Businessweek: Dish Starts Falling to Earth

[jayn_j]

People keep emphasizing sports and HD as reasons for moving to DTV. I wonder what kind of effect DTV has had by purchasing stuff the networks is dropping and putting it on the 101. I know that when NBC dropped Passions, DTV picked it up and promoted it heavily. For months before the move, every exterior shot had a prominent DTV dish and they worked it into the dialog at least three times every show.

What has Charlie done lately for unique DISH content, other than cricket?

 

[mike123abc]

The author does not really understand the history of HD on DBS. For years Dish was way ahead of DIRECTV. Then for about 6 months DIRECTV was ahead of Dish. Now Dish has almost caught back up. Dish did not really drop the ball on HD, it was DIRECTV's great marking that convinced everyone for a year they had more HD when it was really Dish in the lead. They had all that future talk of capacity before the satellites were up.

AMC-14 failure probably set Dish back 6 months (hopefully E3 will hold out long enough to keep from setting them back more), or they would probably be matching DIRECTV's HD channel count.

HD is just a red herring. The real issue is that DIRECTV woke up and is less expensive in many ways than Dish, especially at the high end. Dish used to blow away DIRECTV in price, Dish tacked on a bunch of fees that make their bills inflate to where DIRECTV can match/beat. That combined with a great ad campain by DIRECTV and 0 marketing by Dish is what is killing Dish.

Dish gave up on the rabbid sports fans to DIRECTV. This should give Dish a price advantage, after all they do not have to pay for the loss leaders that DIRECTV has, but instead Dish has just raised prices and let the advantage go to DIRECTV. Only customers that flock to dish now are the bottom of the credit barrel that want a 2 room AT100 or family pack, packages that have the minimal margin for Dish.

 

[Raymie]

The Rabbid sports fans? Yeah, I wonder why people in bars scream DAAAAH! most of the time.

I think you only wanted one B.

Oh, and this is on the News Monitor too.

 

[tomcrown1]

DO NOT FORGOT DISH CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE--THIS IS WERE DISH DROPPED THE BALL.

At one time Dish was knowen for having the best CUSTOMER SERVICE bar none.

Why did Charlie get cheap and let this go??

Customer Service is the only thing that will turn Dish around and Charlie had better start spending some DO RA ME to insure that dish once again has the best Customer Service.

Charlie are you not Ashamed that Direct Tv now rates higher in Customer Service then you do??

 

[Moman19]

While everyone is ranting, I would like to add the following comment: My monthly bill is close to $100/month for the AT250 package and the DMA locals with as many HD channels as I can afford. I don't subscribe to any premium channels. Why oh why are additional HD channels like Smithsonian, HD Movie and MGM blocked still locked out in red requiring additional monthly fees? That's just robbery. It's at this point I drew a line in the sand and refused to pay any more "nickels or dimes".

This is the type of poor treatment that makes me want to bolt.

 

[Sammy033]

I do agree their pricing structure could be better. IMHO they are doing HD like SD but their arent enough HD channels (HBO et al aside) yet to justify it. In 2+ years maybe it will be a good idea depending on how many more channels are launched.

 

[Timpanogos]

MikeD-C05 you hit the nail(s) on the head. I am a long term Dish subscriber since April 1997 and an old Model 4000 that I installed myself. In 1998 I talked four other relatives to go with Dish, and helped with their installs. Back then, it was Dish vs. the cable company and Dish was a breath of fresh air. Eleven years later and Dish IS the cable company. From the foreign CSR's that read from a script in a thick accent and give you an answer not having any relationship to what you asked them, to the idiotic nickel and dime fees, loss of 15 Voom channels without warning and charging us the same HD fees... even our family is now seriously considering going to the competition. Dish lost focus on what made it grow in the first place. Well duh!

 

[allargon]

I do agree their pricing structure could be better. IMHO they are doing HD like SD but their arent enough HD channels (HBO et al aside) yet to justify it. In 2+ years maybe it will be a good idea depending on how many more channels are launched.

In 2 years do you think there will be a cheap HD only pack for 200+ HD(-lite) channels?

 

[VinceT3]

I pay roughly 150+ a month for everything.. I agree the prices are rediculous.. we've talked about dropping our package to something more reasonable..

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Dish needs to adobt the WalMart plan if they want to survive.

LOWER THE PRICES AND SELL MORE.

Enough of this nickle and dime BS.

Get rid of the DVR fees.

and get rid of the HD progrmaming fees as well. Why are we paying TWICE for the exact same programming when Dish gets the HD feeds included with the SD channels?

 

[BlackHitachi]

Dish needs to adobt the WalMart plan if they want to survive.

LOWER THE PRICES AND SELL MORE.

Enough of this nickle and dime BS.

Get rid of the DVR fees.

and get rid of the HD progrmaming fees as well. Why are we paying TWICE for the exact same programming when Dish gets the HD feeds included with the SD channels?

AMEN!!:up:up

 

[levibluewa]

What has Charlie done lately for unique DISH content, other than cricket?

World Fishing Network HD

 

[jayn_j]

World Fishing Network HD

You got me there.

 

[tomcrown1]

You got me there.

Were you hooked line and sinker--

Who else would get WFN except for Charlie the Tuna

Dish has become a fishy place lately.

