HBO/Cinemax and Non W5 services To Be Deauthorized December 29th

[TheTechGuru]

Just received this:

Due to the many changes affecting the C-Band system, we will no longer be able to offer some channels. These channels will be deauthorized at 10:00pm CST on December 29th, 2010 and will not be available in the future. We apologize for the inconvenience and will continue to offer you with the C-Band services that are still available on satellite W5.

The following services that are not available on W5 will be deauthorized on December 29th:

Food Network, DIY, Discovery East, Travel Channel, TLC, Mav TV, NFL Network, SRL East Coast Networks, Denver Networks and Wealth TV.

HBO/Cinemax and all Discovery channels will also be deauthorized December 29th. This was a decision made by HBO and Discovery. The signal will still be available on satellite W5 but they are denying access to big dish users.

Please visit our website for updates.

Sincerely,

Satellite Receivers LTD.
Programming Centerwww.programming-center.net

srlpc@srlcd.com


***If you no longer use your big C-Band satellite dish or if you would prefer not receive e-mail updates please reply to this email with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.

It's time for us to complain directly to the source.

Go here: Contact : Discovery Communications
Under "Question Regarding" select "Corporate Information" then click to go to the next page and then under "Select Type Of Information Needed" select "C-band Satellite/4DTV" then type your complaint.

Ya, I find it interesting that they have that selection available.

 

[navychop]

Hmmm. Seems like maybe some previous bad news that was decried as false may have some meat in it after all. Do these channels represent a significant chunk of the C band that's been received over the years?

 

[radio]

Do these channels represent a significant chunk of the C band that's been received over the years?

I would think that the answer to your question really depends on the subscriber's opinion and reason for subs. I've not been a movie subscriber much in these later years of C-band, but mainly because I can get them instantly elsewhere. Back in the 80's, selling big dishes, yes....movie channels were a GREAT pull as they offered more choices than most cable companies did.

Channels like sleuth, chiller, BBC, Bio, A-E, and the like were more to my purposes in deciding on subsctiptions...... And, many of the movie channels are no more current than a netflix or similar subscription that many people have via other means.

Don't know figures on the (amount of) subscriptions, but....to me, the more interesting channels have more appeal than movie channels.....which could be on their way "out" in general, thanks to pay per view, Amazon dot com, and similar "instant" availabilities vs. setting a PVR timer.

 

[TheTechGuru]

I want my movies in 1080P, so I just buy/rent BluRay's.

I need BBCA and the Discovery's in order to subscribe to the W5 service. It's time for us to complain directly to the source.

Go here: http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/
Under "Question Regarding" select "Corporate Information" then click to go to the next page and then under "Select Type Of Information Needed" select "C-band Satellite/4DTV" then type your complaint.

Ya, I find it interesting that they have that selection available.

 

[johnnyglobal]

I just did it. Thanks for the advice and I hope it helps us.

 

[mike74820]

as a cband user i really hope you join us cbanders again as i have subscribed to the discovery channels thru cband for last 5 plus years , if going to dish or direct tv is my only choice then ill have to say no to that ....... this is what i sent to them thru the above link

 

[sergei]

I also sent one so it'll be interesting to see if they reply.

 

[tvropro]

Time to let the cat out of the bag. Remember I didn't say this Discovery won't sell the high tier channels without the basic discovery being in the package. This is the way the programmers work now. If the original can be got again (there is a plan in the works) they will be back. Maybe if enough complain they may bend the rules for the time being.

 

[TMair]

Yes I just did the Discovery thing too.
I wonder why HBO, and Discovery have taken this stand, it seams to me that every dollar helps the bottome line, you know Charley has something to do with this, but I would not count Comcast out as a player either, I am sure they make much more money through there cable subs, and what ever it takes to push us to cable.
I realy can't imagine services like HBO being around much longer with services like Netflix, which in my opinion is much much better then any of the pay movie channels, and way less expencive, I can actuly afford Netflix, I can't afford any of the movie channels, and I don't think I am alone.
I have pretty much decided to not sub to C-band any longer because of the loss of Discovery, there programming has gone down hill a lot in the last few years, but that is about all I watch on C-band, but if I where to sub to C-band I think I would get all of my friends together and start a grass roots movment to let HBO, Discovery and the like know that I will not sub to them no matter what viewing service I choose because of there decission to leave C-banders out in the cold.
Terry

 

[TheTechGuru]

Time to let the cat out of the bag. Remember I didn't say this Discovery won't sell the high tier channels without the basic discovery being in the package. This is the way the programmers work now. If the original can be got again (there is a plan in the works) they will be back. Maybe if enough complain they may bend the rules for the time being.

