HD Free For Life (reg $10)

[Teehar]

Is there a cheaper option than Dish?
(In some cases yes,there are some areas that DTV is now the same price as Dish,plus they offer NFL ST,MLB EI,wwe ppv's,Disney/ESPN all in HD.That to me constitutes more value.)
As in the rate of increase. Almost every provider is fighting every new contract with the Networks.
(Yet Dish has raised rates higher than DTV the last 2 years.)
BS. Absolute marketing BS.
(If it's bs,they need to stop it.)
Steep increases where? If the increases with the Dish bill bother you this much, you must be losing it over the health care premiums.
(Lets see where to begin.Last year core packages went up $5 to $15,this year,$5.That doesn't count added cost for multisport,premiums,equipment,and dvr fees.Oh I almost forgot the protection fee also went up.You don't call any of that steep?)
That would be a network issue, not a Dish issue. Though, it could be noted that new channels do exist. Access to On Demand stuff has increased as well, like HBO Go.
(Seriously?Again I say...Dish we constantly fight to keep your bills lower.Tell me where there is any added on demand content over the last 2 years?)
You are whining about Dish, when the biggest offender are the Networks. Fox asking for more even when they lost programming on their sports channels and want more money for more channels despite that meaning they are diluting their programing quality. Or Disney asking for more because they over bid for college football and MNF. That isn't Ergen's doing.
(Whining?No I'm simply tired of all the bs.Dish dropping wwe ppvs is entirely Ergen's doing.Simply out of spite.Also we already have paid the increases,so where is all the Disney/Espn channels in HD?If your fine with it then great,keep shelling out more and more money.)

 

[Yespage]

Is there a cheaper option than Dish?
(In some cases yes,there are some areas that DTV is now the same price as Dish,plus they offer NFL ST,MLB EI,wwe ppv's,Disney/ESPN all in HD.That to me constitutes more value.)

So, as I've noted, only Directv offers competitive pricing, out of all the competition. This would imply something different than is being claimed by some here.

As in the rate of increase. Almost every provider is fighting every new contract with the Networks.
(Yet Dish has raised rates higher than DTV the last 2 years.)

Contract renewals happen at different times for each provider.

BS. Absolute marketing BS.
(If it's bs,they need to stop it.)

I'd prefer Dish give up on trying to make funny commercials.

Steep increases where? If the increases with the Dish bill bother you this much, you must be losing it over the health care premiums.
(Lets see where to begin.Last year core packages went up $5 to $15,this year,$5.That doesn't count added cost for multisport,premiums,equipment,and dvr fees.Oh I almost forgot the protection fee also went up.You don't call any of that steep?)

No. No I don't.

That would be a network issue, not a Dish issue. Though, it could be noted that new channels do exist. Access to On Demand stuff has increased as well, like HBO Go.
(Seriously?Again I say...Dish we constantly fight to keep your bills lower.Tell me where there is any added on demand content over the last 2 years?)

The Olympics and HBO Go (I think that was within the last two years).

You are whining about Dish, when the biggest offender are the Networks. Fox asking for more even when they lost programming on their sports channels and want more money for more channels despite that meaning they are diluting their programing quality. Or Disney asking for more because they over bid for college football and MNF. That isn't Ergen's doing.
(Whining?No I'm simply tired of all the bs.Dish dropping wwe ppvs is entirely Ergen's doing.Simply out of spite.Also we already have paid the increases,so where is all the Disney/Espn channels in HD?If your fine with it then great,keep shelling out more and more money.)

That is a false dichotomy. The world isn't black and white. Just because I'm not angry at Dish because Disney is paying $100 million per MNF game, doesn't mean that I think Dish walks on water.

You are angry that the heating bill is too high and as a result, are glaring at the refrigerator for being the cause.

 

[Centex]

I'd prefer Dish give up on trying to make funny commercials.

