Free Previews Discussion Thread - November 2020

[pattykay]

This is the thread for any discussion about the current month's free previews. A complete list of free channels on Dish can be found in the linked thread here: Free Previews (No Discussion) Thread - November 2020

 

[pattykay]

Finally, an NFL RedZone free preview! (Not today, next Sunday. Be patient, guys. We have waited this long.)

Also new this month, a new theme for the perpetual preview of audio channel 927. Holiday music has begun with Holiday Instrumentals on this channel. Look for more theme changes on these free music channels, and more new audio free preview channels to be added throughout the month, as we get closer to the holidays!

 

[Howard Simmons]

Finally, an NFL RedZone free preview! (Not today, next Sunday. Be patient, guys. We have waited this long.)

Also new this month, a new theme for the perpetual preview of audio channel 927. Holiday music has begun with Holiday Instrumentals on this channel. Look for more theme changes on these free music channels, and more new audio free preview channels to be added throughout the month, as we get closer to the holidays!

How about reminding us Saturday for us old folks that have short memories.

 

[pattykay]

How about reminding us Saturday for us old folks that have short memories.

Hopefully Dish will have their website updated by then. If it is anything like the last several times they updated that page though (as each free preview ended) then they will not even announce the NFL RedZone free preview until after it is over.

 

[pattykay]

...
Also new this month, a new theme for the perpetual preview of audio channel 927. Holiday music has begun with Holiday Instrumentals on this channel. Look for more theme changes on these free music channels, and more new audio free preview channels to be added throughout the month, as we get closer to the holidays!

X-Mas music has begun, but is not in free preview yet:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/4/20 at 3:14pm ET (v01) – 14 changes seen

uplink.jameslong.name

New Uplinks / Mappings – Channels Available
98 XMAS added to 119° TP 18 (Subchannel EPG Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited)
98 XMAS added to 72.7° TP 5 (Subchannel EPG Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited)
9840 AUD20 Holiday added to 119° TP 20 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE Subchannel Mapdown 98-01
9840 AUD20 Holiday added to 72.7° TP 22 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE EPG linked to 119° TP 20 Ch 9840 – Subchannel Mapdown 98-01
9841 MUZK2 Muzak 2 (Muzak) added to 119° TP 20 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE Subchannel Mapdown 98-02
9841 MUZK2 Muzak 2 (Muzak) added to 72.7° TP 22 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE EPG linked to 119° TP 20 Ch 9841 – Subchannel Mapdown 98-02
9842 CD 13 NuJazz added to 119° TP 16 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE Subchannel Mapdown 98-03
9842 CD 13 NuJazz added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE EPG linked to 119° TP 16 Ch 9842 – Subchannel Mapdown 98-03
9843 AUD05 City Lights added to 119° TP 20 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE Subchannel Mapdown 98-04
9843 AUD05 City Lights added to 61.5° TP 8 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE EPG linked to 119° TP 20 Ch 9843 – Subchannel Mapdown 98-04
9844 SXM73 Sirius/XM 40s Junction added to 119° TP 17 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE Subchannel Mapdown 98-11
9844 SXM73 Sirius/XM 40s Junction added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE EPG linked to 119° TP 17 Ch 9844 – Subchannel Mapdown 98-11
9845 SXM70 Sirius/XM BB King’s Bluesville added to 119° TP 17 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE Subchannel Mapdown 98-12
9845 SXM70 Sirius/XM BB King’s Bluesville added to 72.7° TP 7 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE EPG linked to 119° TP 17 Ch 9845 – Subchannel Mapdown 98-12

(Note: James Long is still listing the old names of these channels. I will be providing the updated names along with my observations below.)

Of these newly-added "special channels," the only ones I see in my guide are 9842 (Latin Jazz), 9844 (SiriusXM 40's Junction), and 9845 (SiriusXM Love). I only receive these channels because I subscribe to them as part of my Latino Bonus Pack subscription. They do not show up on my deactivated receiver along with the other free music channels. Also, as mentioned previously, AUD05 (formerly City Lights, now Holiday Instrumentals) does still show up on its regular channel number 927, on both receivers.

This is a new strategy for Dish, adding special channel numbers from which to map down the holiday music channels, rather than simply putting the regular channel numbers in free preview and also mapping them down from there. As I have been documenting in the Free Previews threads, most of last year's holiday music channel numbers have remained in a perpetual preview all year so far. If Dish starts this year's holiday music preview without changing the preview status of those regular channel numbers, then I will move the existing music channel previews from the "indefinite preview" category to the "channels that are always free on deactivated receivers" category. At this point, that prolonged preview is either intentional, or it is a mistake that Dish is not likely to catch any time soon, since they are using a different method of providing this year's holiday music previews.

