Is Dish the only one getting tough with programmers.

[Laddyboy]

EXACTLY!! And if it goes through everyone would see their bills double within a year. Once one company gets paid twice for its hd/sd channels ,then all of them will want it too. It is a dangerous precedent that should never be allowed to happen. I would rather DISH continue to drop the hd feeds if the other option is to hike my bill over it... AGAIN!

It wouldn't be so bad if E* has to pay for both the HD and SD feeds to just drop the SD feed from HD packages and let the receivers downrez for SDTVs. That way Disney would only get paid once per sub. It wouldn't surprise me if Disney is requiring SD feeds to be provided with the HD feed so they can get paid twice though.

 

[chicagonettech]

If prople would stop crying about missing their favorite show, and threating to switch providers everytime one of these providers got tough with the programmers and start taking down channels, cable rates would go down for everyone.

It just makes me sick evertime a provider looses a channel, people get all up in arms about it and the local news has to run a story about it and ends up showing some idiot flipping through the channels on their TV to show everyone how they are missing channels.

The rates are too high as it is, the only way we are going to see relief from the price increases is with Alacarte, and when the programmers see that nobody gives a crap about their channel, and realize people where only buying it because it was shoved into a package with other more important channels, then we will see some price decreases!

WELL STATED!
Thank you, Claude. :

 

[dishcomm]

Please research Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and you will see that he make Charlie look like a pussycat (especially his infamous dealings with the NFL Network that lasted years, and it was nasty and mean, as in Brian Roberts' attitude, far more hostile than Ergan any day. Charlie just gets pissed, then moves on). Charlie was probably the first to sound the alarm about the providers outrageous programming costs, and among the first to be willing to lose channels over it, but since, just about every cable co and DirecTV and now FiOS and Uverse have all had similar and nasty negotiations with programmers and have sacrificed channels (did we forget the last Time Warner vs. Disney mega-mess some 4 years ago?). The perspective is warped because this forum is about sat and Dish, so many think Charlie is unusual or the worst regarding negotiations and losing channels. He is neither.

Charlie is not alone, nor is he even the worst at it. Brian Roberts easily leads the pack, and now he wants NBC universal. Heaven help us all.

If COmcast buys NBCU, I am not concerned about rates flying upward. My concern is Comcast preventing sat providers from getting Comcast owned services.
Comcast has always been aggressive in keeping stuff they own off satellite.
I view any merger of Comcast and NBCU to be anti-consumer.

 

[sundrop]

It will take some Politician who watches NBCU or other variant with a dish before it becomes political and the FTC/FCC gets involved

 

[TalonDancer]

The package that programming goes into is part of the negotiations. Its' the programmers that want their programing in the basic packages that have the most viewers (so they can charge more for advertising). It is not up to Dish.

So you are saying Dish is completely helpless -- the programmers made them do it ? Get real. Dish negotiated and signed any contracts. If Dish didn't think it was in their best interest, they should have walked away from the negotiating table.

In case anyone here doesn't understand how the free enterprise system actually works -- it takes the guts to say NO and walk away*. Unfortunately Dish and many of their customers would rather whinge and whine about the big bad programmers, roll over and pay up. Pretty soon being helpless gets to be a habit

Talon Dancer

* as for "getting tough with programmers"... Charlie's big wins are like 'forcing' a mugger who just beat you up and took your Rolex, wedding ring and wallet, to have pity and give you cab fare to the hospital.

 

[TNGTony]

Free enterprise only works where there are no monopolies allowed. Programmers have defacto monopolies on unique items which they hold hostage in exchange for the forced purchase of other unwanted products. What is happening now with programmers is exactly the reason why media had ownership caps and restrictions until the 1980s.

 

[Ghpr13]

Free enterprise only works where there are no monopolies allowed. Programmers have defacto monopolies on unique items which they hold hostage in exchange for the forced purchase of other unwanted products. What is happening now with programmers is exactly the reason why media had ownership caps and restrictions until the 1980s.

Didn't Shakespeare say, "Kill all the programmers!" ?

Ghpr13
This is a joke and only a joke. No programmers have been or will be harmed. Thank you.

 

[Greg Bimson]

Free enterprise only works where there are no monopolies allowed. Programmers have defacto monopolies on unique items which they hold hostage in exchange for the forced purchase of other unwanted products.

"...defacto monopolies on unique items..."

That's not a monopoly. That's an exclusive. Just because "Dancing with the Stars" is on ABC doesn't make it a monopoly. Every other network is free to start their own show.