Retailer Chat Recap 12/12/13

[Bobby]

Cablecards here are now $12.95 a month. I have one at my office and use it with MythBuntu and a HD Homerun Prime. Works rather well!

Maybe it's $12.95 because you have it in a business location. Here, in a residence, the first cable card is free and the second is something like $1.50. Then you get a discount because you're not using their equipment and you actually end up spending about $0.50 less...

 

[Stargazer]

ONLY for all the local channels...NOT the national sat channels.

That's what I was thinking of. Thanks. If they can do it for locals then why not for the national channels?

 

[dishrich]

That's what I was thinking of. Thanks. If they can do it for locals then why not for the national channels?

Well according to other posts in this (& other) threads, the claim is that the programmers REQUIRE them to broadcast actual SD feeds for SD subs.
However, I am not too sure if I believe that for a couple reasons:

- If you look at Google's TV service, I do NOT believe they broadcast SD dupes of HD channels; they let their (HD) boxes do all the downconverting for SDTV's
- Many channels now (like CNN, Fox & some sports channels, to name a few) are having their SD feeds broadcast in letterbox anyway...so what's the diff if the (end viewer) setop does this instead???
- Other channels have even gotten totally away from broadcasting a separate SD feed, & instead have their affiliates downconvert their HD-only feed f/the SD version channels...again, what diff DOES it make if the (end viewer) setop does this???
- Since pretty much all local HD channels ONLY broadcast an HD f/SD downconversion, it should be good enough for the national cable channels as well!

 

[Mr Tony]

If this is Comcast, they DO now have HD-DTA's, that are the same price as the SD-DTA's...& again, they are starting to hand these out to even non-HD subs. And just like on the full-size boxes, if you don't pay the HD fee, all the HD channels are disabled.

Here in Minneapolis/St Paul the old "Comcast" area has HD DTA's (St Paul side)
Minneapolis side (the old Time Warner before the swap) still doesnt have them yet

 

[Mr Tony]

Maybe it's $12.95 because you have it in a business location. Here, in a residence, the first cable card is free and the second is something like $1.50. Then you get a discount because you're not using their equipment and you actually end up spending about $0.50 less...

Sounds like Comcast here
1st one free
2nd one in the same device (like an old Tivo Series 3 which requires 2) then its 1.50

customer owned equipment gets a $2.50 discount per item

 

[Stargazer]

It's easier for companies to charge more for services and for services you have gotten for free in the past then offer you a special deal to stay than to keep prices the same and offer a smaller deal. Makes the deal sound better when they are no better than what they were before, if this is their plan.

 

[jbrelish]

So if I get this correct,HD-FFL becomes HD-FUBAR (Free Until Business Activates Retraction).

 

[Dah-Henny]

"Free For Life" apparently comes from the same Dish Manual/dictionary that "soon" comes from.

p.s. Sky Angel used the same dictionary.

 

[lparsons21]

Not at all. I suspect it is to offset the coming rate increases that will be affected by whatever comes out of the Disney/ESPN deal that is in the offing.

And since the competitor already does this, there is a smaller downside.

For us that are already subscribers, this is just something to blather on about since it doesn't change our bill at all. And for new or potentially switching customers, well it is just another line on a spreadsheet to decide which is better financially for them.

 

[lparsons21]

"Free For Life" apparently comes from the same Dish Manual/dictionary that "soon" comes from.

p.s. Sky Angel used the same dictionary.

As did DirecTV. They changed the definition of 'for life' to 'for contract length' after the fact.

Dish actually isn't changing Free for Life, they just won't be offering it to new customers.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Just wait a few more years and Dish will re-define HD free for life to expire on a certain date for everyone who is getting it now.

Classic Examples...

#1 DVR Fee Free for life on the orgional Dishplayers. I think it was a $50 or $99 fee to have the DVR fee waived for life, and at one point they came back and said free for life would expire in a few years.

#2 Told us that 501/508 DVR's would never have a fee. Now they are either forcing customers off these receivers and have even gone as far as to say when the customers will be charged a DVR fee.

#3 Offered us a lifetime extended warranty for $99, simmilar to the protection plan. That turned out to be free for only 3 years or so.

Its coming, So enjoy it while you can.

Its a calculated risk, they lie to us to get our business. When they go back on their word, they piss off a few people and loose a few customers, but end up making more money charging higher fees to the ones who just accecpt the increase and do nothing about it.

Not saying this is just Dish, its true with all providers, including directv

 

[lparsons21]

Yep, it is very true of all successful businesses. They change the rules when it is in their corporate interest to do so. That isn't even news!

