EchoStar/Dish raises doubts about 'ability to continue as a going concern'

[Yespage]

There is rural and then there is RURAL. You live in a rural area. People in Montana live in a RURAL state.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Sure more and more places are getting broadband. But for many folks who try the Internet services they are finding them hard to use and not reliable.

In my own home we stopped using DISH for a month and tried all of the services we could. And the wife and kids didn't like any of them and wanted their Hopper 3 back. I think the Hopper 3 may be helping keep Dish subscribers sticky.

I would be surprised if we see a slight increase in subscribers for DISH this fall. Finally after a strange year because of the strike, real TV and shows will be back, and people will again want the ease of viewing and the features that DISH gives with the Hopper 3.

Again I will say I would not be surprised at all if DISH does file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not a bad thing. (Hell I just went through it) It may be just what they need to keep the company alive and perhaps even help it thrive.

Will DISH be here in 10 years? Will DIRECTV? Thats hard to say, but I am sure we will have both of them for years to come, and I do hope both continue to embrace and change as the technology changes. DISH should have an IP service that mirrors its satellite service, SlingTV is NOT it. And have software that mimics about the things people love about the Hopper 3. I could see that being very successful.

There may be some dark clouds in the sky, but ultimately the sky is not falling.

 

[Juan]

I don't think the content providers care until profits start dropping

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I don't think the content providers care until profits start dropping

I think Paramount is starting to care. Lol.

 

[Bruce]

I think Paramount is starting to care. Lol.

and Warner and Fox and Disney.

They all had reduced income/profits with their Broadcast and/or Cable Channels.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I think while IP is the future I think they all rushed into it without things being ready for prime time.

And not only did people reject it but it caused a lot of harm with its cable and satellite partners.

 

[Bruce]

There is rural and then there is RURAL. You live in a rural area. People in Montana live in a RURAL state.

But in those area, is a very sparse population, not enough people to support a Satellite TV Service.

 

[dishdude]

and Warner and Fox and Disney.

They all had reduced income/profits with their Broadcast and/or Cable Channels.

And in turn they'll probably jack up the rates which will cause cable/satellite rates to spike which will result in more churn because everyone is tired of paying for commercials, reruns and reality shows.

 

[dishdude]

well.....there are still many areas that don't have access to reliable,internet.Sure there is starlink but not many folks in those areas can afford it.So there is still a place for satellite tv.Maybe Amazon's satellite internet will make it more affordable but that's a long way off.

Redbox stuck around in rural areas for a few years after the video store collapse, but eventually it folded too.

 

[telstar_1]

Redbox stuck around in rural areas for a few years after the video store collapse, but eventually it folded too.

Gov't is currently funding broadband build-out in more rural areas, but really people themselves are driving rural inclusion- they expect broadband connectivity and that expectation is driving build-out as well. If they can work from home, they're choosing the hinterlands to work from, and they expect that utility. The numbers of people truly stranded from broadband is rapidly diminishing to a relative handful.

 

[Bruce]

Gov't is currently funding broadband build-out in more rural areas, but really people themselves are driving rural inclusion- they expect broadband connectivity and that expectation is driving build-out as well.

My current neighborhood, they did not have broadband till 2018, 2 years before I bought this house, Charter would never have done the build out here, but thanks to money from the State and Federal Government, they did it.

If it was not available, never would have bought the home, broadband was the first thing we were checking while searching on Zillow.

The Fiber Company coming into this area, has also taken the money from the Government, we will have competition because of that.

Back in Metro Detroit, we had Broadband since 1996 ( 3 down/1 up at that time).

 

[MikeD-C05]

Sure more and more places are getting broadband. But for many folks who try the Internet services they are finding them hard to use and not reliable.

In my own home we stopped using DISH for a month and tried all of the services we could. And the wife and kids didn't like any of them and wanted their Hopper 3 back. I think the Hopper 3 may be helping keep Dish subscribers sticky.

