DISH Drops AMC Networks (AMC Back on DISH channel 131)

[oldengineer]

When D* stared down Fox last year over FX and other channels that contract was set to expire in May, a sweeps month. I think that D* knew they had leverage there and let it go until the last minute. If the AMC contract expires in June it reduces E*'s bargaining power. I really like Mad Men, The Killing, The Pitch, and Breaking Bad, but I'd be willing to download them from Amazon or Itunes for a few weeks if necessary. I think E* should get aggressive and pull the channels now while we're in a sweeps period and have more leverage.

 

[voodooevil]

Hi.
I am sick of this. I am with Dish forever, and I don't like what is going on. Especially with this block buster thing. And now AMC....
Amc is home to a lot of great shows at the moment. THe walking Dead, The Killing, and then some.
Its just the same story over and over.
This is what I will be doing.
Drop to a much lower package, definitely get rid of Blockbuster (i am on a 2 disc plan and I am lucky if I get 1 a month)
I will be getting HULU Plus and going back to netflix.
I am done with this poop.
Joe

 

[Mochuf]

When D* stared down Fox last year over FX and other channels that contract was set to expire in May, a sweeps month. I think that D* knew they had leverage there and let it go until the last minute. If the AMC contract expires in June it reduces E*'s bargaining power. I really like Mad Men, The Killing, The Pitch, and Breaking Bad, but I'd be willing to download them from Amazon or Itunes for a few weeks if necessary. I think E* should get aggressive and pull the channels now while we're in a sweeps period and have more leverage.

Right break another contract. Doesn't Dish have a bad enough record concerning lawsuits?

 

[Tampa8]

Hi.
I am sick of this. I am with Dish forever, and I don't like what is going on. Especially with this block buster thing. And now AMC....
Amc is home to a lot of great shows at the moment. THe walking Dead, The Killing, and then some.
Its just the same story over and over.
This is what I will be doing.
Drop to a much lower package, definitely get rid of Blockbuster (i am on a 2 disc plan and I am lucky if I get 1 a month)
I will be getting HULU Plus and going back to netflix.
I am done with this poop.
Joe

Well, you just illustrated what apparently Dish is saying. You can get those programs on other free or almost free outlets and so Dish isn't going to pay what AMC is asking. (Im making a point, I may not agree with Dish as already stated if spite is more the reason)
Since you are not watching the channels that come with the BB package, I wouldn't get BB either. It is not meant to just get movies by mail or at least you are getting very little of value of the package.

 

[Mochuf]

Won't miss these channels in the least. Now, what would be the "high value" replacement channels. Perhaps the same complainers may have their wish of channel additions come true.

I get that people don't care about channels they don't watch. But come, on the"complainers" have a valid argument. And what "high value" channels that have highly rated series, that aren't on Dish already, out there? Unless they put one of the HBO or Showtime channels (and we know that won't happen) as free replacements, there are none.

 

[king3pj]

Well, you just illustrated what apparently Dish is saying. You can get those programs on other free or almost free outlets and so Dish isn't going to pay what AMC is asking.
Since you are not watching the channels that come with the BB package, I wouldn't get BB either. It is not meant to just get movies by mail or at least you are getting very little of value of the package.

There is no legal free way I know of to watch AMC shows without getting AMC from your television provider. Netflix is $8 per month and they don't have the AMC shows for about a year after the end of the season. iTunes costs $2.99 per episode and if you don't have an apple tv or an easy way to hook your computer to your tv you are stuck watching from your desk. Hulu plus is not free either but I don't know what it costs. The point is we pay for tv so we don't have to buy our episodes at $2.99 a pop. If we wanted to go ala carte we would cancel dish and already be using iTunes.

 

[papalittle]

Never watch any of those channels...no big loss to me.

 

[Mochuf]

There is no legal free way I know of to watch AMC shows without getting AMC from your television provider. Netflix is $8 per month and they don't have the AMC shows for about a year after the end of the season. iTunes costs $2.99 per episode and if you don't have an apple tv or an easy way to hook your computer to your tv you are stuck watching from your desk. Hulu plus is not free either but I don't know what it costs. The point is we pay for tv so we don't have to buy our episodes at $2.99 a pop. If we wanted to go ala carte we would cancel dish and already be using iTunes.

You can SD versions of tv shows for $1.99 per episode from Amazon and can be watched on a lot of devices that connect to a tv. Sadly, I'll probably do that for the first few episodes for Breaking Bad. But if the situation hasn't changed by September, I'll downgrade and supplement with my local cabelco or just drop Dish completely. But I do agree with you completely. If I have to watch what I want from another source, then I might as well change from Dish and go with someone else. To be honest, Dish probably won't lose too many customers, but I bet it will affect how many new customers they get.

 

[Tampa8]

There is no legal free way I know of to watch AMC shows without getting AMC from your television provider. Netflix is $8 per month and they don't have the AMC shows for about a year after the end of the season. iTunes costs $2.99 per episode and if you don't have an apple tv or an easy way to hook your computer to your tv you are stuck watching from your desk. Hulu plus is not free either but I don't know what it costs. The point is we pay for tv so we don't have to buy our episodes at $2.99 a pop. If we wanted to go ala carte we would cancel dish and already be using iTunes.

So wait, what's all this "I'm cutting the chord because TV is so expensive?" posters post. Your saying it isn't free, and isn't easy to watch programs?
That point is made for others who keep saying internet viewing is the way to go. To the point however, you CAN get programs for almost free, $8 in today's world isn't anything to pay keeping in mind it isn't just AMC you would be getting. No one said you could see current episodes, and certainly you and I don't want to wait a year I agree. And you CAN see current episodes for $3.00. Now you wouldn't want to pay that for every program out there, but your not, it's only a show or two you watch on AMC, as that is the dispute. So theoretically you could lower your Dish package if AMC channels was the reason you had a higher package.