I disagree with you on this. The result of Dish's marketing is that a vast number of people know that there is this thing called the Hoppah. They may not know exactly what it is or what it does, but they are aware that it exists, and awareness is huge in Marketing. Awareness leads to information seeking, information seeking to action. A few years ago, Dodge came out with a new truck and "That thang got a Hemi?" Very few people know what a Hemi is, but they were aware of it because of those ads.

If dish had come out with "Get the 72rzx4* Satellite receiver" do you think it would have had the same impact? Amongst enthusiasts maybe, because we read about specs and understand what the 72rzx4 is capable of. Amongst the masses that make up the vast majority of pay TV subscribers? 72rzx4 is just alphabet soup.

*A made up string of characters. Certain products, especially consumer electronics tend to market their products as a string of characters.

 

[Teehar]

So, as I've noted, only Directv offers competitive pricing, out of all the competition. This would imply something different than is being claimed by some here.
Contract renewals happen at different times for each provider.
I'd prefer Dish give up on trying to make funny commercials.
No. No I don't.
The Olympics and HBO Go (I think that was within the last two years).
That is a false dichotomy. The world isn't black and white. Just because I'm not angry at Dish because Disney is paying $100 million per MNF game, doesn't mean that I think Dish walks on water.

You are angry that the heating bill is too high and as a result, are glaring at the refrigerator for being the cause.

No point in arguing with you,debating is certainly out of the question.We'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[Scherrman]

I disagree with you on this. The result of Dish's marketing is that a vast number of people know that there is this thing called the Hoppah. They may not know exactly what it is or what it does, but they are aware that it exists, and awareness is huge in Marketing. Awareness leads to information seeking, information seeking to action. A few years ago, Dodge came out with a new truck and "That thang got a Hemi?" Very few people know what a Hemi is, but they were aware of it because of those ads.

If dish had come out with "Get the 72rzx4* Satellite receiver" do you think it would have had the same impact? Amongst enthusiasts maybe, because we read about specs and understand what the 72rzx4 is capable of. Amongst the masses that make up the vast majority of pay TV subscribers? 72rzx4 is just alphabet soup.

*A made up string of characters. Certain products, especially consumer electronics tend to market their products as a string of characters.

You're absolutely right. Companies don't care if you like their commercial. All they care about is if you remember it. I myself have enjoyed the commercials. I think my favorite commercials were the ones with the astronauts when Dish first announced Free HD.

Dish changing their branding was a great idea. For good or bad people remember those commercials and they remember the Hopper. I'll have customers come in looking for appliances and then randomly ask me what this Hopper thing is all about.

If you hate their commercials and you tell other people about it, then Dish did a great job because you are spreading the word about their product.

 

[Yespage]

No point in arguing with you,debating is certainly out of the question.We'll just have to agree to disagree.

*waves pom poms*

 

[Teehar]

*waves pom poms*

*waves something else*

 

[Tampa8]

 

[mike123abc]

You are like me in that regard.

But ultimately you have money in your hand and its up to you to decide where that money goes.

I have the money to spend (thankfully), but still it annoys me to spend so much money on TV. There needs to be a compromise between spending Apple TV prices and cable TV prices.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Call it a fallacy if you want.



To hear Charlie tell it,it's all the content providers fault,which I mostly agree with.What I don't agree with is Dish dropping channels,events,moving channels to the 9000 block,for nothing more than vindictiveness,followed by the we fight to keep your bills lower,only to have 2 consecutive years of huge increases.Somehow I don't have the feeling that Charlie isn't at fault as well.You can't talk out of both sides of your mouth.I've been a big supporter of Dish and Charlie for many years,but it's getting harder continue being a big supporter.

This is what I been saying. Thanks for agreeing. Charlie isn't trying to grow the company anymore. He is trying to make all the profits he can so he can use that money to get into wireless cell phone service. THe FEES that he charges are what he uses to get the money he has for all these buy ups of spectrum and such. Besides it would be very easy to put your profits from DISH and pay your other company Echostar and show only profits of $5.00 a sub as his reports indicate. The same thing was done at Safeway where I worked for 12 years. The stores showed the inventory loses and the Warehouses had nothing but overages. So they could show loses so they could evade a lot of taxes. Also bonuses were tied to the stores showing profits , which they barely ever did ,due to the way we did inventory and did mark up and mark downs on our inventory.