I always chuckle when I read the threads with comments about being a 'loyal customer', or 'trusting' a business. Just utter hogwash! Business does what it does to enhance their bottom line, if that also benefits the customer then it is a side benefit, not the goal though sometimes benefitting the customer does benefit the company, but the customer is always in 2nd place on that list!

 

[Beavis]

So if I get this correct,HD-FFL becomes HD-FUBAR (Free Until Business Activates Retraction).

 

[Patrick Smith]

I may be wrong but didn't the issues start with Disney when Dish started offering HD free for life?

 

[Yespage]

I think this starts giving someone a reason to stick with Dish, instead of the pay tv carousal. If you leave Dish now, when you come back, it will cost you in the long run. Of course, this would be easier to fix by having fewer savings for becoming a new subscriber in the first place.

What stinks is that for the most part, programming is stagnant, yet the price for it is expanding. Only NBCSports and AMC have a leg to stand on if it came / comes to asking for more money. AMC has new programming, NBCSports offers a boatload of new stuff (EPL) for "free" online. Fox and Disney either saw programming remain the same or contract (Fox lost the EPL), yet they have asked for rate hikes. The EPL and the EHD are the only reasons I am still plugged in.

 

[Laddyboy]

I may be wrong but didn't the issues start with Disney when Dish started offering HD free for life?

The issues arose in 2008 soon after Dish started providing ABC Family and three other Mouse channels in HD without a contract allowing Dish to do so (according to the House of Mouse), aggravated by Dish's late payments to the Mouse.

 

[orlyPR]

I am still wondering why Dish still offers the SD channels! All new receivers convert DOWN to SD if necessary. I know there are a ton of people with SD only receivers, but doing like cable TV has been doing, phasing out analog channels on their lifeline tiers, is something Dish should do.

Essentially start with the less popular channels telling people if they want to keep the channels, they can. They just have to call to upgrade their receivers for "free" (with contract extensions). Eventually (over a couple/three year period) they can have their entire customer base with MPEG4 HD receivers (which can down-convert to old analog NTSC TVs) an no need to carry both HD and SD versions of channels!

SD version of some network have some feature that not have in the HD, like SAP.

 

[orlyPR]

DISH need to "rebuild" their AT package, I'll explain.
(49.99)AT120 to AT200 is $20.00 more, Why, AT120plus cost $10.00 but people that not like sport, will pay $20.00 more to watch Animal Planet or FX.
Now, AT200 to AT250 is $5.00.
New package:
AT200lite: $59.99 (w/out RSN, FS2,even sport channel that include in the AT200).
AT250lite: $64.99.

A new package that including all education and niche channel, like a Smart package but including All Discovery, HIST, BIO, NATGEO, NATGEO WILD, all Scripts, ect.

Multi Sport (enhanced) that including, GOLF, Tennis, FS1&2, and Outdoors for $15.00 available to be added in any package, including Welcome pack.

Improve Welcome pack (enable HD channel on them), not restriction to add any other package like BB@H.

and yes, though it were in my power. for renewal w/ABC-Disney, the option for ESPN channels : remove the restriction that only the channel must be in the first or second most popular package in the contract, or pullout ESPN, even if DISNEY and ABC would be sacrificed.

 

[jrbdmb]

I think this starts giving someone a reason to stick with Dish, instead of the pay tv carousal. If you leave Dish now, when you come back, it will cost you in the long run. Of course, this would be easier to fix by having fewer savings for becoming a new subscriber in the first place.

What stinks is that for the most part, programming is stagnant, yet the price for it is expanding. Only NBCSports and AMC have a leg to stand on if it came / comes to asking for more money. AMC has new programming, NBCSports offers a boatload of new stuff (EPL) for "free" online. Fox and Disney either saw programming remain the same or contract (Fox lost the EPL), yet they have asked for rate hikes. The EPL and the EHD are the only reasons I am still plugged in.

Well, FOX replaced the EPL with UFC and College Football / Basketball, so I'm sure they would argue that they deserve a rate increase. (Never mind they only had fourth-rate football games this year and their only basketball is the now-small-time Big East.)

 

[Deadlocked]

Well, FOX replaced the EPL with UFC and College Football / Basketball, so I'm sure they would argue that they deserve a rate increase. (Never mind they only had fourth-rate football games this year and their only basketball is the now-small-time Big East.)

The have Big East, C-USA, Big 12, and Pac-12 basketball AND are the frontrunners to exclusively snag the B1G when that contract is up (aka removing ESPN from the B1G contract completely with B1G on Fox Sports and BTN).