Dish Network to roll out service bundle, Blockbuster offerings
By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/07/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
Dish Network will roll out a bundle of TV, phone
and broadband services in Colorado within 30
days, a top executive said Friday.
The Douglas County-based company also plans
to offer new subscribers to its satellite-TV
service three free months of "Blockbuster by
Mail" as part of a promotion that launches in
about two weeks.
Dish acquired the struggling video-rental chain
out of bankruptcy for $320 million in late April.
Blockbuster by Mail starts at $12 a month and
allows customers to rent DVDs and games online
and have them delivered to their doorstep, with
the option of exchanging titles at brick-and-
mortar stores.
Though still early in the integration process, Dish
has decided to keep the Blockbuster brand
separate so its products can be marketed to
customers of services that compete directly with
Dish, such as cable TV.
"Clearly we're going to move forward with two
brands," said Tom Cullen, Dish executive vice
president of sales, marketing and programming.
"While I want to see Dish grow, I want to make
sure that Blockbuster is not a captive or
proprietary brand to Dish."
Colorado will serve as the first test market for
Dish's new bundle offerings featuring services
from Liberty-Bell Telecom. Dish acquired the
small Denver-based phone and broadband
company in December. The bundles will be sold
under the Dish brand.
"We'll have a series of bundles — two-product
bundles, three-product bundles, different speeds
and so forth," Cullen said. "It'll look familiar to
you, relative to bundles that are on the market."
He didn't disclose details on pricing, but triple-
play bundles from competitors generally start at
a promotional rate of $99 a month.
"We'll see how it goes in Colorado, and then we'll
make decisions on how and where to expand,"
Cullen said.
Liberty-Bell is a competitive, local-exchange
carrier that buys wholesale access to Qwest's
(now CenturyLink's) network. Liberty-Bell is
licensed to offer service in 13 of Qwest's 14-
state local-phone-service territory, with
approval from Arizona expected shortly, Cullen
said.
Cullen's remarks came during a session with
members of the media at Dish's annual retailer
summit, held this year at the Colorado
Convention Center.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209,
avuong@denverpost.com or twitter.
com/andyvuong
By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/07/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
Dish Network will roll out a bundle of TV, phone
and broadband services in Colorado within 30
days, a top executive said Friday.
The Douglas County-based company also plans
to offer new subscribers to its satellite-TV
service three free months of "Blockbuster by
Mail" as part of a promotion that launches in
about two weeks.
Dish acquired the struggling video-rental chain
out of bankruptcy for $320 million in late April.
Blockbuster by Mail starts at $12 a month and
allows customers to rent DVDs and games online
and have them delivered to their doorstep, with
the option of exchanging titles at brick-and-
mortar stores.
Though still early in the integration process, Dish
has decided to keep the Blockbuster brand
separate so its products can be marketed to
customers of services that compete directly with
Dish, such as cable TV.
"Clearly we're going to move forward with two
brands," said Tom Cullen, Dish executive vice
president of sales, marketing and programming.
"While I want to see Dish grow, I want to make
sure that Blockbuster is not a captive or
proprietary brand to Dish."
Colorado will serve as the first test market for
Dish's new bundle offerings featuring services
from Liberty-Bell Telecom. Dish acquired the
small Denver-based phone and broadband
company in December. The bundles will be sold
under the Dish brand.
"We'll have a series of bundles — two-product
bundles, three-product bundles, different speeds
and so forth," Cullen said. "It'll look familiar to
you, relative to bundles that are on the market."
He didn't disclose details on pricing, but triple-
play bundles from competitors generally start at
a promotional rate of $99 a month.
"We'll see how it goes in Colorado, and then we'll
make decisions on how and where to expand,"
Cullen said.
Liberty-Bell is a competitive, local-exchange
carrier that buys wholesale access to Qwest's
(now CenturyLink's) network. Liberty-Bell is
licensed to offer service in 13 of Qwest's 14-
state local-phone-service territory, with
approval from Arizona expected shortly, Cullen
said.
Cullen's remarks came during a session with
members of the media at Dish's annual retailer
summit, held this year at the Colorado
Convention Center.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209,
avuong@denverpost.com or twitter.
com/andyvuong
