YTTV is just like any other startup company with growing pains and few customers at the beginning. They have kept it secret exact numbers so its all speculation on loses anyway. They just expanded nationwide so my guess that estimated 300k will soon be couple million.
Dish Sheds 334,000 TV Subscribers in Q4, Taking a Hit From HBO and Univision Blackouts
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YTTV is just like any other startup company with growing pains and few customers at the beginning. They have kept it secret exact numbers so its all speculation on loses anyway. They just expanded nationwide so my guess that estimated 300k will soon be couple million.
I don't think visible gets the roaming agreements Verizon proper gets. If you look at Oklahoma on the Visible maps the two quarters of the State in the NW and SE that used to be McGaw Communications years ago are not covered, making the service virtually useless unless you're in OKC or Tulsa areas
Here's a good example for why I am still likely to be a Cable/Dish subscriber. I am a Philadelphia sports fan living in Columbus, Ohio. I tried watching the Sixers game on TNT and the Flyers game via NHL.tv last night. The Sixers game being on TNT was no problem. However, the Flyers game was having all sorts of issues on NHL.tv with buffering and it looked terrible. This, with a 100mb/s connection. This does not happen when you have the NHL subscription through Dish or cable. Streaming services still need work to be viable for me as a sports fan.
From what I've heard, it's using the exact same network, but it isn't using Verizon's legacy backend infrastructure. It's a totally cloud-based infrastructure. Apparently that's why they haven't worked all the kinks out yet.
Verizon Quietly Builds a Completely Cloud-Based Wireless Service | Light Reading
True from an accounting standpoint, but another cost advantage that OTT providers have is support. There are no truck rolls.. there are no install costs. There are no equipment costs. I would venture to guess that support costs are a fraction of what Dish pays out.
It’s also safe assume that you are absolutely correct about data collecting.
Any info about Alphabet loosing money per subscriber are speculative.
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Everything in this is absolutely true. So many times I'l be talking to a customer and the phrase "I get 200 channels to watch 7 of them" comes up (Usually I'm the one saying it).
Sure, but it isn't my speculation. It is people whose life work is studying this industry and have a pretty good idea what things cost, even if they don't have a clue what will happen next. At least Dish is making money on most of their customers (for now anyway), versus losing money on every single one. Eventually that will be material to the business.
I know one thing, and I don't know if it's from losing subscribers or what, but the "slow season" this year, has been unprecedentedly slow, to the point that people are seeing pay checks cut in half because of a general lack of work. It's getting close to panic time....
The same for DirecTV. Last fall they announced they will not be building any more satellites.
Even though they use non compatible receivers , some day in the next 5 years or so, they will likely combine to reduce overhead costs.
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Interesting comment here:
"But both Dish and AT&T are bullish on the potential of advanced advertising better monetizing these streaming services in the future. Achieving a critical mass of subscribers is critical for those advanced advertising aspirations. "
https://www.multichannel.com/news/sling-tv-adds-50k-users-in-q4
"But both Dish and AT&T are bullish on the potential of advanced advertising better monetizing these streaming services in the future. Achieving a critical mass of subscribers is critical for those advanced advertising aspirations. "
https://www.multichannel.com/news/sling-tv-adds-50k-users-in-q4
RE Dish Plans; From their 10K
"As of December 31, 2018, we had entered into vendor contracts with multiple parties for, among other things, base stations, chipsets, modules, tower leases, the core network, RF design, and deployment services for the First Phase. Among other things, initial RF design in connection with the First Phase is now complete, we have secured certain tower sites, and we are in the process of identifying and securing additional tower sites. The core network has been installed and commissioned. We installed the first base stations on sites in 2018, and plan to continue deployment until complete. We currently expect expenditures for our wireless projects to be between $500 million and $1.0 billion through 2020. We expect the second phase of our network deployment (“Second Phase”) to follow once the 3GPP Release 16 is standardized and as our plans for our other spectrum holdings develop, we plan to upgrade and expand our network to full 5G to support new use cases. We currently expect expenditures for the Second Phase to be approximately $10 billion. "
Sounds like smoke to me. I'm thinking spending "500 to 1000 million" on wireless towers, and associated equipment to be like raising a flag and claiming victory with the hordes surrounding your hill. They will not get much for that money.