 

[pattykay]

How about reminding us Saturday for us old folks that have short memories.

Hopefully Dish will have their website updated by then. If it is anything like the last several times they updated that page though (as each free preview ended) then they will not even announce the NFL RedZone free preview until after it is over.

Dish finally updated their Free Previews page today. (Although it still lists Hallmark Drama as a "Current" free preview despite that preview ending yesterday, with a listed end date of Tuesday 11/3.) I suppose that the NFL RedZone preview did not actually "start" until today's uplink:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/5/20 at 7:45am ET (v08) – 3 changes seen

uplink.jameslong.name

Package Flag Change
9467 NFLRZ (155 HD PartTime) NFL Network Red Zone 119° TP 15 HD – Package Flag Change 5 Tags Added (11 total)
9467 NFLRZ (155 HD PartTime) NFL Network Red Zone 61.5° TP 12 HD – Package Flag Change 5 Tags Added (11 total)

Other Changes
155 NFLRZ NFL Network Red Zone 72.7° TP 22 SD MPEG4 – Hidden flag removed. (was SD MPEG4 Hidden)

Still, as I have said all along, it would be nice if Dish would give us a little more of a heads-up about upcoming previews. People who only rely on the Free Previews page on the mydish site might have easily overlooked this one. Also, it is a little strange that the uplink authorizing this preview did not happen until today, since Dish usually does their major uplinks on Wednesdays. So, Dish could have taken care of turning off the Hallmark Drama preview, turning on the NFL RedZone preview, and updating their website listing, all at once yesterday, but they didn't do it that way.

 

[pattykay]

X-Mas music has begun, but is not in free preview yet:

...

Of these newly-added "special channels," the only ones I see in my guide are 9842 (Latin Jazz), 9844 (SiriusXM 40's Junction), and 9845 (SiriusXM Love). I only receive these channels because I subscribe to them as part of my Latino Bonus Pack subscription. They do not show up on my deactivated receiver along with the other free music channels. Also, as mentioned previously, AUD05 (formerly City Lights, now Holiday Instrumentals) does still show up on its regular channel number 927, on both receivers.

This is a new strategy for Dish...

Holiday music is now playing on these channels. 9842 is Traditional Holidays, 9844 is Holiday Traditions, and 9845 is Hallmark Channel Radio. I am still not receiving the channels that are normally only used for Holiday music (AUD20 and MUZK2) on either their old channel numbers or the newly-added 9840 and 9841. In years past, AUD20 and MUZK2 would be the first channels to show up playing holiday music, and the other channels would change format later. So, this is definitely a new strategy. Why? I have no idea.

 

[pattykay]

Dish finally updated their Free Previews page today. (Although it still lists Hallmark Drama as a "Current" free preview despite that preview ending yesterday, with a listed end date of Tuesday 11/3.) I suppose that the NFL RedZone preview did not actually "start" until today's uplink:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/5/20 at 7:45am ET (v08) – 3 changes seen

uplink.jameslong.name

Package Flag Change
9467 NFLRZ (155 HD PartTime) NFL Network Red Zone 119° TP 15 HD – Package Flag Change 5 Tags Added (11 total)
9467 NFLRZ (155 HD PartTime) NFL Network Red Zone 61.5° TP 12 HD – Package Flag Change 5 Tags Added (11 total)

Other Changes
155 NFLRZ NFL Network Red Zone 72.7° TP 22 SD MPEG4 – Hidden flag removed. (was SD MPEG4 Hidden)

Still, as I have said all along, it would be nice if Dish would give us a little more of a heads-up about upcoming previews. People who only rely on the Free Previews page on the mydish site might have easily overlooked this one. Also, it is a little strange that the uplink authorizing this preview did not happen until today, since Dish usually does their major uplinks on Wednesdays. So, Dish could have taken care of turning off the Hallmark Drama preview, turning on the NFL RedZone preview, and updating their website listing, all at once yesterday, but they didn't do it that way.

So of course, now that the preview is over, Dish wasted no time in removing those Package Flags and updating their website.

 

[pattykay]

Interesting. Dish has made some sort of change to the EPG for AUD05 channel 9843...

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/12/20 at 2:49pm ET (v28) – 1 change seen

uplink.jameslong.name

Other Changes
9843 AUD05 City Lights 61.5° TP 8 Audio Hidden – EPG Change (Independent EPG instead of Reference EPG linked to 119° TP 20 Ch 9843)
(Hey James, AUD05 is now Holiday Instrumentals for the Holiday season, not City Lights.)

