Lifetime Launches 'Drop DISH' Campaign

[korsjs]

Women's net Lifetime has launched a five-city ad blitz to try and get DISH Network subscribers to switch to DirecTV, and is getting help from DBS, cable, telco and even broadcast partners.

Locked in a bitter carriage dispute with the network, DISH parent EchoStar on Dec. 30 dropped Lifetime and its movie network from DISH's 12-million-sub DBS operation.

The Lifetime campaign asking viewers to "Take Back Your Lifetime" and "Switch From DISH," includes TV, radio and print ads in Houston, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Albuquerque, N.M., and Greenville, S.C., all markets where DirecTV or some other multichannel video provider in competition with DISH has agreed to team with it on the effort.

Lifetime says those partners include Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, Bright House, the broadcaster-backed multichannel DTV service USDTV, and Verizon's FiOS multichannel video service.

Lifetime also motorwomaned an "open letter" to DISH CEO Charlie Ergen from 50 women's groups, including the National Organization of Women and YWCA, asking it to restore the networks.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6298885.html?display=Breaking+News

 

[korsjs]

here we go again. i am with charlie on this. he needs to fight back.

 

[CPanther95]

If D* was still controlled by GM/Hughes - there's no way in hell they would join in this campaign - despite the obvious benefit to them. Now that News Corp/FOX are becoming a more significant content player, they want content providers to be able to dictate carriage.

 

[Chris Walker]

Lifetime is getting nervous, they thought Charlie would cave in after a day or two but now they see he is serious so they are resorting to name-calling and these "Dump Dish" ads. Apparently Lifetime thought their reruns of "The Nanny" and "Designing Women" are more important to people than they actually are. Hang in there Charlie, I support you on this one.

 

[Van]

Hmmmm, how effective is it to run such a commercial on your own channel that isnt being viewed on the provider in question? I havent seen it on any other channel as of yet.

 

[BFG]

ROTFLMAO!!!!

So here I am watching the local news and then a commercial comes on talking about all this programming on lifetime and ifetime movies. But then they say "but if you're on of the 12 million dish network subscribers, you wont see it" I started cracking up. The commercial ended by telling you to call directv or the local cable company

 

[CPanther95]

Wouldn't those advertising dollars be better put to use if donated to one of the many women's charities?

 

[jerryez]

If it were ESPN would you guys be so supportive of Charlie's position?

 

[NightRyder]

If it were ESPN would you guys be so supportive of Charlie's position?

Wouldn't bother me a bit. The only thing I ever watch on ESPN is Sunday night football. I get my sports news via the Internet and local newspaper.


NightRyder

 

[Minsk1]

If it were ESPN would you guys be so supportive of Charlie's position?

Espn != (not equal) Lifetime

 

[Stargazer]

Of course the competition is going to support the campaign, it makes them look good and gives consumers a good reason to switch their customers over. If Lifetime and the competition thinks that they are going to switch a lot of the 12 million subscribers over then they should think twice. I dont think Lifetime is THAT important but I guess the sub numbers will reflect that. I have not had one single phone call about it but have had customers leaving to DirecTv for other reasons.

 

[mitchflorida]

Wouldn't those advertising dollars be better put to use if donated to one of the many women's charities?

They have been donating to the women's charities. That's how they bought their support in the first place.


This is getting ugly. Hell hath no fury like a woman's cable channel scorned!

 

[Tvfan24/7]

Now all Charlie needs to do is drop BET. Does anybody still watch that channel?

 

[RonMort046]

I hope the women kick his greedy ass.

 

[jeffwtux]

If it were ESPN would you guys be so supportive of Charlie's position?

Are you kidding me? Bashing ESPN is a far more popular pastime on this website than any of the sports they broadcast. ESPN is by far the worst violator of overpaying for sports programming and making cable/dbs sucribers pay for it even though the market doesn't demand it.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Now all Charlie needs to do is drop BET. Does anybody still watch that channel?

BET actually use to be good I actually use to watch BET a lot, now it is all crap.

 

[chaddux]

here we go again. i am with charlie on this. he needs to fight back.

I agree with you, korsjs. I definitely think Lifetime has shown they are hiding something by refusing to release the contract details (as Echostar has agreed to do). They have no reason NOT to release the information if they have nothing to hide. DISH should uplink Oxygen on channel 108 in Lifetime's place and just move on without Lifetime.

 

[kluken]

Wouldn't those advertising dollars be better put to use if donated to one of the many women's charities?

Or maybe stop wasting the AD $$ and lower their rate and they woue be back on DISH. Seems silly, they loos the revenue of 12 millions subscribers over a few cents per subscriber. I don't now the exact #, but I'm sure Charlie is using the 76% number as a small increase on a small number is a larger percentage. They are both wasting our time, but I will give Charlie (hate to do it since his HD plans suck) the benefit on this one, dump Lifetime and encourgae the subscribers to write Lifetime. The shoudl broadcast the e-mail addy for Liftiem and tell people to e-mail LT and tell them to stop holding them hostage. Funnay as I don;t watch their channels I just hate strong arm tactics.

 

[mitchflorida]

He added, "The DBS industry, when we were new, paid a DBS premium … But now that the second- and third-largest MSOs in the country are DBS guys, it's our opinion -- compared to the DBS premium -- we should get the same rate as cable."
To get back on Dish's lineup, Lifetime will be in the "new-entrant" category and have to compete with any other network that wants to be carried on the DBS service, Ergen said, asking, "Why would we put something back up again when we've lost the customers who watch it?"
A Lifetime spokesman said the network has received e-mails from several-thousand viewers expressing disappointment and anger over the networks' absence on Dish.
Citing data from Beta Research Corp.'s 2005 satellite-subscriber study, officials at Lifetime said it ranked first among all female satellite subscribers among full-sized networks (70 million or more homes), while LMN was tops among female satellite subscribers among midsized networks (40 million-70 million homes).


It sounds like Lifetime charges Dish a higher rate than it charges cable??

 

[SatinKzo]

This is just pathetic. Man, I really hope lifetime never comes back on dish.