The OFFICIAL DISH / HBO Thread

[jtoo]

I think there'll be a deal in short order for HBO to come back. Game of Thrones is over, HBO has no real leverage now, be shocked if HBO isn't back on Dish by summer.

 

[ChadT41]

I think there'll be a deal in short order for HBO to come back. Game of Thrones is over, HBO has no real leverage now, be shocked if HBO isn't back on Dish by summer.

Except all of the already green lit spin offs.

 

[long_time_DNC]

I think there'll be a deal in short order for HBO to come back. Game of Thrones is over, HBO has no real leverage now, be shocked if HBO isn't back on Dish by summer.

I'll eat these words if HBO/Cinemax is back by summer...I'll be surprised if they ever come back - won't happen as long as AT&T wants non-HBO-subs to subsidize for X number of subs. AT&T won't give in on that demand unless HBO/Cinemax starts hemorrhage subs from DTV and streaming services...

 

[ekilgus]

I think it's too early to tell, but there are some preliminary accounts detailing what they characterized as waves of HBO and HBO NOW cancellations right after the final episode of GOT.

 

[long_time_DNC]

I think it's too early to tell, but there are some preliminary accounts detailing what they characterized as waves of HBO and HBO NOW cancellations right after the final episode of GOT.

The start of hemorrhaging, possibly...but we'll have to wait and see...

 

[The Fat Man]

I'll eat these words if HBO/Cinemax is back by summer...I'll be surprised if they ever come back - won't happen as long as AT&T wants non-HBO-subs to subsidize for X number of subs. AT&T won't give in on that demand unless HBO/Cinemax starts hemorrhage subs from DTV and streaming services...

I'll say this, if AT&T wants this, then make HBO and Cinemax part of the standard package. Every Dish sub automatically gets it. I know I'm not paying for a premium of which I don't subscribe.

 

[Bobby]

I'll say this, if AT&T wants this, then make HBO and Cinemax part of the standard package. Every Dish sub automatically gets it. I know I'm not paying for a premium of which I don't subscribe.

While I understand your point, if Dish did that they would have to raise the standard package price to account for the cost. That would simply drive subs, especially those who don't find value in HBO, away. AT&T would love that, it's probably their overall strategy to begin with.

 

[joewhite57]

The start of hemorrhaging, possibly...but we'll have to wait and see...

My plan is to pick up HBO from Amazon this coming Saturday. One week free trial and if I cancel billed channels within 2 weeks no charge, at least an earlier post reply leads me to believe. If not it's still a plan. The length of time from season seven to the last one was previously unheard of. Until I learn of which characters were killed off, I can't make a decision on series offshoots. No spoilers please.

 

[The Fat Man]

While I understand your point, if Dish did that they would have to raise the standard package price to account for the cost. That would simply drive subs, especially those who don't find value in HBO, away. AT&T would love that, it's probably their overall strategy to begin with.

I don't deny that. Nor do I personally want those channels. My point is they are out of their minds if they think that non subs should cover the cost. If that is the case, then I better get the channels.

 

[pattykay]

I'll say this, if AT&T wants this, then make HBO and Cinemax part of the standard package. Every Dish sub automatically gets it. I know I'm not paying for a premium of which I don't subscribe.

While I understand your point, if Dish did that they would have to raise the standard package price to account for the cost. That would simply drive subs, especially those who don't find value in HBO, away. AT&T would love that, it's probably their overall strategy to begin with.

I don't deny that. Nor do I personally want those channels. My point is they are out of their minds if they think that non subs should cover the cost. If that is the case, then I better get the channels.

I would tweak the idea by saying that Dish should make HBO/Cinemax a free add-on for any subscriber who requests it. That way, you avoid offending any subscribers who do not want those channels by giving them the illusion of opting out, even though the costs would still be spread over all subscribers. AT&T would likely still hit their desired subscriber count. By not automatically giving the channels to every subscriber, but rather letting subscribers opt in, that would give Dish that many fewer free HBO/Cinemax subscriptions that would need to be subsidized, thus reducing the amount of the required base package price increase. This sounds like a win-win-win.

