MikeD-C05 said:
Notice that Dish didn't blame anyone company like Viacom or Disney for this increase like last year
From SkyReport.com, 3/9/2004: Ergen Defends DISH Move Allowing Viacom Nets to Go Dark
"EchoStar CEO Charles Ergen was not optimistic about DISH Network keeping viacom networks and CBS owned-and-operated channels in certain markets on the satellite TV service, telling viewers of his monthly 'Charlie Chat' Monday the programming was set to come down at midnight last night.
"And late in the evening, EchoStar said it was left with no choice other than to remove viacom's owned-and-operated CBS stations [
a laughable premise, since these networks were being illegally offered by DISH; the subject of what at the time was an already ongoing feud between Viacom and DISH]and its nationally distributed cable/satellite channels as of midnight Pacific Time. EchoStar made the announcement about the channels going dark at 12:45 a.m. Eastern Tuesday/10:45 p.m. Mountain Time Monday...
"The 'Charlie Chat' program contained televised graphics criticizing Viacom, suggesting the programmer wanted $200 million in additional fees and $350 million for channels considered as having low viewership, although the graphics didn't offer specifics. Another graphic said 'Viacom refuses to be reasonable.'"
The fact is, ALL multichannel video carriers (not just E* and D*) have seen an increase by about 40-50% in the rates that providers charge for programming, which is more or less constant with the rate of inflation. In the face of this, D* has only had 3 price increases in its 10-year history, a total baseline rate increase of only $7. Compare that to the ANNUAL rate increase averaging between 5-7% by the average cable company