For different reasons, but Direct TV isn't enamored with other ways to watch programming. They have not allowed HBO GO, they may now I do not know. It's kind of hard to swallow increasing demands for programming costs, then see people talk about how you can watch in other ways for potentially less. While I can see that becoming more of an issue, again, I'm not fully believing that is the real issue here.

 

[Mochuf]

So wait, what's all this "I'm cutting the chord because TV is so expensive?" posters post. Your saying it isn't free, and isn't easy to watch programs?
That point is made for others who keep saying internet viewing is the way to go. To the point however, you CAN get programs for almost free, $8 in today's world isn't anything to pay keeping in mind it isn't just AMC you would be getting. No one said you could see current episodes, and certainly you and I don't want to wait a year I agree. And you CAN see current episodes for $3.00. Now you wouldn't want to pay that for every program out there, but your not, it's only a show or two you watch on AMC, as that is the dispute. So theoretically you could lower your Dish package if AMC channels was the reason you had a higher package.

For different reasons, but Direct TV isn't enamored with other ways to watch programming. They have not allowed HBO GO, they may now I do not know. It's kind of hard to swallow increasing demands for programming costs, then see people talk about how you can watch in other ways for potentially less. While I can see that becoming more of an issue, again, I'm not fully believing that is the real issue here.

This dispute between Dish and AMC Networks reminds me of the saying, "Cutting your nose off to spite your face". When you encourage people to find programming from alternate sources, they just might stick with those alternate sources and drop you.

 

[Teehar]

Where are you all getting Dish's side? I see nothing here: DISH Network - Investor Relations - 1.888.825.2557

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304746604577384080305759926.html

Couple of excerpts I got there.

And here.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/4/2999816/dish-threatens-to-drop-amc-cable-channels

There is many articles with quotes from both sides just doing a google search.

 

[Teehar]

I wonder if Dish will be willing to pay for episodes of AMC shows that their customers would have to purchase? They seem to tout that the shows can be watched online which seems like a bad business decision to point customers to alternate providers.I really don't like the way Dish is handling this at all.

 

[whitewolf8214]

I wonder if Dish will be willing to pay for episodes of AMC shows that their customers would have to purchase? They seem to tout that the shows can be watched online which seems like a bad business decision to point customers to alternate providers.I really don't like the way Dish is handling this at all.

amen

 

[satjay]

Wonder if this will be discussed at all at the conference call tomorrow?

 

[Teehar]

Wonder if this will be discussed at all at the conference call tomorrow?

It certainly should be.

 

[Tampa8]

This dispute between Dish and AMC Networks reminds me of the saying, "Cutting your nose off to spite your face". When you encourage people to find programming from alternate sources, they just might stick with those alternate sources and drop you.

I do agree, exactly why I don't agree with Dish on this one. They might not have simply renewed the contract, but it would never have gone like this if Dish management wasn't mad at the Voom lawsuit, or so how it looks to me. I will say the part about Dish not feeling the price AMC is getting or wants is a bone of contention because of online availability, apparently as low as $1.99 an episode for SD has a ring of truth to it. But I think that would have been expressed in private during negotiations.

 

[shodobe]

I don't watch these so no loss for me, but I do feel for those who dfo watch these channels religiously. I started to watch the Walking Dead when it started but it then became what I call a "soap opera" and you really have to keep up with it to know what is going on. I couldn't so I stopped watching it. Zombies! Can't get enough of them. So it would be a big mistake on Dish to drop these for whatever reason. What is the reason anyway?

 

[MikeD-C05]

Funniest thing about all of this is that we might lose the channels but our bills will stay the same or even higher when the next price hike comes in February.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Funniest thing about all of this is that we might lose the channels but our bills will stay the same or even higher when the next price hike comes in February.

Agreed! I saw a few people welcoming the elimination of these channels. However, are they thinking about what you posted? We have Dish Latino Dos, and we would lose AMC, IFC, and We. The Welcome Pack subs would lose AMC and We. I know that in reports that it has been said new, high quality channels would replace them if or when dropped. However, when Fuse and CNBC World were dropped, I did not see permanent, high quality replacements.

 

[mike123abc]

This simply points out the long term doom that the current pay TV model faces. There is only so much the customer will put up with. I know everyone blames Dish for being the leader in these fights, but if they did not fight do you really think that rates would be lower, or the same? If Dish was not leading the fight someone else would have to do it. But, more likely the fights would be more spread out among other providers, Dish is just the one that jumps first.

Rates are going to go up every year (or a big hike before a 2 year "freeze" marketing ploy). Rates are going to go up at DIRECTV/Cable/U-Verse/FIOS.

The internet will probably eventually force a la carte. I have done the calculations based on my own bill and buying all the cable episodes (I do have OTA HD reception at my house) in HD from Amazon at 2.99 each is really only slightly more expensive than Dish (when you add in all the equipment fees). If HBO let you get a subscription via HBO GO without a cable/sat subscription I would drop Dish all together. I would gladly pay HBO the full fee amount that Dish charges and be able to drop pay TV.

I am tired of all these disputes. Why do I have to rely on Dish to negotiate for me? Why cannot I subscribe to the channels I want via the internet (or even on Dish) and decide if what the company wants is worth it to me? I have a feeling more and more will come around to this line of thinking as the monthly bills spiral higher and higher.