"Locals only" possible, where no OTA reception?

[Seamonsters]

Hi. Where I live, the terrain substantially blocks all analog and digital over-the-air signals. Here’s my Rabbit Ears signal report: RabbitEars.Info

I recall that at least sometime within the past two decades, if a residential subscriber did not have adequate reception of local channels, then a satellite provider was required to provide those channels (at a price). With all the regulatory and technological changes in the past two decades, might that still be true?

If that law still exists, then could it be that, with my poor OTA reception, Dish Network would be legally obligated to provide me only the local channels at the basic rate, without my having to subscribe to one of their increasingly expensive package of channels (that I’ll never watch)?

Then, if I could subscribe to just the local channels, I'd happily add the optional news and sports packages. All in, that would get me the few dozen channels that I might actually watch, at a fraction of the price of a basic subscription plus those add-ons.

Any thoughts, tips, or links?

— K

 

[sktrus]

There was a guy here who is no longer permitted to use the site. I won't mention his forum name. He was able to cancel his package and use only locals. His monthly fee was very minimal. He owned his equipment though. You should call and demand that you talk to US based higher level person.

I don't see why that request will not be accepted if you are willing to add news and/or sports package(s).

 

[Seamonsters]

There was a guy here who is no longer permitted to use the site. I won't mention his forum name. He was able to cancel his package and use only locals. His monthly fee was very minimal. He owned his equipment though. You should call and demand that you talk to US based higher level person.

I don't see why that request will not be accepted if you are willing to add news and/or sports package(s).

Thanks for the encouragement.

A side issue: I owned my own Dish gear from ~2000 to ~2015, when it failed. Dish Network then insisted that I must replace it with their monthly-fee gear. Was that BS — could I have bought a new receiver and avoided spending $7 x 12mos x 7 yrs = ~$600 by now?

 

[the mack]

You still have to pay receiver fees even if you own them.
There are no fees for the first receiver, but there is for additional receivers

 

[Seamonsters]

You still have to pay receiver fees even if you own them.
There are no fees for the first receiver, but there is for additional receivers

Whoa, that's gonna be news to someone at Dish. I have only one receiver, and they've been charging me on it for the past 7 years!

 

[ekubahn]

There are no locals only packages at this point, Dish is not required to offer only that option. It is unfortunate that they do currently have a package for just those.

As far as the equipment, there are some grandfathered accounts that got first Non-DVR receiver free, however accounts from 2017 and newer have that fee. And those fees are tied to the IP rights TIVO has on DVR equipment for all tv providers.

 

[Seamonsters]

There are no locals only packages at this point, Dish is not required to offer only that option. It is unfortunate that they do currently have a package for just those.

As far as the equipment, there are some grandfathered accounts that got first Non-DVR receiver free, however accounts from 2017 and newer have that fee. And those fees are tied to the IP rights TIVO has on DVR equipment for all tv providers.

Elsewhere I've read of a stripped down "Welcome Package," which one has to ask for. Does that still exist, and what does it consist of?

WRT grandfathering, my account with Dish dates to the year 2000 or or before, with a receiver and dish that I had to buy myself at an AV store. In 2015 my equipment failed. Dish told me my only choice was to replace it with their equipment with the monthly fee. I've had only one receiver ever at a time. So it still sounds like they've been overbilling me $7/mo for the past 7 years.

 

[ethanlerma]

WRT grandfathering, my account with Dish dates to the year 2000 or or before, with a receiver and dish that I had to buy myself at an AV store. In 2015 my equipment failed. Dish told me my only choice was to replace it with their equipment with the monthly fee. I've had only one receiver ever at a time. So it still sounds like they've been overbilling me $7/mo for the past 7 years.

What model of receiver? If it is a DVR of any sort, then that would make sense since the first receiver waived thing doesn't apply to those. Otherwise you might be right on being billed incorrectly. I have not seen anyone try this, but If you can get a Wally to replace your current receiver you may be able to get the first receiver discount since your account existed when it was free, and the Wally can be DVR-enabled at a later date for a one time $40 fee and a external hard drive if you really need that functionality.

