Dish credited my account $100 to purchased my own antenna, since they can't seem to get me one. Have ordered from Amazon, install scheduled for Tuesday. Already received my Dual Tuner USB tuner from Dish, which was free.
Free ota antenna email from dish
- Thread starter fishman316
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OK, let's see.
Post #57: Why do we have to pay for locals with Dish?
Post#30: DISH Calls for Retransmission Reform as Raycom Treats Viewers as Negotiation Pawns
Post#83: Hoak Media stations off Dish amid dispute
I stopped looking after those three, but the last one is from 2012.
Many of those examples - and I looked quickly - involved people in rural areas that lived out beyond reception limits. Just to be clear, I agree with you that many, many people can get their locals with an antenna.
10 years ago, when retrans fees were reasonable, I saw it as a service fee. Now that those charges have grown exponentially at 10x the rate of inflation, it's no longer worth it. I'm glad Dish has given me the choice to opt out. Are they the only one so far?
I think the key to this situation is Dish is offering Free install of an OTA antenna preemptively in select markets. If they can convince a healthy majority of their subscribers in a market with a pending dispute or upcoming carriage negotiations to take advantage of the free antenna it will enhance their bargaining power during that negotiation for the stations in that market. Plus it will alleviate many customer complaints about losing their locals if they can get them OTA courtesy of the free antenna Dish gave and installed for them. This will also reduce the account credits for those that would have called in, complained, threatened to or actually canceled because of the loss of locals.
I do not think this is a push to eliminate the offering of locals at large by Dish. This is all about leverage with the local markets and the spiraling out of control demands of the local stations to carry their channels.
I do not think this is a push to eliminate the offering of locals at large by Dish. This is all about leverage with the local markets and the spiraling out of control demands of the local stations to carry their channels.
I'll ask you too... HOW does x subscribers dropping locals help Dish's bargaining power? Dish will NEVER get 100% of people to drop locals, my guess is the absolute best case is 60-70%. So, back to my hypothetical 100,000 Dish subscribers in a market... They get 75% to drop locals and then go to the bargaining table.
In the last negotiation, Dish had 100K subscribers, in this one they have 25K. How does that help them?
I’m still just amazed they’re giving something for free they normally charge a fairly large amount for
I think that when sub numbers drop for locals, DISH has to pay LESS to ota companies for their carriage. It would give DISH an advantage in negotiations because they could say that they are working on an ota tuner ,that records 4 networks at a time and that they would soon be selling it to subs along with new antennas. This would eventually lead to even less subs that would need satellite locals ,cutting the revenue that ota channels would be able to gain by charging more of DISH. Then DISH could say that the demand for these ota stations are dropping and continuing to drop ,so why do we need to pay more for their carriage? Eventually DISH would have the advantage in negotiations,because ota channels need revenue from satellite and cable to be able to fund their stations, since networks are no longer funding affiliates.
The fact you can drop your locals now or after the OTA antenna deal has not changed. When negotiating a new carriage agreement DISH can tell local NBC affiliate, go f yourself, 62% of our customers have free OTA and will not miss your feed. Dish customers have another option to get locals network for free.
At this point if you still don't understand...you never will.
Based on what? Yes, the total they have to give the broadcaster each month would drop, but I'm pretty sure they negotiate a per subscriber rate, NOT a total rate.
OK, let's use your argument... let's say the locals are now quaking in their boots and they tell Dish "OK, we'll drop retrans fees 50%." Does Dish now stop working on the OTA tuner? I don't think that's how negotiations would go. Do you disagree?
OK, now you're getting somewhere. Dish can say "x subscribers dropped locals, so they must not be in demand."
And what you don't understand is Dish still cares about the other 38%. If they tell the local to f-off, what do you think that 38% is going to do? They want their locals. They'll drop Dish.
I don't care about the Dish negotiation angle . I care about the $10 I can save. Having a H3 with 16 tuners and 2 OTA tuners Is it worth $10 per month to me to lose Prime Time and Auto Hop plus the inability to record more than 2 of the 18 OTA channels I receive in a specific time block? I did an analysis and there is a few times during the week that my family would want to record more than 2 OTA channels at the same time. I also have the problem that my outdoor antenna cannot get all my locals without using a rotor. To get PBS and Me TV I have to move the antenna and lose other channels. So for my family it will not be a good idea to drop Dish supplied locals.