...However, I still do not receive this station on channel 9843, grouped with the other Holiday music channels. It is only showing up on channel 927, as previously noted. Also, I am still not receiving the additional Holiday music stations on channels 9840 and 9841. I wonder when the free preview starts. Or, are these particular holiday music channels only going to be available with AT250, instead of being free like they have been every year as far back as I can remember? (I have had Dish service since 1999.)

 

[pattykay]

409 PAC-12 Network 11/11 - 11/18

PAC-12 preview ended today:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/18/20 at 2:50am ET (v02) – 3 changes seen

uplink.jameslong.name

Package Flag Change
5409 PAC12 (409 HD) PAC-12 Network 110° TP 13 HD Hidden – Package Flag Change 5 Tags Removed (9 total)
5409 PAC12 (409 HD) PAC-12 Network 72.7° TP 23 HD Hidden – Package Flag Change 5 Tags Removed (9 total)

Other Changes
409 PAC12 PAC-12 Network 119° TP 17 SD Hidden – Hidden flag added. (was SD)

I would just like to point out that on the west coast, this change took place before midnight. So, this preview did not include 11/18 as advertised on Dish's free preview page: MyDISH

 

[zippyfrog]

I would just like to point out that on the west coast, this change took place before midnight. So, this preview did not include 11/18 as advertised on Dish's free preview page: MyDISH

Wouldn't everyone have lost a day? The way I interpret the text at the bottom of the page " All Free Previews will become available at 5:00pm ET the day before the listed start date and end at 2:00am ET the day after the listed end date" means that the free preview should have ended at 2:00am ET on 11/19, tomorrow. Is that how you would interpret it? We all should have had the free preview the entire day today? (It personally doesn't impact me as I have top 250, but just reading the fine print it seems like the date should have ended on 11/17)

 

[pattykay]

Wouldn't everyone have lost a day? The way I interpret the text at the bottom of the page " All Free Previews will become available at 5:00pm ET the day before the listed start date and end at 2:00am ET the day after the listed end date" means that the free preview should have ended at 2:00am ET on 11/19, tomorrow. Is that how you would interpret it? We all should have had the free preview the entire day today? (It personally doesn't impact me as I have top 250, but just reading the fine print it seems like the date should have ended on 11/17)

Yes, my point exactly. Dish usually tends to play it cautious with these previews, by "under-promising and over-delivering." Thus there is the note about the previews starting the day before the listed start date and ending the day after the listed end date, which is itself an under-promise. The previews usually start much sooner than 5:00 PM ET, and also last until well after 2:00 AM ET on the expected (day early and day late) dates. In fact, Dish lately has not even been listing the free previews on their website until after they have already started. So, that is why this one took me by surprise, ending as quickly as it did. I fully agree that with the listed dates, it should have lasted until tomorrow morning. However, I was simply playing devil's advocate, stating that the preview technically did include part of 11/18 (for the eastern states) which may explain Dish's confusion about the end date listing. However, for the Pacific Time Zone (where the main target audience for this specific channel actually lives) they did not get any portion of the listed end date included in this preview, which makes the early ending especially wrong for this channel. We'll have to see just how quickly Dish updates their website to remove the listing for this preview, now that it has ended. Will they remove the listing today, and try to cover up the fact that it was ever listed until 11/18 in the first place? Will the website not be updated until tomorrow, as otherwise would have been expected? Or will PAC-12 continue to be listed there as a "Current" preview for many days after the preview has already ended, as has happened with several other previews lately?

 

[pattykay]

More holiday music mapdowns added today:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/18/20 at 3:15pm ET (v07) – 498 changes seen