As far as DISH price increases , the programming hikes I Feel are not DISH's fault due to forced bundling. The FEES that DISH makes up and charges ,because they CAN , is their fault. They can cut them out at will and lower them for promotions and they are almost as high as some of the lowest programming packs a month , if you have the hopper/ joey system. Now HD has been free for life for like 3 or 4 years ? Suddenly it is no longer the norm , it is once again a premium and has to be charged the $10.00 FEE again? THis is greed and is completely in their control to dole out and on who they want to dole it out on. IN this case , new subs who are done with their 24 month commitment. What a wonderful way to reward your newer subs , but a wonderful $10.00 increase for nothing more than staying around as a sub. This encourages churn , which seems to be what all these fees are about, because continuing to FEE your existing subs with more and more increases as they go on , do nothing for your long standing goal to "Grow" your sub base.

 

[MikeD-C05]

So you think something that is better shouldn't cost more (it is my understanding that the Hopper is quite unto its own company)? Should we up the price on the Smart Pack so that Top 250 is less expensive?
Careful everyone. He's packing an associate's degree in Business, so he must know his stuff. To be fair, I'd have similar condemnation for someone bragging about a bachelor's degree in Business as well.
And if I'm not mistaken, Dish Network pom poms are designed and sold by Scherrman as well.
This would be a good point because you have an associates degree in Business and in conjunction with having subscribed to Dish for so long, we know your opinion must be based on ardent truth.

Over the last 17 years, Dish hasn't added a single channel, updated and released better equipment, not once offered a free preview for a single channel, given out offers for free upgrades (with contract extension), transitioned to HD, continue to expand a varying array of packages to match many different budgets, or expand into the new world to offer streaming content.

In the last 17 years, the only thing they have done is raise their rates and fees. And they killed Kenny too!

OH my, we have someone looking for a fight. Well sorry but your response is just to silly to respond to. And as such I will make that permanent. Welcome to IGNORE.

 

[dare2be]

Growth in the entire pay tv industry has been stagnant in recent years and for the foreseeable future, the writing has been on the wall and Charlie knows that. It would be suicide to try to keep squeezing blood out of that stone in the same manner, which is why Dish has been trying to branch out into other technologies (wireless, IP delivery, remote transfers, Hopper apps, etc). That costs money and is a necessary expense to continue to survive in a saturated market.

Just as programming pack levels are the choice of the customer, so are the level of fees. You can avoid the DVR fee, control how many outlet fees you pay, etc. If you want to pay less, you get less, in programming, tuners, and/or outlets. You want more, you pay more. The system is equitable, relatively speaking. Relative to other competitors, which have fees and programming packs in line or higher.

You keep railing about greed. DTV has 50% more subscribers yet their profits are 150% higher than Dish. The entire industry is near extinction yet somehow it's only Charlie's fault because he's doing nothing to "grow" his sub base?

 

[Yespage]

OH my, we have someone looking for a fight.

Actually, someone with perspective. You really should be more careful using an argument via authority when citing oneself.

 

[Scherrman]

This is what I been saying. Thanks for agreeing. Charlie isn't trying to grow the company anymore. He is trying to make all the profits he can so he can use that money to get into wireless cell phone service. THe FEES that he charges are what he uses to get the money he has for all these buy ups of spectrum and such. Besides it would be very easy to put your profits from DISH and pay your other company Echostar and show only profits of $5.00 a sub as his reports indicate. The same thing was done at Safeway where I worked for 12 years. The stores showed the inventory loses and the Warehouses had nothing but overages. So they could show loses so they could evade a lot of taxes. Also bonuses were tied to the stores showing profits , which they barely ever did ,due to the way we did inventory and did mark up and mark downs on our inventory.