Can you use 2 identical OTA antennas pointed in the directions you need?
Do you remember why Auto skip was invented for the Hopper? It was used as a bargaining chip for cheaper carriage of locals. Now most of the national networks have negotiated a 3 to 7 day delay of auto skip for the stations that they owned. So the idea of a 4 tuner ota usb dongle or even two 2 tuner ota usb dongles on each hopper , is not that far fetched. It would be used as a negotiation tactic just like auto skip was used . By cutting the amount of subs who need the local channels via satellite would be used as a negotiation tactic as well. DISH is nothing if not crafty when it comes to these carriage deals. Remember they will even go without the locals in some markets till they get a better deal from the ota channel.
With the auto hop, Dish had a negotiating tool... "reduce what you're asking for retrans and we'll delay when customers can use autohop."
Now, with giving out antennas (because folks have been able to drop locals for a number of months now), Dish says "reduce what you're asking for retrans and we'll... " Can anyone finish that sentence? THAT'S what I'm asking. Will Dish stop developing a OTA tuner or dongle? Not allow it in certain markets (I'm sure that would go over well with subscribers)? Or simply not hand out antennas? I guess that could be it, but doesn't seem like much of a bargaining chip. One station in my market offered antennas during the last retrans dispute.
I dropped our locals for a number of months. I kept get questioned why shows weren't being recorded (were being skipped) during prime-time hours....
They provided free antennas so they wouldn't lose subs to the competition when the satellite local was removed due to contract negotiations. Same principle about creating a two or four tuner ota dongle in negotiations,because almost every time the satellite local is blacked out till they hammer out a deal. Eventually if enough subs had access to a 4 tuner ota dongle and antenna , it wouldn't matter to DISH as much if the sat locals were down during negotiations. DISH can hold out longer this way in order to work a better deal. While the number of subs who subscribe to the satellite locals would drop , it wouldn't hurt DISH only the ota channel who would not receive any revenue payments from DISH while the dispute is going on. Why do you think that DISH now allows guide information for ota channels, even though the satellite locals are not subscribed? Gives them one less sub who will churn based on not having either guide information for ota channels or satellite locals during disputes. This is all about advantage in negotiations for DISH.
When a dispute occurs, a certain percentage of customers will inevitably leave over having a local or locals dropped. The smaller the number of customers using Dish locals will mean a smaller number of customers that will leave during a dispute.
So it's not so much an advantage that Dish can use against the local, but it's an advantage that presumably wouldn't hurt Dish as much if there is a blackout? I guess I can understand that.
Thank you.
As I posted before, Dish gave me a $100 credit to purchase my own antenna. Ordered the following antenna off Amazon
1byone 85 Miles Digital Amplified Outdoor / Attic / Roof HDTV Antenna with VHF and UHF Band and Mounting Pole
Installer arrived within scheduled time, very knowledgeable, did the install just at the roof line on the shingles (where I requested). Clean install, no problems at all. He had to move it around some for me, 50 channels was the most I could find. Since I don't have anything to move the antenna with, had to sacrifice a few channels. Have the big 4 plus CW MyNetworkTV and PBS. Also received HBO/Showtime/Cinemax/Starz/Dish Movie Pack/Multi-sports pack free for 3 months, in addition to my free install, free OTA adapter, and free install. Office of the president comes thru again!!!
1byone 85 Miles Digital Amplified Outdoor / Attic / Roof HDTV Antenna with VHF and UHF Band and Mounting Pole
Installer arrived within scheduled time, very knowledgeable, did the install just at the roof line on the shingles (where I requested). Clean install, no problems at all. He had to move it around some for me, 50 channels was the most I could find. Since I don't have anything to move the antenna with, had to sacrifice a few channels. Have the big 4 plus CW MyNetworkTV and PBS. Also received HBO/Showtime/Cinemax/Starz/Dish Movie Pack/Multi-sports pack free for 3 months, in addition to my free install, free OTA adapter, and free install. Office of the president comes thru again!!!
