HBO is BACK on DISH
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Right. Well, it might if you have an AT&T-owned cable TV service, e.g. DirecTV, AT&T TV or UVerse TV. At least many folks in that situation had the HBO linear channels automatically appear in their cable line-up because they got free HBO Max from AT&T Wireless or Fiber.
But if you get your cable TV from any other operator, e.g. Dish, Comcast, Charter, etc., and you want the HBO linear channels to appear in your cable line-up, you need to subscribe to HBO Max through them.
I don't think HBO wants to pay DISH for those people to access the service on DISH. I do understand what your saying though, but again it does not work backwards like that.
I don't think you understood my post, because I'm agreeing with you with regard to *non-AT&T-owned* MVPDs, of which Dish is one. As I wrote (emphasis added):
"if you get your cable TV from any other operator, e.g. Dish, Comcast, Charter, etc., and you want the HBO linear channels to appear in your cable line-up, you need to subscribe to HBO Max through them." (The "them" at the end of that sentence referred to the cable TV operator, not HBO Max; I can see how that was unclear and might have been misconstrued.)
You want the HBO linear channels to show up on your Hopper? Cancel however you're currently subscribed to HBO Max and sign up through Dish.
The question was originally posed by someone who gets HBO Max free as a perk with his AT&T Wireless plan. If he switched from Dish to DirecTV or AT&T TV, then he might see the HBO channels automatically show up, for free, in the grid guide on his box/app after linking his various accounts. I've read numerous reports of that happening over the past year.
But as a Dish subscriber, that's not possible. He'd have to sign up for HBO Max through Dish and pay for it to get the HBO linear channels on his Dish receiver. And he'd have to *really* care about the linear channels to do that when he's already getting all the HBO content (and more) on-demand for free in the HBO Max app.
Who knows but I would expect as part of this new carriage deal that Dish and Warner will work together to bring the HBO Max app to recent-model Hoppers and Joeys in the coming months, just as Comcast did on their X1 platform. And I'm pretty sure that, on every hardware platform where the HBO Max app exists, it must be open to sign-ins from all HBO Max subscribers, regardless of whom they pay through (just like Netflix, Hulu, etc.). If that happens, then folks who get HBO Max free from AT&T, or who choose to pay via a different provider than Dish, will still be able to access the service on their Dish receiver. Always a good think, IMO, when you don't have to switch inputs and remotes but can instead do all your TV viewing through one device.
Right, which is what I said in the post. I wanted to make sure there was no confusion with folks thinking merging their accounts automatically canceled subscriptions via third party platforms.
Who knows what the future holds, maybe they'll come out with the HBOMax App for the Hopper in the future, I noticed with my Prime HBO subscription, there's 2 extra live HBO channels (HBO Comedy & HBO Zone), that aren't available on Dish.
I think with the on demand and separate HBOMax app on Firestick and Roku would pretty well make up for those since any content would be on the App.
So I have to think about this because my contract with Dish expires in less than 6 months, and if I commit to a Year of HBO on Dish, then I would also commit to my Dish contract, paying full retail, instead of re negotiating a new contract.
I guess I would have to talk to a rep and see if i can renogiate or extend my current contract., which i have no problem doing, originally I planned on dropping Dish and going with Sling, but I think I'll stick with my Hopper 3 for now.
I think with the on demand and separate HBOMax app on Firestick and Roku would pretty well make up for those since any content would be on the App.
So I have to think about this because my contract with Dish expires in less than 6 months, and if I commit to a Year of HBO on Dish, then I would also commit to my Dish contract, paying full retail, instead of re negotiating a new contract.
I guess I would have to talk to a rep and see if i can renogiate or extend my current contract., which i have no problem doing, originally I planned on dropping Dish and going with Sling, but I think I'll stick with my Hopper 3 for now.
So what is the speculation on why Dish didn't add the Full suite of HBO/Max channels that it had before they were pulled in 2018? A lot of people in rural areas do not have sufficient internet speeds and streaming and On demand are not an option. My speculation is Bandwidth..or HBO/Max are going to significantly downsize the channels they broadcast. Just my 2 cents.
