CONUS HD locals now at 72.7 satellite!

[Rafaelccs]

The possible return of HBO is more likely the result of Discovery Networks now "running" the Warner Media channels, not AT&T who are still part owners. I think Dish has better relations with Discovery Networks, and Discovery Networks attitude is probably that it is better to get some money from Dish than nothing at all since Dish has not been in any hurry to bring back HBO. However, I would not expect the full suite of HBO channels as before. IMHO, it will likely be an "HBO Lite" suite with some VOD access at a lower price than other MVPD's who have the entire suite at a higher price. It would be a way of getting money from Dish while not destroying the "FULL" value other MVPD's have paying for the full suite. All that is IMHO. I think Dish has always been open to a more financially reasonable (for Dish, that is) way of providing HBO, but AT&T always showed Dish (a competitor) the "hand," while Discovery Networks seems willing to make a deal and find some way to get HBO back on Dish (and take Dish's money) that makes sense for Discovery.

Just to add I respect your point of view, but history shows that Dish has a long history of dropping not only HBO, but several DMA networks, spanish content, etc. when they "Dish" feel the price isn't right, they're hard players when negotiating, at the point of not caring if it hurts their pocket, the poker face as Charlie was know as.....my two cents.

Regards.

 

[NYDutch]

If my remaining memory cells still work, I recall Dish dropped HBO over a requirement for an excessive subscriber count payment regardless of how many fewer actual subscribers there were. If that over payment requirement was close to or exceeded any net profit from the actual paying subscribers, then it didn't make sense for Dish to "hurt their pocket" by continuing to carry HBO.

 

[lakebum431]

The possible return of HBO is more likely the result of Discovery Networks now "running" the Warner Media channels, not AT&T who are still part owners. I think Dish has better relations with Discovery Networks, and Discovery Networks attitude is probably that it is better to get some money from Dish than nothing at all since Dish has not been in any hurry to bring back HBO. However, I would not expect the full suite of HBO channels as before. IMHO, it will likely be an "HBO Lite" suite with some VOD access at a lower price than other MVPD's who have the entire suite at a higher price. It would be a way of getting money from Dish while not destroying the "FULL" value other MVPD's have paying for the full suite. All that is IMHO. I think Dish has always been open to a more financially reasonable (for Dish, that is) way of providing HBO, but AT&T always showed Dish (a competitor) the "hand," while Discovery Networks seems willing to make a deal and find some way to get HBO back on Dish (and take Dish's money) that makes sense for Discovery.

I like the thought process, but probably not since the deal isn't expected to close for another year or so...

 

[Rafaelccs]

If my remaining memory cells still work, I recall Dish dropped HBO over a requirement for an excessive subscriber count payment regardless of how many fewer actual subscribers there were. If that over payment requirement was close to or exceeded any net profit from the actual paying subscribers, then it didn't make sense for Dish to "hurt their pocket" by continuing to carry HBO.

It could be, but I don't see this situation so often by other content providers (Comcast, DirecTV (AT&T), etc.) check the wiki Link at middle of the page you will see the disputes:

Criticism of Dish Network - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dispute with:
2004 CBS / Viacom
2009 Disney / ABC / ESPN
2010 The Weather Channel
2010 FOX
2010 MSG
2010 Belo Corp
2012 AMC Networks

I could keep posting.....

The customer is the one that finally gets hurt, they loose their content in some cases, on other they don't loose them because Dish might reach what they ask for, you could say Dish is fighting for the customers pocket, that could be true, the fact is that Media Groups offer the content providers with packs, not a la carte solutions, this is changing in time, you can see the content delivered directly to their customers by streaming with plus (+) services (AMC+; Disney+; etc). most of them offer their channels for $4.99 others for $9.99 HBO/MAX for $15 and so, providers who offer not only content but data transport (internet) are getting involved with the business, those who do not deliver or do data transport are looking for ways to survive and not keep loosing customers or business, the fact is that the public is changing their ways of viewing and specially the delivery method; live TV is firewalling and letting the system breath.

Now with the streaming mentioned above the content providers are doing business directly with the customer and skipping the regular channels like Dishnetwork, DirecTV, Comcast, etc. Your connection with the internet is allowing you to do this.
Let's sit down and see how this plays out...time will say.

Regards.

 

[pattykay]

If that over payment requirement was close to or exceeded any net profit from the actual paying subscribers, then it didn't make sense for Dish to "hurt their pocket" by continuing to carry HBO.

This is compounded by the fact that most of the "actual paying subscribers" (on this site, anyway) were never paying Dish full price for HBO in the first place. Most people here with HBO either got locked in with the $10 "lifetime" rate, or frequently took advantage of the various half-price deals. In addition, Dish frequently offered qualified customers HBO and/or Cinemax for free for six months, or even a whole year at a time. Then of course there were the new customer offers, which included HBO and Cinemax for free for three months. All told, this is not a good way to ensure long-term subscriptions at full price. There likely was no real profit from the paying subscribers in the first place. It was simply a loss leader, and a perk to attract and retain customers. Many of those customers could just as easily be attracted or retained by other perks, such as freebies on other premium packages.

 

[pattykay]

Apparently completing the changes heralded by the uplink reported in the original post, the following markets have now been completely removed from the 77 satellite:

So, when I posted this, I had forgotten about Lexington, KY and apparently Dish forgot about that market, too.

