I thought Fisher brought suit against DISH for a breach of an agreed upon contract saying that DISH did not pay Fisher for carriage of KUNS for over a year. IF that is the case then don't blame Fisher for another DISH debacle. DISH lied to many of us (from June 2006 to the present) by not fessing up to a failing hunk-o-junk satellite (129) for HD picture loss 2x an hour, so pardon me if I don't take DISH's word on everything they say.
Fisher Communications Channels are BACK on Dish!
- Thread starter skihoodoo
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I won't cry for Fisher. They'll talk about KUNS. DId you know that KUNS-TV is "must carry" classification? Fisher did it to themselves. Now they want to change the classification and also want back revenue for when it was a "must cary".
KUNS-TV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Must Carry"
Must-carry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See that must carry must be requested by the specific station and that as a side effect no fees can be charged unless the must carry is replaced with a retransmission consent. Fisher shouldn't receive didly for KUNS until the must carry fully expires.
Does that change your opinion in any way? Personally I don't like how long it's taking, but I beleive that DIsh MUST NOT give up on this. It would set a precident for other stations that originally asked for Must Carry status to try the same shenanigans.
Boo to Fisher.
Oh well...I've stopped missing KOMO a month ago and hope Dish remains steadfast in their stance with Fisher. If they give in on this, every broadcaster will want to renegotiate their retrans agreements, nationwide, and this mess will never end and locals will cost a whole lot more...
FISH vs DISH - Viewers Held Hostage, Day 63: Like he said,
Oscars Sunday night on KOMO. Can't get KOMO here - hills. I'll be watching out of Little Rock.
DishSatUser hit things right on the money, at least as I have seen things since I heard about this back fee issue. Unless the two agreed to something back in 2006, there's nothing to be gained here by the Fisher folks.
As it is, if I were dish, when this goes to court (assuming it's not settled beforehand) from minute 1 I'd be seeking an injuction against being forced to black out the Fisher stations, enforcing the new retrans deal going forward while this dispute about back fees is heard. If dish doesn't seek it, they're loons.
Meantime, I'm not missing KOMO, either. Until they settle, or put up a DTV translator in Skagit County, WA, they've lost me.
Oscars Sunday night on KOMO. Can't get KOMO here - hills. I'll be watching out of Little Rock.
DishSatUser hit things right on the money, at least as I have seen things since I heard about this back fee issue. Unless the two agreed to something back in 2006, there's nothing to be gained here by the Fisher folks.
As it is, if I were dish, when this goes to court (assuming it's not settled beforehand) from minute 1 I'd be seeking an injuction against being forced to black out the Fisher stations, enforcing the new retrans deal going forward while this dispute about back fees is heard. If dish doesn't seek it, they're loons.
Meantime, I'm not missing KOMO, either. Until they settle, or put up a DTV translator in Skagit County, WA, they've lost me.
It's all about ratings
Any station which blocks retransmission of their signals to homes are simply being downright stupid. TV stations make their money by ad $$ and the rates they charge are based on how many people are watching at a given time..
How many 1000's of homes are missing from their potential ratings?
I think the whole issue of retrans fees is stupid..
That said.. I'm not happy about not getting ALL the network shows and the bigs should step on their affilates and make this happen!
Wayne Sagar
Any station which blocks retransmission of their signals to homes are simply being downright stupid. TV stations make their money by ad $$ and the rates they charge are based on how many people are watching at a given time..
How many 1000's of homes are missing from their potential ratings?
I think the whole issue of retrans fees is stupid..
That said.. I'm not happy about not getting ALL the network shows and the bigs should step on their affilates and make this happen!
Wayne Sagar
I'd like to see ABC step on Fisher, but I don't think that's going to happen either... I think this standoff will continue for probably another 4-6 months, at least...maybe longer...
FISH vs DISH - Viewers Held Hostage, Day 65: CBS and dish make nice, push the red button and shout "Deal!"
Meanwhile, he, she or it who gets CBS (or ABC or FOX) from a Fisher station are watching the 2,177th (or so - and counting) presentation of the Charlie and Jim show in place of the Eye. Just dandy.
Hopefully someone at Fisher Plaza is taking note. The Oscars are two days out and probably now a lost cause for Seattle and Portland unless you've wisely installed an antenna.
Next big event: The NCAA Championship - and more Fisher stations are carrying that than Oscar.
Meanwhile, he, she or it who gets CBS (or ABC or FOX) from a Fisher station are watching the 2,177th (or so - and counting) presentation of the Charlie and Jim show in place of the Eye. Just dandy.
Hopefully someone at Fisher Plaza is taking note. The Oscars are two days out and probably now a lost cause for Seattle and Portland unless you've wisely installed an antenna.
Next big event: The NCAA Championship - and more Fisher stations are carrying that than Oscar.