 

[The Fat Man]

I would tweak the idea by saying that Dish should make HBO/Cinemax a free add-on for any subscriber who requests it. That way, you avoid offending any subscribers who do not want those channels by giving them the illusion of opting out, even though the costs would still be spread over all subscribers. AT&T would likely still hit their desired subscriber count. By not automatically giving the channels to every subscriber, but rather letting subscribers opt in, that would give Dish that many fewer free HBO/Cinemax subscriptions that would need to be subsidized, thus reducing the amount of the required base package price increase. This sounds like a win-win-win.

I see your point, but I don't think that covers the idea that what AT&T wants would impact the bills of all Dish subs, regardless if they were or were not an HBO subscriber. So, if the expectation is that as a Dish sub, my bill goes up because of the agreement with AT&T to carry HBO and Cinemax. Then I better not be told that I have to call and order it. It better be on my TV.

Again, I don't want it. Therefore I don't want to pay for it. But AT&T wants people to pay the premium and order HBO and/or Cinemax. If not enough people do so, then they all subs to cover the cost, yet still not get the service. That's like me not owning an electric car, yet having to pay a gas tax should not enough people buy cars with combustion engines and pay for gas.

 

[edisonprime]

My guess it'll be like a year from now but I'm pretty sure HBO and Cinemax will eventually come back to Dish. Even the Hallmark stations returned to AT&T U-Verse after a several year hiatus. (Although G4tv never returned to DirecTV before the channel finally went dark.) But HBO and Cinemax are TOO BIG of networks for Dish Network to have them permanently removed.

 

[joewhite57]

My guess it'll be like a year from now but I'm pretty sure HBO and Cinemax will eventually come back to Dish. Even the Hallmark stations returned to AT&T U-Verse after a several year hiatus. (Although G4tv never returned to DirecTV before the channel finally went dark.) But HBO and Cinemax are TOO BIG of networks for Dish Network to have them permanently removed.

I just picked up my free week of HBO and might as well do another month st $14.99. Once I've caught up on GOT and Deadwood and my wife has watched the American President enough times it will be dropped. What a freaking pain in the Ass to identify a tv and setting up a fire stick.

 

[navychop]

A year from now, HBO will be more like Netflix. So they're never coming back as we know them. At most, and I'm not holding my breath, a rather different HBO might appear.


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[pattykay]

A year from now, HBO will be more like Netflix. So they're never coming back as we know them. At most, and I'm not holding my breath, a rather different HBO might appear.

Perhaps it will be an advertiser-supported version of HBO. This might be part of the reason for the push to make HBO/Cinemax a "free" add-on for Dish subscribers (subsidized as part of the base package price) so AT&T can show advertisers how much demand there is for free HBO. AT&T can (and does) already do that with their own services (U-Verse, Directv, etc.) but maybe advertisers are smart enough to see through AT&T's attempts to skew the numbers to show more demand on services that they own. However, if AT&T can get another non-affiliated provider like Dish to do the same thing, then that might help AT&T convince advertisers to pay more to be on the "new" HBO service. If AT&T does not sign Dish up for this idea, then maybe they just don't launch the advertiser-supported HBO at all.

 

[joewhite57]

A year from now, HBO will be more like Netflix. So they're never coming back as we know them. At most, and I'm not holding my breath, a rather different HBO might appear.


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HBO has lost too much upper management in the takeover to be the same. Best as I can tell the left of there own accord. AT&T micromanagement! If they only had a brain.

 

[CyberSpock]

HBO has lost too much upper management in the takeover to be the same. Best as I can tell the left of there own accord. AT&T micromanagement! If they only had a brain.

I've consulted for them and experienced this first hand.

I think the short and perfunctory season of GOT was due to Time Warner wanting this done quickly. They wanted it done for accounting purposes to prepare for the merger.

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[joewhite57]

I cannot reply to that unless I don't count to ten

 

[CyberSpock]

I cannot reply to that unless I don't count to ten

To add insult to injury, expect HBO to be visited by some surprise AT&T management...

"You have 4 costly series... We'd like that reduced to 2..."

And more to the micro...

"We'd hate to see that character succeed. Get rid of them"

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[pattykay]

HBO has lost too much upper management in the takeover to be the same. Best as I can tell the left of there own accord. AT&T micromanagement! If they only had a brain.

They do have The Brain. Unfortunately, he's too busy doing "The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!"
(That is an appropriate reference, since it was Time Warner's micromanagement that ultimately killed off Pinky & The Brain. Does anyone remember Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain? That wasn't exactly the showrunners' idea.)