Dish HD vs Disney (DISH sort of won...)

[tvropro]

They need to make up and with the make up give us ESPNU in HD

Dish can purchase any channels they want. They just have to pay what the programmer asks and agree to their terms. Charlie Ergan plays hardball to try to get his way. He thinks he is above the programmers and their rules. He is finding out he can't have his way. When he decides to pay up what he owes Disney and agrees to the terms that everyone else does (Direct, Comcast, ATT etc) he will once again have access to the channels. If he has to increase subscriber bills to pay for this he will have to. That's just how it works.

 

[GoWulfpack919]

I'm seriously considering making the switch to DirecTV over ESPNU-HD. I live in ACC country and quite a few of our games are on "The U."

 

[tigerfan33]

I applaude you sir!! I wonder how many kids WON'T watch B&W shows. For us it's the opposite. On TVLAND, I won't watch The Andy Griffith Show if it IS in color. The show went downhill after that.

You got that right.
The local channel here has the Andy Griffith Show at 10.
No Barney, no tigerfan33.

 

[ronfelder]

I'm seriously considering making the switch to DirecTV over ESPNU-HD. I live in ACC country and quite a few of our games are on "The U."

Well going to D^ you're going to loose that hd only package you have. since the games are the same in hd or sd. why not just upgrade to where you get all sd channels and there won't be anymore problems. eventually they'll all come back in hd. afterall look how long it took for vs to come back to D*

Ron

 

[GoWulfpack919]

Well going to D^ you're going to loose that hd only package you have. since the games are the same in hd or sd. why not just upgrade to where you get all sd channels and there won't be anymore problems. eventually they'll all come back in hd. afterall look how long it took for vs to come back to D*

Ron

HD only package?

 

[whatchel1]

Not the only one

E* isn't the only company that is about to do battle w/ Disney over the HD. Time Warner Cable is also going to be playing hardball w/ them too. Read that in SkyReport today.

 

[cditty]

E* isn't the only company that is about to do battle w/ Disney over the HD. Time Warner Cable is also going to be playing hardball w/ them too. Read that in SkyReport today.

Very true. The mouse is bringing goofy, Donald, Pluto, daisy, and Minnie.

Charlie just had the misfortune of being first. I support him on this one.

 

[tvropro]

E* isn't the only company that is about to do battle w/ Disney over the HD. Time Warner Cable is also going to be playing hardball w/ them too. Read that in SkyReport today.

ABC/Disney is all about money these days, they have ESPN and that commands leverage. TWC is another one that thinks they can have it their way. All this hardball does is gets into long drawn out contract disputes that end up usually with the subscriber loosing out. Companies like ABC/Disney don't care if they loose some companies that provide them since they know that people want their services. Those who get disgusted waiting for a solution will go to the competition and get there fix. In the meantime companies like Dish & TWC keep collecting from the subscriber for services they aren't providing. That should not happen, if they don't provide they should give rebates. But they write up their contracts so the company wins and the consumer looses. Ain't right but thats the way it is.

 

[Islandguy43]

ABC/Disney is all about money these days, they have ESPN and that commands leverage. TWC is another one that thinks they can have it their way. All this hardball does is gets into long drawn out contract disputes that end up usually with the subscriber loosing out. Companies like ABC/Disney don't care if they loose some companies that provide them since they know that people want their services. Those who get disgusted waiting for a solution will go to the competition and get there fix. In the meantime companies like Dish & TWC keep collecting from the subscriber for services they aren't providing. That should not happen, if they don't provide they should give rebates. But they write up their contracts so the company wins and the consumer looses. Ain't right but thats the way it is.

TWC has some good features like their "startover" and their own YNN Network (Yorur own Local News Network) and a real Local Weather on 8's on the Weather Channel; however they are just about at the breaking point for many subs. First no NFL and HD nets because of disputes. Now the Disney/ESPN War. If they discontinue the ESPN channels, I will move over to Directv for good, espeically since they are my only option if I want to see my hockey team and baseball team games in hd.

 

[Laddyboy]

ABC/Disney is all about money these days, they have ESPN and that commands leverage. TWC is another one that thinks they can have it their way. All this hardball does is gets into long drawn out contract disputes that end up usually with the subscriber loosing out. Companies like ABC/Disney don't care if they loose some companies that provide them since they know that people want their services. Those who get disgusted waiting for a solution will go to the competition and get there fix. In the meantime companies like Dish & TWC keep collecting from the subscriber for services they aren't providing. That should not happen, if they don't provide they should give rebates. But they write up their contracts so the company wins and the consumer looses. Ain't right but thats the way it is.

E* isn't collecting anything from subs for the missing Disney HD Channels. That's why Disney pulled them because they wanted paid separately for the HD channels and E* disagreed. E* is only paying ABC for the SD channels which they are still providing to subscribers.