 

[DodgerKing]

Dish needs to adobt the WalMart plan if they want to survive.

LOWER THE PRICES AND SELL MORE.

Enough of this nickle and dime BS.

Get rid of the DVR fees.

and get rid of the HD progrmaming fees as well. Why are we paying TWICE for the exact same programming when Dish gets the HD feeds included with the SD channels?

Eventually you will see all providers do this, including Dish and Direct, as more people start subscribing to HD and HD becomes the norm. The problem is, they will just make up the lost revenue by some other means/fees/price hikes.

 

[DodgerKing]

Let me ask you guys this. I see a lot of resentment and anger towards Dish by Dish subs. Is this anger mainly a result of comparing Dish to other providers? If you are happy with Dish before others improved, why would this make you more angry, especially since they created lower pricing packages and still added more HD? Does it have more to do with the loss of VOOM?

 

[Spatch]

Dish needs to adobt the WalMart plan if they want to survive.

LOWER THE PRICES AND SELL MORE.

Enough of this nickle and dime BS.

Get rid of the DVR fees.

and get rid of the HD progrmaming fees as well. Why are we paying TWICE for the exact same programming when Dish gets the HD feeds included with the SD channels?

I think you should apply for a job at dish. Are they hiring for CEO?

 

[HDRoberts]

I think the problem is that Dish started to take the hare's approach (as in the Tortoise and the Hare). They got so far out ahead in terms of HD offered, technology, transponder licenses, and price, they fell asleep, allowing Directv to pass them. But all is not lost yet.

Here's my suggestions. Some of these have been bantered in this thread before:

1: Simply everything: Packs and technology. There should just be 4 packs (much like they had in the pas, and are still around now in some respects), "Family" and 3 regular tiers. They should include locals and DVR fee. Add $10 for HD access for your back, including the HD only channels. No other fees, aside from premium channels. Forget HD only packs. These will soon be pointless, as most big networks will be available in HD.

As for technology: Go to 5 receivers: 211/222 for single/dual tuner non DVR (SD and HD), 612/622 for SD DVR/HD "ready" DVR, and the 722 for an "enhanced" HD DVR (for all those that sign up for HD off the bat or want to upgrade). This would also have the advantage of starting the MPEG4 transition, and get everyone HD ready (aside from a new dish).

And, of course, the prices need to beat Directv and Cable.

2: Improve customer service. Fire everyone in India and the Philippines and hire Americans. Have monthly training sessions to keep them informed. If CSRs we capable and properly informed, they could probably reduce call volume and thus staff to pay for the change.

3: Get a plan for being able to carry 250 National HD channels, including RSNs and 50 or so being of a higher picture quality (full resolution for more popular channels). Ka/FSS/BSS, whatever other acronym it takes, do it.

4: (Most importantly) Get better marketing. Fire whoever does it now. Honestly, I picture their marketing department like this: "Cousin Cletus, ya' know who's funny?" "Who Larry?" "That Frank Cal-ando guy. He does a funny impression of that Dr. Phil." "Oh yeah, I heard a' him. Hey, how 'bout we hire him to do our commercials?" "Cool idea, Cletus."

Where to start? More engaging commercials that stay on message for one. If they apply the other suggestions, they can start there. Directv made big inroads by bragging about their capacity even when they only had 8 channels. Dish can do the same.

And one more thing (5): Bury the hatchet with Fox, Viacom, and Rainbow. The last one might be hard, but those 3 provide some of the last remaining mainstream HD channels not yet carried. The kind of channels some will go to Directv to get if they are not on Dish.

 

[Spatch]

The satellite TV network is struggling to keep subscribers from fleeing. But it could be too late.

Source

Not long ago, Charlie Ergen was the scourge of cable TV. By offering bargain prices and competing head-on with struggling cable operators, his Dish Network (DISH) satellite company snatched away millions of subscribers and nearly caught up with its bigger rival, DirecTV (DTV). Now, Dish is losing altitude faster than a dying satellite, and Ergen is looking like an also-ran.

Ergen declined to comment, but not much is going right these days. Having added fewer subscribers than analysts projected in the first quarter, Dish could shed at least 37,000 of its 13.8 million customers this quarter, says Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. (AB) analyst Craig E. Moffett. That would be the first time a satellite TV player has lost subscribers since the industry began its growth spurt a decade ago, he says. Meanwhile, AT&T (T), which accounts for a big chunk of Dish's new subscribers by bundling video with its phone and Web offerings, recently said it plans to ditch the company by yearend and possibly hook up with DirecTV. "Dish," Moffett says, "is between a rock and a hard place."

CEO Ergen says he "wasn't as aware of the operations" as he should have been

Full Article

This article seems to be based on a lot of assumption and rumors. The writer should have come to this site to do some research.

How do you quote someone ("I probably wasn't as aware of the operations as I should have been,") when he declined to comment. Did you notice, his quote may have been taken out of context. Since they don't include the whole sentence.

Plus they state "Dish has opened a new service center to help counter a 15% jump in subscriber defections." which would equal a loss of 2,070,000 customers. Is that number correct?

 

[jrp]

Plus they state "Dish has opened a new service center to help counter a 15% jump in subscriber defections." which would equal a loss of 2,070,000 customers. Is that number correct?

I believe this refers to a 15% increase in Dish's churn, not a loss of 15% of Dish's customer base.