I would be surprised if we see a slight increase in subscribers for DISH this fall. Finally after a strange year because of the strike, real TV and shows will be back, and people will again want the ease of viewing and the features that DISH gives with the Hopper 3.

Again I will say I would not be surprised at all if DISH does file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not a bad thing. (Hell I just went through it) It may be just what they need to keep the company alive and perhaps even help it thrive.

Will DISH be here in 10 years? Will DIRECTV? Thats hard to say, but I am sure we will have both of them for years to come, and I do hope both continue to embrace and change as the technology changes. DISH should have an IP service that mirrors its satellite service, SlingTV is NOT it. And have software that mimics about the things people love about the Hopper 3. I could see that being very successful.

There may be some dark clouds in the sky, but ultimately the sky is not falling.

Yes, I have been saying they could do the best service with Sling TV prices and DISH guides, menus, dvr features, but streaming versions. I think that would be very successful. Because you can already use Air TV to add your ota locals integrated in with the Sling TV guide, so why not make it work with the DISH IP service as well.

Then people who like DISH for the Hopper features could do this with the Streaming version and get it at cheaper prices that Sling Tv offers. You could eventually migrate all your sat customers who want cheaper prices and less fees with the Streaming version and you might actually keep them as customers too. Cut down on receivers and installs and all the rest that costs more money. You could also migrate all existing Sling TV subs to the new DISH IP service. Viola the better service with the best cheapest prices.

The only reason why I left DISH was the extra DVR and Additional receiver fees and the ever increasing programming prices. I would definitely subscribe to a DISH streaming service at Sling Tv prices and additional packs you add as you want.

 

[Jim5506]

But in those area, is a very sparse population, not enough people to support a Satellite TV Service.

Satellite service is the cheapest service to supply to RURAL areas. Population density is irrelevant to satellite services, with the small exception of installation cost by a tech. The infrastructure is already there all you do is add a dish and a receiver - BOOM!

 

[AZ.]

The Feds say 25mb down is high speed. Yes I can get that late at night, so I guess I get high speed through T-Mobile? I just checked Im getting 18....I have never been able to pull off 4k for what ever reason?

https://enterprise.spectrum.com/support/faq/internet/what-is-considered-high-speed-internet.html

 

[Jim5506]

I don't think the content providers care until profits start dropping

Content providers income comes from how many subscribers the cable and satellite providers have. As Dish loses subs, the amount they pay to the providers also goes down, to a point losing subs might actually help the bottom line especially if programming is too expensive.

 

[AZ.]

Redbox stuck around in rural areas for a few years after the video store collapse, but eventually it folded too.

My red box machine is still in front of my Walgreens. Never stopped and looked if it was plugged in? lol

 

[navychop]

Last Red Box vending machine I saw had a paper note on it saying Out of Service. Don’t remember if it said “temporarily” or not.

I have a few RB free rental coupons from popcorn boxes. Guess they’re worthless now. But we’ve never used RB anyway.

 

[Bruce]

Satellite service is the cheapest service to supply to RURAL areas. Population density is irrelevant to satellite services, with the small exception of installation cost by a tech. The infrastructure is already there all you do is add a dish and a receiver - BOOM!

What does that have to do with having enough subscribers for a service to be profitable?

 

[Juan]

Content providers income comes from how many subscribers the cable and satellite providers have. As Dish loses subs, the amount they pay to the providers also goes down, to a point losing subs might actually help the bottom line especially if programming is too expensive.

Still have plenty of subs

 

[fmj77]

well.....there are still many areas that don't have access to reliable,internet.Sure there is starlink but not many folks in those areas can afford it.So there is still a place for satellite tv.Maybe Amazon's satellite internet will make it more affordable but that's a long way off.

Amazon will probably never be a viable competitor to Starlink. Project Kuiper has only launched 2 prototype satellites and those have already been decommissioned. The only way they're going to be able to start doing regular launches is with SpaceX rockets and Bezos isn't about to ask Elon for help.