As far as DISH price increases , the programming hikes I Feel are not DISH's fault due to forced bundling. The FEES that DISH makes up and charges ,because they CAN , is their fault. They can cut them out at will and lower them for promotions and they are almost as high as some of the lowest programming packs a month , if you have the hopper/ joey system. Now HD has been free for life for like 3 or 4 years ? Suddenly it is no longer the norm , it is once again a premium and has to be charged the $10.00 FEE again? THis is greed and is completely in their control to dole out and on who they want to dole it out on. IN this case , new subs who are done with their 24 month commitment. What a wonderful way to reward your newer subs , but a wonderful $10.00 increase for nothing more than staying around as a sub. This encourages churn , which seems to be what all these fees are about, because continuing to FEE your existing subs with more and more increases as they go on , do nothing for your long standing goal to "Grow" your sub base.

Who's to say that in two years Dish is going to charge anyone for HD? Promotions change every year and by the time customer's contracts run out Dish may be back to HD Free For Life. You you are currently getting HD free now I'm not sure why you are concerned about it since it is only affecting new subs.

I'm curious how you would run Dish. If you are not going to charge customers for extra receivers and a DVR fee how do you plan on billing them? Do you plan on just charging every customer $15 more for their current package regardless of what equipment they have? Please don't say you would have a la carte either since we know it can't be done currently unless the networks agree on it.

 

[Tampa8]

Charlie isn't trying to grow the company anymore. He is trying to make all the profits he can so he can use that money to get into wireless cell phone service. THe FEES that he charges are what he uses to get the money he has for all these buy ups of spectrum and such..........

While I don't see it as the fees are nothing more than over and above what DISH has to charge, as you usually do you sneak in something that for me has some truth to it. It is possible that Charlie (DISH) sees the future as wireless and online and we certainly have seen indications that want to go in that direction. So when you say they are are not trying to grow the company, that may not be entirely false. I will point out however the resources that went into the development of the Hopper, and continuing with the Super Joey seems to me to indicate they are not simply staying stagnate either.

 

[Scherrman]

"Charge because you can fees" seems to be a popular term on here. Are you saying this is just a Dish thing or are you saying that every provider that charges for HD, extra receivers and DVR is doing the same thing?

 

[Tampa8]

That is the question. You would have to make the argument all carriers are charging fees only because they can, rather than it being a business model where income is going to come from somewhere to operate and make a profit, the question is from where. If DISH was more expensive than other providers there might be some kind of case. But they are the opposite, and we have seen reinvestment of the profit into things like the Hopper system. So unless everyone is inflating their prices just because they can, I would have to side with the economic truism that prices in a competitive market tend to rise only to where the market will bear. If DISH could simply drop fees and other prices stay the same, and still stay in business and make a profit, seems they would and gain a ton more subscribers and income.

I do see a slight variation to my statement. When a very popular item comes out that no one else has, the price to obtain it can be higher than normally the market would bear. So is the Hopper higher in cost because of that? Apparently not because Direct TV charges a similar amount for it's comparable unit.

 

[king3pj]

"Charge because you can fees" seems to be a popular term on here. Are you saying this is just a Dish thing or are you saying that every provider that charges for HD, extra receivers and DVR is doing the same thing?

I'm sure most businesses have some fees that they don't absolutely have to charge. I'm not going to make a judgement on these specific fees. In general, I think saying something is ok because everyone does it is shaky ground though. Who cares if it's just Dish or if it's an industry standard. As a customer you don't have to be happy with every decision a company makes even if it's an industry norm. Whether, you can actually do something about it is a different story.

 

[Dah-Henny]

HDFFL is THE glue that keeps me attached to Dish. If Dish took it away, my local Telco's fiber service would suddenly be competitive. It would be smart business for Dish to keep free hd, and not just for a promo period. My Telco keeps sending me promos offering free hd for 3 months...um, no thanks!

 

[foghorn2]

No it isn't but GREED sure is!

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Dish Network, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.