No sports programming Packages

[LibertySat]

Anyone else like to have the option of a video plan with no over priced sports channels?

I never ever watch sports on tv and refuse to pay the extra for the ball chasing millionaires
And don't get me started on those corporate icons making left turns for hours on end and the excitement of those really fast tire changes

I am thinking there are millions of households that would want a lower cost package that doesn't subsidize the expensive sports channels

Anyone else?

 

[mike123abc]

It has been discussed here before, but they are not allowed by the programming providers.

Disney owns ESPN, so holds hostage all other channels (including ABC in large markets) if the provider does not include ESPN channels.

Fox owns fox RSNs and of course holds hostage all their other channels (including FOX in large markets).

It will probably take a law being passed preventing forced bundling of channels.

 

[Tampa8]

Anyone else like to have the option of a video plan with no over priced sports channels?

I never ever watch sports on tv and refuse to pay the extra for the ball chasing millionaires
And don't get me started on those corporate icons making left turns for hours on end and the excitement of those really fast tire changes

I am thinking there are millions of households that would want a lower cost package that doesn't subsidize the expensive sports channels

Anyone else?

Just do a search here, there are hundreds (literally) of posts about this!

 

[MikeD-C05]

Scott did mention in older posts (rumors) that there would be some NO Sports programming packs released by DISH in January.

 

[joshua.mcglothlen]

I disagree with no sports, how we make no cooming channels or how about no news channels. Its a huge part of programming and lets face it pays the bills for alot of us.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Hey it could be worse.... You could live in my area (the NYC region). We pay for regional sports networks and get none. YES, never had it. MSG, removed. SNY, removed. They pushed the multi sports pak to try and shut me up, but every major league game is blacked out on those channels. To make it worse, they black out the local games when they pop up on ESPN, WGN, etc.

I'm mainly a baseball and football guy, and every local game is on free tv for football, so it is just baseball that I am missing. Not that big a hardship as I am (was?) a Mets fan, but I would love to see them eventually come up with some alternative within 2-3 years when the team becomes watchable again (best case scenario, I know).

 

[boba]

Try the WELCOME PAK only $14.99

 

[mike123abc]

Hey it could be worse.... You could live in my area (the NYC region). We pay for regional sports networks and get none. YES, never had it. MSG, removed. SNY, removed. They pushed the multi sports pak to try and shut me up, but every major league game is blacked out on those channels. To make it worse, they black out the local games when they pop up on ESPN, WGN, etc.

This is because unlike ESPN or FOX RSNs these channels do not have leverage of a bunch of other channels, yet make the same demands as channels that have the leverage (i.e. put in basic tier).

 

[chuckster_dude]

Hey it could be worse.... You could live in my area (the NYC region). We pay for regional sports networks and get none. YES, never had it. MSG, removed. SNY, removed. They pushed the multi sports pak to try and shut me up, but every major league game is blacked out on those channels. To make it worse, they black out the local games when they pop up on ESPN, WGN, etc.

This also includes most of the rest of New York State. Blackouts also apply to NHL Network.

There is a large geographic area here that pays the same as everyone else who has regional sports channels. If I had the time, energy and money, I'd look into contacting the NYS Attorney General's office and the possibility of a class action law suit over this.

 

[Scherrman]

Dish does have non sports packages. The Welcome Package and Dish Family. Enjoy.

 

[whatchel1]

Try the WELCOME PAK only $14.99

Doesn't count; it's not HD.

 

[Arse69]

I would encourage everyone to write to their US Senators and Congressional Reps about the high cost of TV due to professional sports. For those of you who dislike sports, how do you like supporting those multi million dollar salaries atheletes get paid, by paying for those expensive sports channels?

 

[Yespage]

I would encourage everyone to write to their US Senators and Congressional Reps about the high cost of TV due to professional sports. For those of you who dislike sports, how do you like supporting those multi million dollar salaries atheletes get paid, by paying for those expensive sports channels?

I'm in Northeast Ohio and our teams pay their athletes in the form of peanuts and a banking account with Quicken that has no fees.

 

[dare2be]

And don't get me started on those corporate icons making left turns for hours on end and the excitement of those really fast tire changes

I don't care who you are, that was funny.

I'm in Northeast Ohio and our teams pay their athletes in the form of peanuts and a banking account with Quicken that has no fees.

That was funny too, to this Steeler fan.

 

[RollTide1017]

Man, so many sports haters. If Dish ever removes the sports channels and forces me to pay an up charge to add them, I'll switch to that other company. You know what I'd love, a package that has all my sports channels but without all those crummy Lifetime, Lifetime Movie, TLC, Bravo, WE, Food Network, HGTV and all those other girly channels that I hate paying for.

 

[mfoster711]

I would encourage everyone to write to their US Senators and Congressional Reps about the high cost of TV due to professional sports. For those of you who dislike sports, how do you like supporting those multi million dollar salaries atheletes get paid, by paying for those expensive sports channels?

I think you are missing the big picture and how this all works. Advertising drives the prices of networks and with the high use of DVRs it is getting harder and harder to get people to watch commercials. With sports though, people typically watch them live and thus are watching the commercials. Because of this, networks charge more for sports channels and since the networks are getting more money then this results in the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc asking for more money in their TV contracts and when there is more money in the TV contracts the athletes get paid more. The amount the athletes are getting paid is a result of the money the networks get for sports, not the other way around where the athletes demand higher salaries so the leagues then have to demand more money.

 

[dishcomm]

Anyone else like to have the option of a video plan with no over priced sports channels?

I never ever watch sports on tv and refuse to pay the extra for the ball chasing millionaires
And don't get me started on those corporate icons making left turns for hours on end and the excitement of those really fast tire changes

I am thinking there are millions of households that would want a lower cost package that doesn't subsidize the expensive sports channels

Anyone else?

I am a sports fan and I agree with you.
The only way I see this working out for the consumer is CHOICE. If that means a la carte, so be it.
No one has been able to offer up a logical and irrefutable reason as to why a la carte is not the way to go.

 

[dare2be]

No one has been able to offer up a logical and irrefutable reason as to why a la carte is not the way to go.

Oligopoly. The media holding companies (content providers) simply won't allow it. It's illogical, but still irrefutable.

 

[dare2be]

Man, so many sports haters. If Dish ever removes the sports channels and forces me to pay an up charge to add them, I'll switch to that other company. You know what I'd love, a package that has all my sports channels but without all those crummy Lifetime, Lifetime Movie, TLC, Bravo, WE, Food Network, HGTV and all those other girly channels that I hate paying for.

A lot of those girly channels have a major ownership by the same companies that own the sports channels, so if you want one, you get them all.