and "sub-divisionals" to receive over 200 satellite fta channels (don't pay for free tv channels they charge for); and the equipment works great; just like directv's! How bout that? Have another 50 swig on pay for your equipment tv; it is.
.
The equipment is owned by a homeowner/business owner. My cloud.internet.satellite.hdtv is free hdtv.
Dish Network Systems will be providing "wireless bandwidth" highest quality "sync" and pay tv via every Technology.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well then, what i like about dish network systems is the equipment's ability to provide. However, they are up against a glass ceiling and continue to be energized way too much every month. I have more channels for free than they have provided today. I have every channel they do not have; and all local channels they do not have, and no longer pay for hdtv or recording or using my droid/ipad/iphone tv system either; and i can use their dishes; and "sub-divisionals" to receive over 200 satellite fta channels (don't pay for free tv channels they charge for); and the equipment works great; just like directv's! How bout that? Have another 50 swig on pay for your equipment tv; it is.
.
The equipment is owned by a homeowner/business owner. My cloud.internet.satellite.hdtv is free hdtv.
Dish Network Systems will be providing "wireless bandwidth" highest quality "sync" and pay tv via every Technology.

I'm curious what satellite you're looking at that you can use a "mini" dish and their LNBs (don't they use circular polarity vs. the normal H/V?) to see 200 fta channels.

 

[primestar31]

I'm curious what satellite you're looking at that you can use a "mini" dish and their LNBs (don't they use circular polarity vs. the normal H/V?) to see 200 fta channels.

There is well more than 300+ FREE FTA channels on various sats, that can be watched with a 39 inch dish and a ku lnb. 97W alone has over 200 channels...

 

[bobvick]

There is well more than 300+ FREE FTA channels on various sats, that can be watched with a 39 inch dish and a ku lnb. 97W alone has over 200 channels...

How many of them are HD, English, not religious, non educational, or not "retro" sub channel networks? Just being realistic, FTA does not have programming that appeals to anyone other than a niche audience.

 

[primestar31]

How many of them are HD, English, not religious, non educational, or not "retro" sub channel networks? Just being realistic, FTA does not have programming that appeals to anyone other than a niche audience.

That isn't part of what sam_gordon asked. The FACT'S are that there are hundreds of totally FREE channels "up there" across the arc for the watching, and plenty for anybody to watch, if they so choose to get the equipment to do so. MANY of them are standard (in English) network channels.

 

[bobvick]

That isn't part of what sam_gordon asked. The FACT'S are that there are hundreds of totally FREE channels "up there" across the arc for the watching, and plenty for anybody to watch, if they so choose to get the equipment to do so. MANY of them are standard (in English) network channels.

I agree with you there are hundreds of free channels up there. But let's not leave out one important fact the vast majority of the people that frequent the Dish and DirecTV forums are not going to want to watch the type of programming that is on 97w. Don't try to make FTA sound like it is a replacement for the programming that your average cable or DBS customer wants, because it is not. Also where are these MANY network feeds on Ku band? I know NBC has feeds on 103w and 72w, but where are the rest and many? I know that you can get ABC and CBS on C-Band, however, by the same token, the vast majority of folks can get the same network programming with an OTA antenna as well.

 

[sam_gordon]

That isn't part of what sam_gordon asked. The FACT'S are that there are hundreds of totally FREE channels "up there" across the arc for the watching, and plenty for anybody to watch, if they so choose to get the equipment to do so. MANY of them are standard (in English) network channels.

You're right. There are HUNDREDS of channels on many satellites. But when you start looking at other satellites, now you have to have a rotateable Dish. I looked at Galaxy 19 (97 degrees) and there's not one channel I'd be interested in watching.
Here's the list if anyone else wants to look: http://www.lyngsat.com/Galaxy-19.html

I know there's one satellite that has a lot of independent stations available, but I don't remember what it is. You can also get some sports backhauls (from the arena/stadium back to network HQ) FTA, but the larger networks are doing more to encrypt the games.