FISH vs. DISH - Viewers Held Hostage, Day 70: Mr. Ergen goes to Washington (DC), and look whose name gets dropped...
Full Statement Here.
Meanwhile, the EPG is teasing us in Western WA again even though Charlie and Jim are still celebrating Christmas.
WHEN, FISH? WHEN????
Full Statement Here.
Meanwhile, the EPG is teasing us in Western WA again even though Charlie and Jim are still celebrating Christmas.
WHEN, FISH? WHEN????
On the fence
Many of the things said in the statement to congress are true. I'm on the fence though. Since it could hurt local station revenue. On the other hand even the networks are talking about dumping affiliates since they don't think that the system is working correctly anymore either. The nets are thinking very seriously about going straight to i-net & cable. Here is an article taken from Broadcast Engineering online mag about it.
Local TV stations face uncertain future
I think that NAB will fight it tooth and nail but w/o local content how "local" is a station really? Some net affiliates have been run so badly that they can't even put a news cast on anymore.
This is in another thread here as well but it states that D* made statements to reinforce some of the things that Charlie stated. http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090224/tc_nm/us_satellite_congress_2
Many of the things said in the statement to congress are true. I'm on the fence though. Since it could hurt local station revenue. On the other hand even the networks are talking about dumping affiliates since they don't think that the system is working correctly anymore either. The nets are thinking very seriously about going straight to i-net & cable. Here is an article taken from Broadcast Engineering online mag about it.
Local TV stations face uncertain future
I think that NAB will fight it tooth and nail but w/o local content how "local" is a station really? Some net affiliates have been run so badly that they can't even put a news cast on anymore.
This is in another thread here as well but it states that D* made statements to reinforce some of the things that Charlie stated. http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090224/tc_nm/us_satellite_congress_2
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That'd be weird, having the networks go straight to i-net/cable/sat, etc. Granted, things change, but circumventing the local broadcasters entirely would feel strange, at least at first.
Interesting though...by getting greedy, the locals are essentially putting nails into their own coffins...
Interesting though...by getting greedy, the locals are essentially putting nails into their own coffins...
For what it's worth:
I went to my local UPS store today to send my 211 to Dish (I called tech support because I couldn't get my 211 to work with EHDs and they sent me a replacement without a long troubleshooting session).
When I put the box up on the shelf, the lady said: "I see you're leaving Dish like everyone else". I sorta said "huh?", and she said "you know, the channel 4 thing". I explained to her I didn't think it was Dish's fault, but I hope KOMO Seattle isn't winning this one.
I went to my local UPS store today to send my 211 to Dish (I called tech support because I couldn't get my 211 to work with EHDs and they sent me a replacement without a long troubleshooting session).
When I put the box up on the shelf, the lady said: "I see you're leaving Dish like everyone else". I sorta said "huh?", and she said "you know, the channel 4 thing". I explained to her I didn't think it was Dish's fault, but I hope KOMO Seattle isn't winning this one.
Just last night I had a "pleasant discussion" with my wife about Dish Network and our CBS local from Fisher Communication.
I said I will be glad when there are no more local TV stations. She then proceed to "talk" to me for about 25 straight minutes about how valuable local stations are.
I didn't have heart to ask her to name one thing she remembers about our town from the last 6 months that she heard about on the local news.
The local news is nothing but crappy headlines about car accidents, fires, and other useless information. I stopped watching local news about 5 years ago.
They need to get rid of the local stations.
I said I will be glad when there are no more local TV stations. She then proceed to "talk" to me for about 25 straight minutes about how valuable local stations are.
I didn't have heart to ask her to name one thing she remembers about our town from the last 6 months that she heard about on the local news.
The local news is nothing but crappy headlines about car accidents, fires, and other useless information. I stopped watching local news about 5 years ago.
They need to get rid of the local stations.
All you need is the ota antenna hooked into your 622/722/722k and you would have the local stations for local news and weather. The 722k is the first DISH receiver to do two ota stations at the same time. I am sure they could of made a way to do two of the ota modules to give you 4 stations at the same time if they wanted to. But this is the way to go .
In my opinion there was never a reason to put all the locals up on the satellite in the first place. Both DISH and DIRECTV should of made ota installs standard and they wouldn't of had to do all this uplinking, retransmission disputes, etc. All they would need is good guide data for all ota stations either built in to the receiver or to uplink guide data for all ota stations . How much bandwith could that of took compared to actuall local channels in hd and sd?
Of course they would of needed a distant networks, national PBS & superstations -CW for those who couldn't of got any ota reception due to mountains, distance from towers etc, but that would of given all of us better picture quality on the national channels and hd would be much further along in acceptance . Because with all that room up on the satellites they would of been able to do more hd a lot sooner than they are doing now.
