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

[whatchel1]

IF this sets a trend and all the companies decide to double charge for their channels , then I can see an end to FREE HD for LIFE! at DISH. Along with me cutting out Satellite entirely. I refuse to pay twice for watching only HD channels. The price of satellite and cable packs are already Too damn HIGH now.

It won't just be sat. It is going to be ALL providers: cable, sat.& fiber.

 

[dare2be]

It will be the death of network television. Hello streaming on demand.

 

[dangue]

This is far from over. Between the federal case that has initially gone Dish's way and the likely lengthy appeals process this will take, even an unfavorable outcome will leave the death knell of broadcast TV years away.

What I found most interesting is that Dish paid Disney in advance but explicitly reserved the right to sue on the disputed matter. When the lawsuit first came about, everyone claimed that Dish aired the HD channels without paying Disney and that was not the case at all. Dish doesn't have to pay Disney anything now, this ruling just affirmed that the previous payments for HD channels were valid charges and necessary payments.

It's nice to see Dish handle things the way they tactically should rather than exposing themselves to a breach of contract action and additional damages.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[Yespage]

ALL the SD needs to be dropped. For any hold-outs with antique TV's, the HD downconverts. One price-one feed. Done. :rant:

This, this, and very much this. It won't fill the whole screen, but it does look rather nice.

I'd like to see the slick lawyer double-speak that convinced the judges that two channels with the same name, the same content, and the same schedule just that one of them has the letters H-D after it's call-sign are two separate channels.
Perhaps it had something to do with the way the contract between DISH/Disney are worded? I would hope that language isn't standard for DISH's other carriage agreements.

I do wonder. Did Disney have the right to expect Dish to pay? Because if the contract is open to interpretation, can't Dish say they'd never would have paid twice and only taken the HD feed. Suppose this means we won't be seeing ESPN Deportes in HD for a year or two.

 

[ekilgus]

Why doesn't Dish restore the HD channels and drop the SD channels?

 

[dare2be]

I'd guess it's because too many subs still have SD-only receivers...625, 522, etc etc. I only just upgraded to HD last month.

Forcing subs to exchange their SD receivers for HD is just money out of Dish's pocket in the form of new equipment. If people are willing to pay for SD only, Dish isn't going to complain.

 

[KAB]

Why doesn't Dish restore the HD channels and drop the SD channels?

There are considerably more SD only subs (with SD only receivers) than you would think.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Why doesn't Dish restore the HD channels and drop the SD channels?

They wont sell them the HD channels unless they already carry the SD version.

 

[Ghpr13]

They wont sell them the HD channels unless they already carry the SD version.

And there's the catch-22.
Ghpr13

 

[Rwwatson]

OK, all of this said, how come the other providers are not having the same issue? Even if their contracts are up at different times, this has been going on for a while, so, some of them should be in a similar situation, right???

Also, the SD feeds are just HD feeds compressed to SD length (we still get ESPNU and ESPNNews, but they are the HD versions in an SD screen, which sucks because 1/3 of the screen is black). Sooooo, they force Dish to buy SD and HD, while SD is just HD, and charge for both? MAN, I wish I came up with a scam like this!!!!

 

[Cband55]

Question why do Walmart Directv Dish Network etc think they can control prices?

What suppliers produce costs money, and it should be up to the market to set a price.

 

[B_Kranski]

I agree, I think the programming providers, movie companies, music and everyone have just gotten so greedy. Unless people quite buying there programming, then they will continue to try and milk the cash cow of us people.

 

[KAB]

OK, all of this said, how come the other providers are not having the same issue?

They probably will now. We were Disney's petri "dish".

 

[Laddyboy]

Question why do Walmart Directv Dish Network etc think they can control prices?

What suppliers produce costs money, and it should be up to the market to set a price.

Huh? What makes you think Walmart et. al. aren't part of the market? Dish, DirecTV, and the Cablecos are the demand for the wholesale programming market and the programming providers are the supply. At the retail level, Dish, DirecTV and the Cablecos are the supply and subs comprise the demand. What happens in the wholesale market impacts the retail market.

 

[goaliebob99]

This needs to be fought really hard by Dish. If Disney wins the issue of paying twice, once for SD, and once for HD, will be mirrored by everyone and we are all SCREWED big.

A win in Federal courts by Disney will mean that every other major content producer will follow the Mouse with baseball bats that are not greased up with vasoline and impale every one of us.

The simple solution is to drop the SD feed, and just give everyone HD. Boom problem sloved. Everyone gets an HD box, and ditch the sd boxes all togetther. Now you just have also gained a boatload of space on the birds because you can also go to 8psk mpeg4 on every transponder in both fleets. EA & WA. It actually does dish a favor!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

That would be a simple solution, but again DISNEY requires them to carry the SD feed in order for them to carry the HD feed. They just can't pull the SD feed.

 

[goaliebob99]

This, this, and very much this. It won't fill the whole screen, but it does look rather nice.

I do wonder. Did Disney have the right to expect Dish to pay? Because if the contract is open to interpretation, can't Dish say they'd never would have paid twice and only taken the HD feed. Suppose this means we won't be seeing ESPN Deportes in HD for a year or two.

Upgrade your tv, or use the Zoom feature on the box.

 

[goaliebob99]

And there's the catch-22.
Ghpr13

Yep that sucks...

 

[goaliebob99]

That would be a simple solution, but again DISNEY requires them to carry the SD feed in order for them to carry the HD feed. They just can't pull the SD feed.

Yea I got that after I read the post, wich was after you posted this!

 

[Yespage]

That would be a simple solution, but again DISNEY requires them to carry the SD feed in order for them to carry the HD feed. They just can't pull the SD feed.

That just seems wickedly absurd.

Upgrade your tv, or use the Zoom feature on the box.

Umm... that just fills the screen, not make it HD.