E-mail from Dish: No VOOM Soon

[mdonnelly]

I got a response to the email I sent in before Monday's chat, asking about HD and VOOM. It doesn't look promising for the near term.

Dear Mr. D,

Thank you for your e-mail. Specific information regarding your request ESPN 2 HD, Universal HD is not currently available. It is our intent to add a variety of programming and services to please the majority of current and future subscribers. We will gladly forward your request to our Programming Department for further consideration.

At this time there are no plans by DISH to add any of VOOMS programming.

We thank you for your input as we continually review our options in order to provide a compelling lineup for our viewers. Please stay tuned for consumer Charlie Chats that are broadcast monthly on Channel 101 or log on to our website for future programming announcements.
...

Sincerely,

Kelly G.

DISH Network eCare



** Please include all previous correspondence when replying. **



-----Original Message----

_____________________________________________
From: m.g.d@att.net [mailto:m.g.d@att.net]
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 9:14 AM
To: CharlieChat
Subject: Programming

Show: Charlie Chat

Name: Mike D.

Email: m.g.d@att.net

Phone Number:

Subject: Programming

Message:

Charlie,

I'm a High Definition Package subscriber. I love the 811 receiver, but I'm starving for more HD content.

With Cablevision announcing the end of VOOM, they've also said that they'll be marketing the 21 VOOM exclusive high definition channels to other providers.

Is Dish going to pick up any of the VOOM HD programming soon?

Also, how about the Universal-HD channel, and ESPN2-HD now that baseball season is going?

Thanks,

M. D.

Mustang, OK

 

[jeslevine]

surprise surprise

what I will really be surprised at is if dish get more HD content this year

 

[shanewalker]

two words...that sucks.

I hope they wake up and smell the HD this year or it's gonna be a loooong one.

 

[BFG]

Yeah it's gonna start looking really sad if it indeed turns out that there will be no HD on E* for a year. But right now there's nothing being added by my other 2 options either, so for me I'm hanging with dish until I see that someone really takes off ahead of dish. But I'll always have my OTA channels to keep me busy upping content while I wait so it's fine with me.

 

[Cyclone]

Things are poised to for this fall being a big HDTV story. It appears that many new shows will finally be available in HD. Shows like Letterman, SNL, and such. Likely 100% NFL HD coverage. D*'s lauch of HD LIL. So that's when Dish will likely start or at least announce their next HD step.

 

[BFG]

Yep, charlie said E* will be announcing HD stuff in the September chat.

 

[richmert]

umm isnt this where i am supposed to say "September of what year?"

 

[Minsk1]

Yep, charlie said E* will be announcing HD stuff in the September chat.

I remember Charlie announced three years ago that they are lanching HD SuperDish and 50 HD chanells.

 

[MikeD-C05]

He also said they were looking at possibly adding the Voom hd channels too. I see this coming by either years end or after the mpeg4 transition early next year. Charlie did say at the last Charlie chat, that the Voom channels had to be changed over to mpeg4 before they could be added. This would be a big advantage for Dish. Most people can receive their local hd channels with an ota antenna. Not everyone has 21 channels of origional hd content. While Directv is busy adding hd locals in the top 12 markets, Dish could already have the Voom hd channels and another few choice hd channels . Dish could then add the hd local channels in their own time and do it right. I would rather have some national hd channels now rather than waiting for hd locals in the future. Hell I am still waiting for my Beaumont/Pt. Arthur locals in sd.

 

[Stacy A]

He also said they were looking at possibly adding the Voom hd channels too. I see this coming by either years end or after the mpeg4 transition early next year. Charlie did say at the last Charlie chat, that the Voom channels had to be changed over to mpeg4 before they could be added. This would be a big advantage for Dish. Most people can receive their local hd channels with an ota antenna. Not everyone has 21 channels of origional hd content. While Directv is busy adding hd locals in the top 12 markets, Dish could already have the Voom hd channels and another few choice hd channels . Dish could then add the hd local channels in their own time and do it right. I would rather have some national hd channels now rather than waiting for hd locals in the future. Hell I am still waiting for my Beaumont/Pt. Arthur locals in sd.

I have a hard time believing that anyone will see Dish actually roll out MPEG4 recievers before the end of 2006. I see so many posts with statements about what Dish will be doing or predicitions about future HD programming and they are all predicated on Dish going to MPEG4 at the end of this year/beginning of next year. Listen. If they can't come out with an advanced receiver on time, working without bugs, WHAT THE HELL MAKES YOU THINK THEY CAN COME OUT WITH AN ENTIRE LINE OF MPEG4 RECEIVERS BY THE BEGINNING OF 2006! It won't happen. MPEG4 is a pipedream designed to make people wait longer.

I understand Dish doesn't have the bandwidth, so they will have to go to MPEG4. But that is a MAJOR undertaking and they haven't been successful with the MINOR undertakings (921 for instance). MPEG4 won't happen before December 31, 2006.

There. I've had my one rant. :shocked

 

[datwell]

MikeD-C05: I just wish I could get my locals OTA. I live in the greater Washington, DC area and my home is on the wrong side of a large hill + they built two large bank buildings nearby to further ensure the signals are fully blocked. The end result is no OTAs at all for me. Charlie has our locals in SD, we would love to see them in HD. We would also love to see more HD in general (Universal, etc.).