I figured it might be a ESPN type problem. Is it just Discovery or Animal Planet and TLC that are needed too? If it's just Discovery, and with the Discovery Suite being one of the most popular packages for big dish users, Discovery would be the ideal channel to stick in place of the ALTV ColorBars. No bandwidth reallocation needed.

What's the deal with HBO? All the SD HBO's that exist are on W5 I believe.

 

[rtrowbridge]

I've added my complaint as well. I was surprised that my non W5 Discovery channels went dark yesterday, as did HBO (I didn't subscribe to HBO, though). I can't even get a digital signal lock on G1 now, though as of this afternoon, I could still watch Food and HGTV. It is a Skyvision subscription.

 

[TheTechGuru]

Yes I just did the Discovery thing too.
I wonder why HBO, and Discovery have taken this stand, it seams to me that every dollar helps the bottome line, you know Charley has something to do with this, but I would not count Comcast out as a player either, I am sure they make much more money through there cable subs, and what ever it takes to push us to cable.

The thing is, many if not most of us do not have cable available to us. If I did, I would get cable, as it is pretty much pre paid non contract TV. Comcast needs to think of HITS2HOME as Comcast Cable for people who don't live where they can get wired cable. So how can they push us to something that is not available. I guess I'll start calling Comcast and ask them to run cable lines on my county road.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Funny, they PULLED that Cband 4DTV link off that page! So what does THAT tell you?

I'm now two months into a life with NO sub to ANYTHING and I'm finding I like having that extra money for other things. ;-)

 

[tvropro]

I figured it might be a ESPN type problem. Is it just Discovery or Animal Planet and TLC that are needed too? If it's just Discovery, and with the Discovery Suite being one of the most popular packages for big dish users, Discovery would be the ideal channel to stick in place of the ALTV ColorBars. No bandwidth reallocation needed.

What's the deal with HBO? All the SD HBO's that exist are on W5 I believe.

Not sure,

HBO is due to Charlie Ergan.

 

[eurosport]

Funny, they PULLED that Cband 4DTV link off that page! So what does THAT tell you?

I'm now two months into a life with NO sub to ANYTHING and I'm finding I like having that extra money for other things. ;-)

It's still there. After you put in your info and select "Corporate Information" it's one of the choices on the next screen.

 

[TheTechGuru]

Not sure,

HBO is due to Charlie Ergan.

and Showtime? and The Movie Channel?

At least Starz/Encore is cool. They're also the cheapest and the most channels for the money on any provider.

 

[johnnyglobal]

Agreed! Starz & Encore are the best for my money as well, even though just about everything they show is streaming on Netflix. It seems Starz & Encore are loyal to us and (maybe it's just me) HBO, Showtime, and any other movie service provider could take a note or two on how to earn loyalty. Yes I know Starz & Encore have ties to Directv, but still able to serve us and give us MORE than on DTV, seems like they favor us and I kinda like that. All this is in my opinion and I am always open to be educated for what I don't fully understand or know.

 

[scottxray]

I also contacted Discovery . Then I looked up HBO's site:

HBO

go to the ABOUT link and then the Contact us link.

and sent them this.....



"HBOs decision to not allow C band subscriptions in the future is both disappointing and shortsighted. While there may only be about 10000 or so of us still using C-band, your decison to remove the possibility of subscribing to HBO/Cinemax via our 4dTV recievers will instill in those people a feeling of enmity against your company. In a period of a tough economy and limited resources for people to spend their money on, it would seem that denying people
who have the ability to manage their own equipment and who wish to purchase your programming, is counterproductive.
I have subscribed to HBO for about 15 years, both on C-band and Dish network and directv (I have had both , simultaneously, for about ten years. The decision by HBO to refuse service to c-band subscribers has inspired me to make the following decision. I am cancelling my Directv subscription to HBO/MAX effective Jan 1. ( and also Showtime/TMC who made a similar decision in June . I will not subscribe to your programming again.
Should you reinstate C-band subscription service via Skyvision and or SRL ( satellite recievers) in the future I will reconsider this decision . Until such time you will not receive any more money from me.
I will instead support Starz/Encore, as they continue to support C-band."

 

[Tyralak]

you know Charley has something to do with this, but I would not count Comcast out as a player either, I am sure they make much more money through there cable subs, and what ever it takes to push us to cable.

Of course. Because Charlie is behind EVERYTHING. I understand he's also to blame for the extinction of the dinosaurs and the eventual heat death of the universe. Look, as much fun as it is to have a bogyman to blame things on, I doubt Charlie or the CEOs of DirecTV or Comcast care enough about a few thousand CBand subscribers to formulate some nefarious backroom deals to cut off channels from CBand.

 

[earlief]

Just sent my response complaint in