Any word on Dish price increases?

[DustNavy]

First, I was not suggesting that Welcome Pack (minus locals) should be sold by itself for only $9.99 per month. I was saying that the price chart was confusing, regarding whether or not Welcome Pack includes locals. (1)None of the other packs that list the separate $10 charge for locals give you the option to drop the locals, so if the same holds true for Welcome Pack, then Welcome Pack should have been listed the same way.

(2)My suggestion was that we should still be required to purchase an add-on to get Welcome Pack, but we should be able to choose which add-on we want. This way, both sides win: Dish continues to collect their $19.99 per month, and (2-cont)Welcome Pack subscribers gain more options. This is exactly how Dish sells the $10 per month basic packages for international subscribers. (International Basic and Chinese Basic) You can't get either of those packages by itself, either. They each require the purchase of an additional international package. Why can't Welcome Pack be priced and sold in a similar way?

Here is another thought: how about making the (3)$9.99 Welcome Pack an add-on for Flex Pack, so Flex Pack subscribers do not have to add so many different add-ons to get all of the Welcome Pack channels. This would be especially handy for those upgrading from Welcome Pack, so they don't lose any channels they like when they switch to Flex Pack.

1) While you don't currently have the option to opt out of locals in the packs that list the $10 charge, these prices have yet to be implemented on our accounts. This is next year's pricing, which will be implemented in January. Perhaps this is a hint that the option will be made available. That would also explain why it's just listed as -- in the welcome pack, because they don't want to suggest you can opt out of them to save money.

2)The add-on that we get without the option to opt out of is local channels. The welcome pack, unfortunately, does not exist to give us options, but to only give us a minimum programming option in itself. If they let you drop locals for a flex-pack add-on, then they risk making the welcome pack too popular with that level of flexibility. Simply put, if we want to only pay $20 for our programming, the welcome pack is what we get as is, no customizations.

3)Having the welcome pack be an add-on would be great for the flex pack. The easy explanation as to why they do this is money. They make more money breaking down the add-ons as they currently exist and would potentially lose out on money by making the welcome pack itself a $9.99 add-on. We might not like that explanation, but that's likely the reason behind their decision.

 

[Tampa8]

The same could be said for Flex Pack, back in July before Dish started advertising for it.

I don't agree with that. The Flex Pack is not a bottom end package, it has a very specific purpose, to address the requests of a choice of not paying for the high cost of Sports and Locals to lower the cost to get a large selection of the most wanted cable channels and doing it with an A La Carte format. It is meant to be a choice like the Top packages, not simply to keep a customer who does not want many channels and wants to spend a minimum - what the Welcome package is. Welcome Pack I believe exists as what Cable calls a "Lifeline Package" for those that want a very few channels but do need the locals and may have little to spend. I don't think it is put together to make any changes to it, sort of the Bill Belichick "it is what it is."

I do not get the value of adding the Welcome Package as an add on pack to Flex as you say should be available. Food Network, TLC, WE, HGTV, Hallmark, TBS are already in the Flex Pack.

Finally I think it is likely the Flex Pack and it's add on packs were specifically designed monetarily, another words keeping in mind what the channels cost DISH , what they feel they can sell them for and knowing the person is spending at least $29 (And likely based on contracts) With the Welcome package it may not be feasible either monetarily or based on contracts to allow you to drop the locals and get another pack instead. To you or me adding a different $10 pack instead of the locals is still $20, but to DISH it may cost them more than $20 or too close to their cost to give you a pack that costs $10 when added to the Flex Pack @ $29 (after autopay) than to the Welcome package where you are only spending $10. (If locals were not included) I agree with DustNavy I just don't think DISH put together the Welcome package for anything more than it is. Nothing is forever, perhaps at some point DISH will make it possible to make changes like you are asking, and it can't hurt to suggest to them. I'm giving reasons why I think they aren't or can't now.

 

[ZandarKoad]

I wish either provider (or ANY provider) would just ONCE actually LOWER all subscription costs across the board. Has it ever been done before? I would think it would attract a lot of customers and/or positive PR... The price increases are so formulaic and boring.

(And I'm not talking about a "new" pricing structure that is cheaper for 1% of the subscriber base...)

 

[pattykay]

1) While you don't currently have the option to opt out of locals in the packs that list the $10 charge, these prices have yet to be implemented on our accounts. This is next year's pricing, which will be implemented in January. Perhaps this is a hint that the option will be made available.

See post number 77: "Beginning January 17, 2017 ... Locals cannot be removed from these packages"

I don't agree with that. The Flex Pack is not a bottom end package...

My post was in response to comfortably_numb's post. Look at the parts of that post that I bolded (in the quote box in post number 118). In July, at least at first, Flex Pack was only available by calling the retentions department, and it was not advertised.

 

[Tampa8]

See post number 77: "Beginning January 17, 2017 ... Locals cannot be removed from these packages"



My post was in response to comfortably_numb's post. Look at the parts of that post that I bolded (in the quote box in post number 118). In July, at least at first, Flex Pack was only available by calling the retentions department, and it was not advertised.

Fair enough but also misleading. Flex Pack had not been advertised as yet because it had not officially launched. But they knew some who were leaving would want all those cable channels at that cost without the mandatory sports or locals. Rather than lose them simply because Flex was not quite ready to be announced I would say they did a soft launch by offering at first to anyone calling about leaving or looking for a price reduction.