Did they also move Lexington, KY permanently from 77 to 72?

James Long's local listings page has not been updated with the 6/16/2021 changes yet. However, since Lexington was not listed in the uplink report that I linked in post number 11, I would guess it is still safe at 77, for now. You can check the satellites and transponders needed for each local market here: Local Channels on DISH Network (Unofficial Listing)

That page is updated now. Lexington, KY is still at 77. Along with Casper, WY and Springfield, MO they are the only markets left at 77 now.

Dish has now fixed this, and Lexington, KY has also been removed from 77 as of today:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 6/23/21 at 3:18pm ET (v28) – 114 changes seen

Lexington, KY locals are now exclusively on spotbeam on 61.5 for the HD feeds. (SD feeds on spotbeam at 110.)

Casper, WY and Springfield, MO are now the only remaining markets at 77. Since Springfield, MO is also being simulcast on spotbeam at 61.5, it is likely just a matter of time before that market follows suit just like Lexington did.

 

[DishSubLA]

If my remaining memory cells still work, I recall Dish dropped HBO over a requirement for an excessive subscriber count payment regardless of how many fewer actual subscribers there were. If that over payment requirement was close to or exceeded any net profit from the actual paying subscribers, then it didn't make sense for Dish to "hurt their pocket" by continuing to carry HBO.

And you have to wonder if that requirement was intended to have Dish drop HBO, and then adding value to AT&T services--its DirecTV satellite competitor to Dish satellite. services--and the OTT Sling denied as AT&T also competes with Dish on OTT. Sometimes companies and even government agencies propose "poison pill" requirements to steer things towards their plans while giving the appearance of "negotiating."

 

[DishSubLA]

I like the thought process, but probably not since the deal isn't expected to close for another year or so...

Well, that timeline is for the "merge" but AT&T can have Discovery Networks be its "distributor" any time it wants without any merger. So, in theory, HBO can be on Dish pretty much at any time. It sure seems AT&T just does not want to deal with the "distribution" part of the HBO/Warner Media channels business (AT&T knows they are NOT good at it and Discovery Networks is excellent at distribution/agreements, especially using its own Discovery Channels as leverage) and AT&T wants to just focus on its content and subsequent revenue stream from its Warner Media channels.

 

[pattykay]

Plus, CONUS HD feeds of PBS from:

• Owensboro, KY (Evansville, IN market)
• Lexington, KY
• Little Rock, AR
• Paducah, KY

Evansville, Lexington, and Paducah all had their CONUS PBS feeds removed from 72.7 today:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 7/7/21 at 3:18pm ET (v06) – 162 changes seen

Uplinks Removed
...
5275 WKOH (31 HD Local) OWENSBORO, KY (PBS) removed from 72.7° TP 6 (HD Evansville, IN market Hidden)
5155 WKLE (46 HD Local) LEXINGTON, KY (PBS) removed from 72.7° TP 6 (HD Lexington, KY market Hidden)
5154 WKPD (29 HD Local) PADUCAH, KY (PBS) removed from 72.7° TP 6 (HD Paducah, KY/Harrisburg, IL market Hidden)

However, Lexington still has a duplicate channel number (channel 5169) of the exact same PBS station on the exact same CONUS transponder:

Lexington, KY
18-00​	WLEX	LEXINGTON, KY (NBC) -	9207 SD 110° 4s10 A ()	5152 HD 61.5° 31s7 A (nbc)
27-00​	WKYT	LEXINGTON, KY (CBS) -	9206 SD 110° 4s10 A ()	5151 HD 61.5° 31s7 A (cbs)
28-00​	WKYT2	LEXINGTON, KY (CW) -	9209 SD 110° 4s10 A	9209 SD 61.5° 31s7 A
36-00​	WTVQ	LEXINGTON, KY (ABC) -	9205 SD 110° 4s10 A ()	5150 HD 61.5° 31s7 A (abc)
46-00​	WKLE	LEXINGTON, KY (PBS) -	9211 SD 110° 4s10 A () 9214 SD 110° 4s10 A	5155 HD 61.5° 31s7 A () 5155 HD 72.7° 6 A ()
46-00​	WKLE	LEXINGTON, KY (PBS) -		5159 HD 61.5° 31s7 A 5169 HD 72.7° 6 A
56-00​	WDKY	DANVILLE, KY (FOX) -	9208 SD 110° 4s10 A ()	5153 HD 61.5° 31s7 A (fox)
65-00​	WLJC	BEATTYVILLE, KY -	9212 SD 110° 4s10 A	5158 HD 61.5° 31s7 A
67-00​	WUPX	MOREHEAD, KY (ION) -	9213 SD 110° 4s10 A	5156 HD 61.5° 31s7 A

(Note: the chart is not updated yet to reflect today's removal of the CONUS channel 5155.)

Little Rock still has two duplicate channels of their PBS station (channels 5194 and 5199) on the same CONUS transponder:

Little Rock, AR
2-00​	KETS	LITTLE ROCK, AR (PBS) -	9359 SD 110° 18s15 A () 9360 SD 110° 18s15 A	5194 HD 61.5° 31s14 A () 5194 HD 72.7° 6 A ()
2-00​	KETS	LITTLE ROCK, AR (PBS) -		5198 HD 61.5° 31s14 A 5199 HD 72.7° 6 A

Local Channels on DISH Network (Unofficial Listing)