 

[Seamonsters]

What model of receiver? If it is a DVR of any sort, then that would make sense since the first receiver waived thing doesn't apply to those. Otherwise you might be right on being billed incorrectly. I have not seen anyone try this, but If you can get a Wally to replace your current receiver you may be able to get the first receiver discount since your account existed when it was free, and the Wally can be DVR-enabled at a later date for a one time $40 fee and a external hard drive if you really need that functionality.

I don't know what a "Wally" is. Neither my first, owned, receiver from before year 2000, nor the replacement from DISH in 2015 has DVR functionality – just a basic receiver. (I've only ever had "live" satellite signal, nothing stored.)

I didn't reply directly to ekubahn's comment above, but I would think that a monthly fee tied to licensing TIVO's IP would be inappropriate for a receiver that does not store programming.

 

[mwdxer1]

There was a guy here who is no longer permitted to use the site. I won't mention his forum name. He was able to cancel his package and use only locals. His monthly fee was very minimal. He owned his equipment though. You should call and demand that you talk to US based higher level person.

I don't see why that request will not be accepted if you are willing to add news and/or sports package(s).

Many stations are listed as "poor", so it looks like a high antenna should work.

 

[Seamonsters]

Many stations are listed as "poor", so it looks like a high antenna should work.

Thanks for that thought, but we've tried several high-gain antennae over the years, all with zero picture. Cearly the RabbitEars report doesn't capture the specific terrain here.

 

[HipKat]

Elsewhere I've read of a stripped down "Welcome Package," which one has to ask for. Does that still exist, and what does it consist of?

WRT grandfathering, my account with Dish dates to the year 2000 or or before, with a receiver and dish that I had to buy myself at an AV store. In 2015 my equipment failed. Dish told me my only choice was to replace it with their equipment with the monthly fee. I've had only one receiver ever at a time. So it still sounds like they've been overbilling me $7/mo for the past 7 years.

I see customers who have Welcome Package, as recently as Friday.

 

[HipKat]

I don't know what a "Wally" is. Neither my first, owned, receiver from before year 2000, nor the replacement from DISH in 2015 has DVR functionality – just a basic receiver. (I've only ever had "live" satellite signal, nothing stored.)

I didn't reply directly to ekubahn's comment above, but I would think that a monthly fee tied to licensing TIVO's IP would be inappropriate for a receiver that does not store programming.

A Wally is the current receiver model offered that only gets live TV, no recording, however, you can buy an EHD, pay a one time $40.00 and use the EHD to record on, making it a receiver that stores programming, which doesn't sound like a feature you're seeking.

The Wally is the way to go.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwFJIfl9Q_8

 

[TheKrell]

The Wally is the way to go.

Doesn't the Wally also come with a 1st receiver fee?

 

[HipKat]

Doesn't the Wally also come with a 1st receiver fee?

It should. I didn't follow that "first one free" stuff earlier since I've never seen that on any customer's bill.

 

[Jim5506]

I had not heard that there was a receiver fee for the first receiver, I was under the impression that the receiver fee for the first reciever is part of the subscription to your service.

Dish did add a DVR fee sometime back so I suppose that can be considered a fee in your first receiver, but only if it is a DVR.

My impression is that 211 and Wally do not have a fee if they are the first receiver but since I have only an H3 and a Joey 3.0 I have no direct experience in that matter.

 

[Bobby]

The $7 receiver fee for a single Wally is for new customers only.

 

[zippyfrog]

This is the chart that shows that the Wally has a $7 first receiver fee, while all the other receivers are built into to the cost.

MyDISH

my.dish.com

 

[jerryez]

I see customers who have Welcome Package, as recently as Friday.

I have the Welcome Pack, but I think is discontinued for new adds.

 

[sktrus]

Even if Dish no longer offers Welcome pack it doesn't hurt to ask. That's what we did in the past. The web site showed it wasn't available. Yet, when we talked to a native English speaking person from CO (you get more done with domestic reps. It has nothing to do with foreign accents!!) she gladly did it for us. We kept our Hopper 3 and 3 Joey2s and didn't mind extra fees. Going from top 250 to Welcome pack with locals dropped our monthly bill about 50 bucks. That's a nice saving if you don't care about too many channels you don't watch.
I was unable to drop locals pack since my ota and dual adapter worked fine. They told me Welcome pack and locals bundled together. This was another attempt later to even save more per month.
The point is you ask and they may agree.