 

[Stargazer]

Here is another thought: how about making the $9.99 Welcome Pack an add-on for Flex Pack, so Flex Pack subscribers do not have to add so many different add-ons to get all of the Welcome Pack channels. This would be especially handy for those upgrading from Welcome Pack, so they don't lose any channels they like when they switch to Flex Pack.

Or you could look at it this way. It's like paying $10 for this package if you was going to have to pay for the $10 locals add on for Flex so the difference in price is $10. I wonder if they would let you add Welcome Pack to Flex?

 

[pattykay]

Or you could look at it this way. It's like paying $10 for this package if you was going to have to pay for the $10 locals add on for Flex so the difference in price is $10. I wonder if they would let you add Welcome Pack to Flex?

The only way that I know of is to have two separate accounts, which is exactly what I do now.

 

[comfortably_numb]

The only way that I know of is to have two separate accounts, which is exactly what I do now.

With 2 separate receivers?


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[pattykay]

With 2 separate receivers?

LOL! I do not know any way to have two different accounts on only one receiver. It is not that much of a pain to switch to a different receiver to watch different channels.

 

[comfortably_numb]

LOL! I do not know any way to have two different accounts on only one receiver. It is not that much of a pain to switch to a different receiver to watch different channels.

Seems a bit like overkill to me, but hey to each their own!


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[pattykay]

Seems a bit like overkill to me, but hey to each their own!

As I said in another thread when I first suggested this idea, it would not be economical or practical to do this if you have multiple TVs and multiple family members. However, for someone with only one TV, who only needs one receiver for each account, this way is cheaper than it would be to add all of the various Channel Packs it would take to keep as many of the Welcome Pack channels as possible.

 

[comfortably_numb]

As I said in another thread when I first suggested this idea, it would not be economical or practical to do this if you have multiple TVs and multiple family members. However, for someone with only one TV, who only needs one receiver for each account, this way is cheaper than it would be to add all of the various Channel Packs it would take to keep as many of the Welcome Pack channels as possible.

So do you set up one account under a social security number and one under a tax ID or what?


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[pattykay]

So do you set up one account under a social security number and one under a tax ID or what?

The same social security number for both accounts (apparently each social security number is allowed to have up to two Dish accounts) but a "moved" service address for the second account. (Each service address is only allowed to have one Dish account.)

 

[zidanetribal17]

That's the problem, a $10 charge for locals, but they cannot be removed. So, they are blaming there $5 increase on local contracts this year. What will they come up with as a blame next year?

I can foresee 2018 price increase looking like this -> Split RSN from Core Programming while Local Channels price increases

If that happens then DTV may follow suite and break local channels from their core programming packages next year (U-Verse already does both)

I must say though out of all the pay-tv companies that separate the price of locals from the core programming packages Dish is the first I've seen to lower the Core programming when at first separating them.

 

[DishSubLA]

Can't wait for the OTA adapter to be out, so i can drop locals from my flex pack hehehe.

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But is it still the case that we can't get EPG data for locals using OTA unless we also subscribe to the LiL's. That's the way it used to be, anyway.

 

[DishSubLA]

I wish either provider (or ANY provider) would just ONCE actually LOWER all subscription costs across the board. Has it ever been done before? I would think it would attract a lot of customers and/or positive PR... The price increases are so formulaic and boring.

(And I'm not talking about a "new" pricing structure that is cheaper for 1% of the subscriber base...)

Well, Dish did NOT raise prices for at least one year that I seem to remember. The problem is that the media companies who own the channels and content NEVER decrease their price, so how can any MVPD do that? Further, contracts for several years of retransmission rights often include ANNUAL price increases to the MVPD, and then they have to pass it on to us. The problem is the media companies and how they always increase and force MVPD's to take channels they don't want but MVPD's have to take a number of JUNK channels that increase their cost and our cost in the bills if the MVPD wants the ONE channel of high value.

 

[DishSubLA]

The same social security number for both accounts (apparently each social security number is allowed to have up to two Dish accounts) but a "moved" service address for the second account. (Each service address is only allowed to have one Dish account.)

So, Dish does all this for the subscriber, right? There have been CSR's who offer opeining a 2nd account as the only way to solve some desires such as TWO H3's on ONE account (as of today, but will change when DPH42 is released), etc. Some folks on this forum have 2nd account for other reasons so they can get what they want, all with Dish's offering it as a solution and its cooperation.

 

[pattykay]

But is it still the case that we can't get EPG data for locals using OTA unless we also subscribe to the LiL's. That's the way it used to be, anyway.

Last year, I started getting EPG data for the OTA locals on my deactivated receivers. Many people have reported being able to do the same thing with Flex Pack without the satellite locals.

So, Dish does all this for the subscriber, right? There have been CSR's who offer opeining a 2nd account as the only way to solve some desires such as TWO H3's on ONE account (as of today, but will change when DPH42 is released), etc. Some folks on this forum have 2nd account for other reasons so they can get what they want, all with Dish's offering it as a solution and its cooperation.

In my case, I opened the second account on my own, for another reason. So, I do not know if a Dish CSR would actually offer a second account as a solution for someone wanting the Flex Pack channels and the Welcome Pack channels without being forced to buy a whole bunch of additional channels. I highly doubt it, though.

 

[mrc54]

Last year, I started getting EPG data for the OTA locals on my deactivated receivers. Many people have reported being able to do the same thing with Flex Pack without the satellite locals.


If I could get EPG for my OTA locals on my 722K, I would drop the satellite locals in a minute to save the $5.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Can anyone confirm EPG data on OTA for deactivated 211k's? When my contract is up this November, I'm planning to deactivate and just use the box for OTA recording and free previews.