uplink.jameslong.name

New Uplinks / Mappings – Channels Available
...
9787 CD 23 Intermezzo added to 119° TP 18 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-09
9787 CD 23 Intermezzo added to 72.7° TP 31 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-09
9788 CD 5 Songbook added to 119° TP 16 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-10
9788 CD 5 Songbook added to 72.7° TP 31 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-10
9789 SXM58 Sirius/XM Prime Country added to 119° TP 12 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-13
9789 SXM58 Sirius/XM Prime Country added to 72.7° TP 7 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-13
9791 SXM49 Sirius/XM Soul Town added to 119° TP 17 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-14
9791 SXM49 Sirius/XM Soul Town added to 72.7° TP 7 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-14
9792 SXM63 Sirius/XM The Message added to 119° TP 20 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-15
9792 SXM63 Sirius/XM The Message added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-15
9794 SXM76 Sirius/XM Symphony Hall added to 119° TP 18 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-16
9794 SXM76 Sirius/XM Symphony Hall added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-16
9795 SXM14 Sirius/XM Coffee House added to 119° TP 17 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-17
9795 SXM14 Sirius/XM Coffee House added to 72.7° TP 31 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-17
9846 VMARI Viva Mariachi (Spanish) added to 119° TP 20 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-05
9846 VMARI Viva Mariachi (Spanish) added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-05
9847 CD 2 Rawhide added to 119° TP 12 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-06
9847 CD 2 Rawhide added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-06
9848 AUD16 Mo’ Soul added to 119° TP 20 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-07
9848 AUD16 Mo’ Soul added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-07
9849 CD 18 Jazz Traditions added to 119° TP 12 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-08
9849 CD 18 Jazz Traditions added to 72.7° TP 25 (Audio Hidden) AVAILABLE (Limited) Subchannel Mapdown 98-08

...and still no free preview!!!*

*As noted in the No Discussion Thread, many of these stations have been in a perpetual free preview all year on their regular channel numbers. So, of the stations listed above, the only one that is not already available for free is CD 5 - Songbook. I still am not seeing either the "special" channel numbers or the mapdown channel numbers for these channels, though. I am also still not receiving the seasonal AUD20 and MUZK2 channels, as I already noted earlier in this thread.

 

[pattykay]

... Will they remove the listing today, and try to cover up the fact that it was ever listed until 11/18 in the first place? Will the website not be updated until tomorrow, as otherwise would have been expected? Or will PAC-12 continue to be listed there as a "Current" preview for many days after the preview has already ended, as has happened with several other previews lately?

To answer this question, the website was updated today. And, the Past Free Previews section still lists 11/18 as the end date for the PAC-12 preview.

 

[pattykay]

Holiday music "special" channel numbers just became available:

Uplink Activity Updates » Blog Archive » 11/25/20 at 10:10am ET (v20) – 12 changes seen

uplink.jameslong.name

Channels Now Available
9848 AUD16 Mo’ Soul 119° TP 20 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9848 AUD16 Mo’ Soul 72.7° TP 25 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9788 CD 5 Songbook 119° TP 16 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9788 CD 5 Songbook 72.7° TP 31 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9847 CD 2 Rawhide 119° TP 12 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9847 CD 2 Rawhide 72.7° TP 25 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9787 CD 23 Intermezzo 119° TP 18 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9787 CD 23 Intermezzo 72.7° TP 31 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9849 CD 18 Jazz Traditions 119° TP 12 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9849 CD 18 Jazz Traditions 72.7° TP 25 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9846 VMARI Viva Mariachi (Spanish) 119° TP 20 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE
9846 VMARI Viva Mariachi (Spanish) 72.7° TP 25 Audio Hidden – AVAILABLE

...and they are still not in free preview! (Although as I mentioned previously, the only one that is not actually already free is CD 5 - Songbook. The other channels all remain available for free on their regular channel numbers, without the convenient holiday mapping to group them together. Of the "special" channels listed above, I am not receiving 9848 AUD16. (I am still getting AUD16 on its regular channel number, 939.) In addition, I am also still not receiving 9840 and 9841, as mentioned previously. So, it seems that all of these "AUD" channels will remain only available to AT250 subscribers, except for the channel numbers that were (accidentally?) left in preview ever since last year's holiday music preview.

 

[zippyfrog]

I had no idea that Starz was going to be in free preview. I see it went into free preview today and as of my time typing this, it is not listed on the Dish Free preview page. MyDISH

 

[Howard Simmons]

I had no idea that Starz was going to be in free preview. I see it went into free preview today and as of my time typing this, it is not listed on the Dish Free preview page. MyDISH

It will probably come up tomorrow. They usually start a day early on these things.

 

[pattykay]

I had no idea that Starz was going to be in free preview. I see it went into free preview today and as of my time typing this, it is not listed on the Dish Free preview page. MyDISH

Could be Dish trying to add something of value, to make up for the upcoming Nexstar dispute. All of their other uplinks today are Nexstar related.

 

[Howard Simmons]

Could be Dish trying to add something of value, to make up for the upcoming Nexstar dispute. All of their other uplinks today are Nexstar related.

That would be nice to have Starz and Encore for 6 months.

 

[pattykay]

That would be nice to have Starz and Encore for 6 months.

Well, that actually seems plausible, considering that Dish has continued to give us a selection of free music channels for over a year now and counting...