I think it is the second - with the streaming option, HBO is going to combine/reduce the channels at some point. I believe Scott said that in an earlier thread about HBO when the channels were originally uplinked and the number was less than it was a couple of years ago.
The bandwidth piece isn't an issue like it was 5 or so years ago - with the more advanced encoding Dish now puts 12-14 HD channels per transponder. Just doing a quick scan of the channels on each transponder, there are 3 transponders that are completely empty and another 3 that have a lot of space with only a couple of channels on it. I am sure Dish keeps some of the space available in case something goes wrong with a transponder and they have to move the channels so customers don't notice any downtime, but there does appear to be space on the satellites.
There is one simple feature that makes linear HBO the granddaddy of all other linear channels, commercial-free or not (especially if you're a movie connoisseur):
They don't interrupt the closing credits with upcoming promos. When a movie ends happily, sadly, tensely, creepy, or with almost any emotion, it's nice to just groove to the closing music and unwind from the movie without a completely mood-busting preview of some upcoming program.
YMMV
Uh, correction...TCM does it right also.
They don't interrupt the closing credits with upcoming promos. When a movie ends happily, sadly, tensely, creepy, or with almost any emotion, it's nice to just groove to the closing music and unwind from the movie without a completely mood-busting preview of some upcoming program.
YMMV
Uh, correction...TCM does it right also.
It's interesting to note that on AT&T's own streaming cable TV service, AT&T TV, they've only ever included a few of the linear HBO channels, despite the fact that they own HBO! That service only carries HBO, HBO 2, HBO Family and HBO Latino. And it didn't even originally have HBO 2. But then if you have AT&T TV, you necessarily have home internet service, so you can stream the full HBO catalog via AT&T TV's on-demand platform and also via the separate HBO Max app. All the HBO content is always ad-free and uncut, regardless of how you watch.
But it's not just HBO. AT&T TV does the same with the other premium services. For instance, the only carry Showtime, Showtime 2 and Showtime Extreme. And just Cinemax and ActionMax for that service.
It's also interesting that AT&T TV's cloud DVR doesn't allow you to record from any of the premium linear channels; you can only bookmark the on-demand version for later viewing. But really, when all the content is available on-demand and ad-free, what's the point of recording from the linear channels? HD PQ is actually usually better in on-demand streaming content than on linear channels anyhow.
The need for the linear channels themselves is even questionable. It's clear that HBO's long-term plan is to morph into something more like Netflix via their HBO Max app. I doubt that the original HBO linear channel ever goes away (especially as long as it continues to air the occasional live show/event) but I can see them de-emphasizing them and killing some of them off. First to go would probably be HBO Zone, HBO Comedy, and HBO Signature -- all three are missing on AT&T TV and at least two of those didn't return to DISH (not sure about Signature). IMO, the linear channels simply serve as a way for the service to advertise its content with easy viewer sampling. Sure, you might stumble into a show or movie mid-way through and stick with it but many would just opt to watch it from the start on-demand, or set it up to record the next time it comes on.
Companies prefer it when you view their content via their own app, where they control the UI and they can glean valuable user data. (And in the case of the cheaper HBO Max plan, they can serve up lucrative targeted ads in the non-HBO content.) Note how HBO has removed their content from other streaming apps/UIs. It's no longer available as an add-on in The Roku Channel or the Apple TV app and will be gone later this year from Amazon's Prime Video app. Those moves drive cord-cutters toward the HBO Max app.
Perhaps in the next few years, we'll see HBO restructure their agreements with cable TV operators like Comcast, Charter, Verizon, etc. so that they no longer offer their content via those operators' native on-demand platforms, only via the HBO Max app which they push to be included on those cable boxes. (It's already on Comcast's boxes.) And perhaps they kill off a few of the lesser HBO linear channels and require that the surviving ones be non-recordable. Clicking to record a show on HBO might add a bookmark to your cable DVR library that, when clicked, just takes you to that show inside the HBO Max app. Lastly, perhaps we see those HBO linear channels also available to stream inside the HBO Max app, giving users even more reason to stay there versus exiting to other UIs.