Considering the good logic in Stacy_A's rant above, I don't know why Charlie doesn't put some more HD up on the "wings" - at least as an interim measure. Heck, we already have the 61.5 dish in addition to our Dish 500 setup. This would be so easy.

da Doug

 

[shanewalker]

I would think that adding an HD channel or two in the near term, say June 1, would go a long way to placating the fold that the big promises will be delivered with MPEG-4 implementation and large-scale hardware swaps. Leading with a carrot as it were. Then, when the inevitable delays occur, they can say, remember, we gave you SOMETHING a few months ago, just be patient. Anything, just something to be announced through the summer to show there is a concrete initiative for more HD and some amount of momentum...

 

[dlsnyder]

After thinking about it for awhile E*'s HD strategy (if you can call it that) makes sense from a business perspective. They provide a very limited amount of HD, just enough to keep most of their existing subs from bailing. They limit availability of new HD equipment and programming to keep the majority of prospective new HD customers away. Churn may increase somewhat in the short term, especially with the "high value" customers, which is a negative. That is outweighed by the potential costs of replacing all of those MPEG-2 receivers if they made a big push for HD customers now. Its a gamble, but then again, that's what Charlie is known for. The e-mails they send out to those of us requesting this or that HD channel all include the line "It is our intent to add a variety of programming and services to please the MAJORITY of current and future subscribers" (emphasis added). It is currently not in their best business interests for HD subs to be in the majority.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Stacy you are entitled to your opinion like anyone else, but if Dish waits till the end of 2006 to start doing the mpeg4 transition then they will be far behind Directv. Directv will start this summer, adding some mpeg2 hd locals in the top 12 markets then transition the rest to mpeg4. I see Directv pushing this quickly since this they are putting so much on the line with the Spaceway satellites. If Dish sits on it 's ass for another year they will never recover. Directv will then be the leader in hd and will already have hd locals started while Charlie fiddles while Dish churns.

I don't see how hard it will be to actually do the transition. They will take the hd receivers like the 942 and simply add the mpeg 4 hardware and release it as another number and start the transition. Then of course do the same for the 811 . The question is how much Dish will gouge us to upgrade again .

I don't see Dish wasting their chance to get the voom 21 hd channels first since they will own the satellite they are on. They might even do them in mpeg2 and add them by the end of the year and that would make a lot of people happy now. But I could be wrong. OF course Charlie is very cheap so if he can't get them for a song he might not be interested.

One thing is that Cable should be taking advantage of the satellite industry dragging their feet on adding hd channels , by adding a ton of their own and of course their locals in hd. This might be the only time they can actually be in a good position to stop some of their cable customers churn.

In the end I guess we will have to wait to see what will happen. Without Voom in the mix , their is now no reason for either satellite company to rush to add any hd now. I would like to think that old Charlie will quit dangeling that old hd carrot and deliver some good stuff soon by years end or the beginning of next year. The funny thing I don't sub to the hd pack. I don't consider it very "compelling in content". Some of the Voom hd channels would be pretty cool though. I would love to see Monsters in Hd.

 

[rocatman]

If Dish does offer the Voom21 channels, it won't be on the Rainbow-1 (R-1)satellite because of its massive spotbeam capability. Even if Dish won't use that spotbeam capability for another 6 - 9 months, they are not going to have a bunch of folks add D300 dishes for 61.5 W and then later have folks get new dishes for another location for the Voom21 channels so they can use the spotbeams on R-1. It would make more sense for Dish to put them at 105 W or 85 W once AMC-15 and AMC-16 finally get to those locations probably sometime in June, 2005. Perhaps Dish would offer a free Superdish installation for a 2 year commitment to Voom21 with some type of agreement to a future MPEG-4 upgrade.

 

[dlsnyder]

On the other hand, if those VOOM Motorola boxes can handle the standard DVB/MPEG-2 that Dish uses, perhaps Dish could instantly get a large number of the existing VOOM subscriber base if they kept the VOOM 21 channels. I realize the biggest obstacle would be the CA system; perhaps they could send both CA datastreams on the 61.5 slots occupied by VOOM programming - at least until they were converted over to E* equipment.

 

[vurbano]

The Voom21 wouldnt bring in a substantial amount of customers. But 10 premium movie channels would with uhd and possibly espn2hd. There would be a stampede of HD customers. And I would think that could be done with mpeg2 and rainbow1?

 

[John Kotches]

vurbano:

Define "stampede". According to various filings, E* has 4000 net new customers a day without these channels.

I'm not saying it would be a bad thing, I'd welcome more HD in a heartbeat. I'm just asking a question here.

Cheers,

 

[BobMurdoch]

E* adds in 10 DAYS what V* took 18 months to amass.

I doubt that E* will keep them. I'h hoping for HD, but I'm guessing that more LIL markets and a solution to the two dish dilemma will be going there instead......

 

[NightRyder]

The Voom21 wouldnt bring in a substantial amount of customers. But 10 premium movie channels would with uhd and possibly espn2hd. There would be a stampede of HD customers. And I would think that could be done with mpeg2 and rainbow1?

Stampede? Even if all of V* former customers subscribed, it wouldn't constitute a stampede in the E* world. They could probably add as many subscribers by offering the German beer tasting channel, at substantially less cost, both monetarily and in bandwidth.

V* Charles = HD Visionary
E* Charles = Businessman


IMHO: E* won't put national HD channels at 61.5, they would have to mirror them at 148 to give full coverage to their service area, it would just be a waste of bandwidth.

I would love to see more HD on E*, but I don't see it happening soon.


NightRyder