 

[Bonneville44]

no E* was collecting $$ from us, just not giving it to Disney. I picked a package that had these HD channels at a certian price. Disney then said hey you haven't paid us (thanks to the court decision) and pulle dthe HD channels. I still pay E* the same price as before without the channels in the package I picked (and Dish didn't remove them like their agreement says they can), tha tis why I hit them up for at least $5 disconts each month until they come back.

 

[Laddyboy]

no E* was collecting $$ from us, just not giving it to Disney. I picked a package that had these HD channels at a certian price. Disney then said hey you haven't paid us (thanks to the court decision) and pulle dthe HD channels. I still pay E* the same price as before without the channels in the package I picked (and Dish didn't remove them like their agreement says they can), tha tis why I hit them up for at least $5 disconts each month until they come back.

I understand where you're going, but given the reduced prices of the HD packages compared to the AM Top packages, could it not be the case that those "free" channels never entered the cost basis for determining rates in the first place? It wouldn't surprise me if there are other "free" channels in those packages. I would suspect any channel that did not also have an SD counterpart included in the package. I suppose some contracts might require SD to be included along with HD and some may not. It may also be the case there are some other freebies in the mix. It would be interesting to know. I suspect if other channels are dropped or the HD only packages disappear, we'll have an answer.

 

[dvrexpander]

I'm seriously considering making the switch to DirecTV over ESPNU-HD. I live in ACC country and quite a few of our games are on "The U."

I like Dish's equipment and layout..plus its cheaper, I'll deal with ESPNU in SD for now but would love to see it in HD to the point I'd pay for just that one channel. They should add this and a few other channels on a subscribe to only channel for say $2/month extra.. I'd pay it during CFB Season

For the record, Don Knotts ousted himself so he could become Mr. Limpett.

Ya know they are making a new Mr. Limpett? why destroy a classic in making another..that's just stupid.

 

[osu1991]

ESPN U looks like crap in sd on a 37inch lcd in my office, it is nearly unwatchable on the 65inch in the living room. I don't mind watching it in sd, if the sd feed is good.

But really, it is getting very close to the time that these SD feeds need to go away and Dish, Directv and the Cable Co just downconvert the HD feed, if they need an SD version.

Fox is doing that with the NFL this year.

 

[Ghpr13]

I applaude you sir!! I wonder how many kids WON'T watch B&W shows. For us it's the opposite. On TVLAND, I won't watch The Andy Griffith Show if it IS in color. The show went downhill after that.

:up:up:up

Ghpr13

 

[HDRoberts]

Just got this email from TWC. Sounds like Disney is playing hardball with everyone. They even mention Dish.

A MESSAGE FOR
TIME WARNER CABLE
CUSTOMERS


To Our Valued Customers...

At Time Warner Cable, we're currently negotiating new contracts with Disney - the owner of ABC, ESPN and the Disney cable channels.

While we've been working hard to reach an agreement, Disney has been threatening a blackout - and telling Time Warner Cable customers to switch TV service providers.

But the fact is, only Disney can take their channels away from you - and this year alone, they've already pulled-the-plug on Cablevision and the DISH Network.

So if you're thinking about changing to another satellite, phone or cable company, it won't protect you from blackout threats - by Disney or any TV network.

Whether you're a sports fan, a family with children, or someone who likes all different kinds of programs, Time Warner Cable is determined to keep your shows on the air - tell Disney you'd like the same commitment from them.

Please visit our website RollOverOrGetTough.com to learn more - and thanks for being a Time Warner Cable customer.

 

[dmendenjr]

Just got this email from TWC. Sounds like Disney is playing hardball with everyone. They even mention Dish.

<sarcasm mode activate>

That can't be true, Charlie is the only cheap one in the industry... Disney's a bunch of saints. Charlie must have produced that literature and put TWC's name on it... yeah that's it.

 

[tvropro]

Disney, ABC Family & the ESPN's SD & HD works fine on DirecTv. I guess DirecTv payed their bill, These others providers that are having issues are trying to get by on the cheap. That just don't cut it, they ask a price for content and don't want a low ball offer.

The same thing happened with National Programming Service and C band. They thought they could dictate to Disney what they would pay. It ended up with no Disney, ABC Family and ESPN on C band for the last few years. The ones that loose out are the subscribers since they loose programming they want. NPS came up with all kind of excuses saying Disney was the Evil one when in fact it was NPS that was, same with Dish TWC etc. The programmers want to provide content to anyone, but the cost is the cost. When the providers go beyond the wiggle room that the programmer allows, it ends up in a stalemate.

 

[ClarkGable]

It is more of a case of Disney/ESPN/ABC being a megacorporation with the ability to dictate terms to whomever they deem unworthy. If the Disney conglomerate did not own ESPN, this problem would not exist.

 

[Jim S.]

Apparently people are forgetting that Disney are the SCUM who keep somehow convincing the government to change the copyright laws so that their material NEVER becomes public-domain as was originally intended by said laws. To someone who loves freedom, that should say it all.