All speculation, of course. And I wouldn't expect such changes to happen on Dish or DirecTV, since many satellite TV users don't have broadband. I expect such folks will constitute an increasing share of satellite TV users in the coming years as the overall subscription levels continue to erode due to all the (often cheaper) video options available for those with broadband.
That is a good point, with streaming devices everywhere, it it no longer necessary to have linear channels. As this country gets more access to high speed, most TV services in the future will probably be streaming. Even if Dish loses a service, it doesn't mean we cannot get it elsewhere. I know of many that when Dish lost HBO, people just picked it up via streaming. In reality with the average streamer that has a Fire Stick or Roku, the choices are endless.
Well, I don't know if linear channels will ever completely disappear, even though they account for a decreasing share of our collective total viewing time. They do provide value in that someone else has curated a set of already-playing video choices for the viewer to sample. Sometimes I prefer to channel surf rather than scroll through row after row of graphical tiles representing on-demand streaming titles. (I've read stats on how long the average Netflix user spends browsing through titles before actually starting a video and it's kinda nuts.)
I concur. If streaming keeps rising its prices maybe the pull the cord folks will slow down. I hope for a happy medium for both.
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The only way for that to work is if Traditional Providers quit raising their prices, but that will never happen.
i love linear channels, i watch more than streaming VOD.
but i think dish needs to add more streaming apps maybe, especially now HBOmax, and other services like peacock.
Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys
but i think dish needs to add more streaming apps maybe, especially now HBOmax, and other services like peacock.
Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys
I might have missed it, but am I the only one who recently bought the 12-month ad-free HBO Max for for $150 from Roku and am now wondering if it'll be possible to transfer that subscription over to Dish to get the max stuff along with the linear channels. I blame whoever originally posted that 12-month deal on here. Was it crodrules? 
WOW. I hope you can work it out.I might have missed it, but am I the only one who recently bought the 12-month ad-free HBO Max for for $150 from Roku and am now wondering if it'll be possible to transfer that subscription over to Dish to get the max stuff along with the linear channels. I blame whoever originally posted that 12-month deal on here. Was it crodrules?
The deal to prepay for one year of HBO Max at a discounted rate ($150 totally ad-free, or $100 with ads in the non-HBO content) is available, as far as I know, only if you pay directly through the service by signing up at hbomax.com. Those deals represent savings of almost 17% off what you'd pay on the regular monthly rates of $15 and $10, respectively.I might have missed it, but am I the only one who recently bought the 12-month ad-free HBO Max for for $150 from Roku and am now wondering if it'll be possible to transfer that subscription over to Dish to get the max stuff along with the linear channels. I blame whoever originally posted that 12-month deal on here. Was it crodrules?
I'm almost certain you wouldn't be able to transfer that deal over to a "middle-man" distributor like Dish (or Comcast or Apple or Roku, etc.), who gets paid a cut of every HBO Max subscription they bill for. Now that HBO Max has your money for a full year, and they've given you a price break, why would they want to erode their margin even further by transferring the sale over to Dish, who would presumably take a cut too?
Dish customers are getting a very good deal in that they can sign up for HBO Max via Dish and only pay $12/mo for the ad-free version AND get the linear HBO channels on their Dish receiver. They don't have to prepay for a whole year and their monthly rate is actually 50 cents per month *lower* than if they did the prepaid deal. Although I think the deal is only good for your first 12 months and if you drop it during that time and then re-subscribe via Dish, you'll pay the regular $15/mo. (Not sure on that, though.)
You can see why streaming services prefer it when you sign up and get billed directly through their website. Better margins for them because they don't have to share the money with anyone. Which is why a few years ago, Netflix stopped allowing any new sign-ups outside of their website. Can't sign up inside their app anymore because that means billing by (and revenue sharing with) the app store operator (e.g. Apple, Roku, etc.). Although for folks who signed up years ago and get billed by one of those operators, nothing has changed. Did Dish ever bill for Netflix, e.g. if you signed up through the Netflix app on a Hopper?