In my opinion there was never a reason to put all the locals up on the satellite in the first place. Both DISH and DIRECTV should of made ota installs standard and they wouldn't of had to do all this uplinking, retransmission disputes, etc. All they would need is good guide data for all ota stations either built in to the receiver or to uplink guide data for all ota stations . How much bandwith could that of took compared to actuall local channels in hd and sd?
Of course they would of needed a distant networks, national PBS & superstations -CW for those who couldn't of got any ota reception due to mountains, distance from towers etc, but that would of given all of us better picture quality on the national channels and hd would be much further along in acceptance . Because with all that room up on the satellites they would of been able to do more hd a lot sooner than they are doing now.
I'd love to watch networks OTA. Since you're in Texas, you may not understand how the terrain here in the Pacific Northwest keeps many people from receiving an OTA signal. We're only 22 miles "as the crow flies" from 3 of the 4 network towers & about 30 from the FOX tower, but, because of hills, we can't get an analog signal, let alone a digital one.
Except for one little thing... Regional sports.
Fox carries the Seattle Seahawks and Western WA is notoriously bad at having hills, trees and mountains in the way of getting even passable OTA, and distant networks aren't going to carry local sports teams...
Fox carries the Seattle Seahawks and Western WA is notoriously bad at having hills, trees and mountains in the way of getting even passable OTA, and distant networks aren't going to carry local sports teams...
I'm about 40 to 50 miles from my locals OTA. I tested an antenna, but I got a lot of ghosting on my local CBS station (Fisher Communication) because of the local terrain near my house. I would have to invest a lot into an antenna to get good reception.
i dont know if anyone looked at this new info from fisher it was posted today
KATU no longer available to DISH Network Subscribers
February 26, 2009
Dear DISH subscribers –
Despite Fisher’s good faith negotiating efforts, there is, regrettably, nothing new to report in our dispute with DISH Network.
Although we previously reached an agreement in principle with DISH’s negotiators, DISH refused to consummate the contract. On multiple occasions, terms that the DISH negotiators agree to are vetoed once they reach DISH’s CEO, Charlie Ergen. It appears that not even the DISH team can understand what it will take to get a deal done.
We speculate that the real stumbling block to a successful contract for renewed carriage of our television stations is the lawsuit for breach of contract that Fisher has filed against DISH in federal court in Oregon. Although both parties have repeatedly agreed that the lawsuit is irrelevant to the new carriage negotiations, it has been made plain to us that nothing will get accomplished until the lawsuit is resolved. At issue in the case is approximately $1 million in payments that DISH owes Fisher under the prior agreement for a station that DISH was contractually obligated to carry and pay for after it was acquired by Fisher.
Fisher remains committed to serving our local audiences and regret that DISH is holding you and us hostage to their own demands.
What will it take to get a deal done? Only Charlie knows.
In the meantime, you should know that Fisher has reached new agreements with dozens of other video programming distributors, including Comcast, Charter, Cable One, and Mediacom, and has existing arrangements in place with DIRECTV, Bright House, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T U verse. Because the timing for any renewed carriage of our television stations by DISH is uncertain and indefinite, we encourage you to switch to an alternative provider so that you will be able to receive the programming, including our local news, weather, and sports that you have been missing as a result of DISH’s ever-changing negotiating posture.
KATU no longer available to DISH Network Subscribers
February 26, 2009
Dear DISH subscribers –
Despite Fisher’s good faith negotiating efforts, there is, regrettably, nothing new to report in our dispute with DISH Network.
Although we previously reached an agreement in principle with DISH’s negotiators, DISH refused to consummate the contract. On multiple occasions, terms that the DISH negotiators agree to are vetoed once they reach DISH’s CEO, Charlie Ergen. It appears that not even the DISH team can understand what it will take to get a deal done.
We speculate that the real stumbling block to a successful contract for renewed carriage of our television stations is the lawsuit for breach of contract that Fisher has filed against DISH in federal court in Oregon. Although both parties have repeatedly agreed that the lawsuit is irrelevant to the new carriage negotiations, it has been made plain to us that nothing will get accomplished until the lawsuit is resolved. At issue in the case is approximately $1 million in payments that DISH owes Fisher under the prior agreement for a station that DISH was contractually obligated to carry and pay for after it was acquired by Fisher.
Fisher remains committed to serving our local audiences and regret that DISH is holding you and us hostage to their own demands.
What will it take to get a deal done? Only Charlie knows.
In the meantime, you should know that Fisher has reached new agreements with dozens of other video programming distributors, including Comcast, Charter, Cable One, and Mediacom, and has existing arrangements in place with DIRECTV, Bright House, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T U verse. Because the timing for any renewed carriage of our television stations by DISH is uncertain and indefinite, we encourage you to switch to an alternative provider so that you will be able to receive the programming, including our local news, weather, and sports that you have been missing as a result of DISH’s ever-changing negotiating posture.
