I've been getting a lot of emails from Dish lately pushing saving money by dropping locals through Dish and getting a free OTA antenna installed by Dish. Just wondering if Dish is heading towards phasing out carrying locals. Big problem I see, at least in my area, is OTA guide data is pretty lacking.
Is Dish heading towards dropping locals?
- Thread starter SKrueger
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No. But they're less willing to just bend over for exorbitant retrans contracts now, so you might lose a station or two occasionally.
Price has gone from $5 to $13... ot wouldnt surprise me
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They can't just drop locals because too many people in rural areas live too far away to adequately pick up signals with the OTA's that Dish supplies. However, it does give them leverage in negotiating with the broadcast companies.
A poster was wrong who I already had ignored? Shocking.
In all honesty, I would drop the locals from my flex pack and go with something more interesting for me. But, my wife lives for PTAT and we get channel drops occasionally on our FOX and CW affielates, based on our location from towers. So, combining the two has me staying put with locals. I'd be ready to drop them for something like multi-sports if it was up to me. I dropped everything I liked, except for the movie pack about a year ago. The wife gets her locals, the kids get their Disney Channel, and I get to go to family and friends houses to watch games.
I would be OK if they dropped locals if I could get a local tuner that was capable of recording more than two channels on my Hopper. My wife records soap operas and cooking shows while I am recording the news and watching sports.
I am sure that local stations have a gripe with Dish because they get paid by advertisers and I will rarely watch ads and I am sure that this applies to others who have Dish.
I am sure that local stations have a gripe with Dish because they get paid by advertisers and I will rarely watch ads and I am sure that this applies to others who have Dish.
I think Dish was pretty cunning to allow customers to drop locals. This gives them hard data on the percentage of subs who actually care about them. That then becomes a great bargaining chip at the negotiating table. Providers that don't allow separating them out wouldn't necessarily have that data.
If that ever happened, they need to do something about authorizing broadcast sports viewing on network apps.
Right now, I can't watch broadcast NBC or ABC games on the NBC Sports app or the ESPN app because I don't subscribe to locals even though these events are free over the air.
I'm not sure about the Fox Sports App.
Right now, I can't watch broadcast NBC or ABC games on the NBC Sports app or the ESPN app because I don't subscribe to locals even though these events are free over the air.
I'm not sure about the Fox Sports App.
Say dish pays a station $2 for rights. The station says they want $2.5
Dish gives half the customers the air antenna cutting station cash 50 percent.
I'd be real careful about demanding more $ with the total loss of income from each one that goes over air.
I see the stations in a no win situation.
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Dish gives half the customers the air antenna cutting station cash 50 percent.
I'd be real careful about demanding more $ with the total loss of income from each one that goes over air.
I see the stations in a no win situation.
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Instead of this continual fights over re-transmission rates that are crazy, then adjust each station accordingly. If a TV station in a market wants to change a high fee, pay it, but pass it on to the customers. Lets say a market has 5 locals and each is $2 each, then charge $10. If a station in that market suddenly wants $3, then pass it on to the customer. Now that Dish sells locals alone, they can do that. If the customer does not want to pay that, then less money will go to that local. They will get the message in time.
I have always believed that it should be patently illegal for stations to charge some for the same product they provide others for free.
I support this. Show the customer the "true cost" of carriage and let them decide if it's worth it or not. Good old supply and demand.
That would only work if each station could be billed and dropped individually. You still wouldn't see the "true cost" if not.
And I've always believed that a station which has 20 minutes worth of commercials (which they get paid for) every hour shouldn't be allowed to charge a fee to anyone for viewing.
Don't forget the people who are close enough to pick up OTA but are too lazy to set one up/switch inputs on their TV.
I don't understand retrans fees at all, the providers are helping broadcast a signal that's pumped through the air for free!
My theory (and that's all it is) is since satellite charged for locals when they originated, the broadcasts thought "they shouldn't be making money off us, we deserve a piece of that".
And let's not forget, satellite subscriptions started taking off when they started offering LiL. Despite what many people on here seem to believe, people want their local programming.
Oh, and I almost forgot... using your argument, ESPN should cost $0 to the cable/satellite providers. They're not giving it away for free, but after all, without the cable/satellite providers, 0 people could watch ESPN. Without the cable/satellite providers, hundreds of thousands of people would still watch local broadcasters.