"As of December 31, 2018, we had entered into vendor contracts with multiple parties for, among other things, base stations, chipsets, modules, tower leases, the core network, RF design, and deployment services for the First Phase. Among other things, initial RF design in connection with the First Phase is now complete, we have secured certain tower sites, and we are in the process of identifying and securing additional tower sites. The core network has been installed and commissioned. We installed the first base stations on sites in 2018, and plan to continue deployment until complete. We currently expect expenditures for our wireless projects to be between $500 million and $1.0 billion through 2020. We expect the second phase of our network deployment (“Second Phase”) to follow once the 3GPP Release 16 is standardized and as our plans for our other spectrum holdings develop, we plan to upgrade and expand our network to full 5G to support new use cases. We currently expect expenditures for the Second Phase to be approximately $10 billion. "
Sounds like smoke to me. I'm thinking spending "500 to 1000 million" on wireless towers, and associated equipment to be like raising a flag and claiming victory with the hordes surrounding your hill. They will not get much for that money.
And here - Dish takes a whack at AT&T for hoarding satellite spectrum (among other issues)
As a result of AT&T’s 2015 acquisition of DirecTV, our direct competitor and the largest satellite TV provider in the United States now has increased access to capital, access to AT&T’s nationwide platform for wireless mobile video, and the ability to more seamlessly bundle its video services with AT&T’s broadband Internet access and wireless services. AT&T also has an OTT service, DirecTV Now, that distributes video directly to consumers over the Internet. The combined company may also be able to, among other things, utilize its increased leverage over third-party content owners and programmers to withhold online rights from us and reduce the price it pays for programming at the expense of other MVPDs, including us; thwart our entry into the wireless market, by, among other things, refusing to enter into data roaming agreements with us; underutilize key orbital spectrum resources that could be more efficiently used by us; foreclose or degrade our online video offerings at various points in the broadband pipe; and impose data caps on consumers who access our online video offerings.
As a result of AT&T’s 2015 acquisition of DirecTV, our direct competitor and the largest satellite TV provider in the United States now has increased access to capital, access to AT&T’s nationwide platform for wireless mobile video, and the ability to more seamlessly bundle its video services with AT&T’s broadband Internet access and wireless services. AT&T also has an OTT service, DirecTV Now, that distributes video directly to consumers over the Internet. The combined company may also be able to, among other things, utilize its increased leverage over third-party content owners and programmers to withhold online rights from us and reduce the price it pays for programming at the expense of other MVPDs, including us; thwart our entry into the wireless market, by, among other things, refusing to enter into data roaming agreements with us; underutilize key orbital spectrum resources that could be more efficiently used by us; foreclose or degrade our online video offerings at various points in the broadband pipe; and impose data caps on consumers who access our online video offerings.
I think that's pretty much an Ilinois issue. The economy here in Florida is really going great guns. That is where all the Illinois people are moving to avoid the high taxes.
Come on down, the weather's fine!
Charlie's business strategy for Sling TV has been flat out dumb. Starting with the goofy name: it should be called Dish Now, to avoid confusion. You don't spend 20 years building up a brand name just to toss it out for no reason. Sling TV means nothing to me, except I still use a Slingbox with my TV provider.
Sling has two different base plans, Blue and Red, which is duplicative and confusing. Have one base plan and then let people add channels to it, like everyone else.
If you were building a new streaming TV service would you make sure to NOT carry the Number One BASIC cable channel AND the Number One PREMIUM channel for its subscribers? That is a complete deal breaker for very many potential customers. Fox News Channel, Fox Business Channel, HBO, and Cinemax have all been banned by SlingTV. Meanwhile, Charlie Ergen is scratching his head trying to figure out why he is losing so many subscribers.
Sling has two different base plans, Blue and Red, which is duplicative and confusing. Have one base plan and then let people add channels to it, like everyone else.
If you were building a new streaming TV service would you make sure to NOT carry the Number One BASIC cable channel AND the Number One PREMIUM channel for its subscribers? That is a complete deal breaker for very many potential customers. Fox News Channel, Fox Business Channel, HBO, and Cinemax have all been banned by SlingTV. Meanwhile, Charlie Ergen is scratching his head trying to figure out why he is losing so many subscribers.
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But Sling TV is still the service with the most subscribers... so he is doing something correct there.
Fox News, Fox Business have not been banned... just no deal as FOX wants them to carry all of the Fox channels, which would drive up the package prices greatly.
Fox News, Fox Business have not been banned... just no deal as FOX wants them to carry all of the Fox channels, which would drive up the package prices greatly.
I think DirecTV Now is rapidly catching up, and it has Fox News and HBO for only $5 a month. Plus Sling TV isn't close to making a profit, nor is anyone else in streaming TV. Google and AT&T can take losses like this and barely feel it. Not so with a smaller company like Dish.
Sure, when you are Number One you charge more. Last time I checked, Fox News and FBN charge providers $1.50 a month, compared to ESPN which charges $7.00 a month, and FNC has more viewers than ESPN.
Sure, when you are Number One you charge more. Last time I checked, Fox News and FBN charge providers $1.50 a month, compared to ESPN which charges $7.00 a month, and FNC has more viewers than ESPN.
