Sir, I'm not insinuating that Charlie Ergen is some type of saint, trying to fight for the good of his subscribers. I'm not 19 and an idealist...I'm a 52 year old cynic. The bottom line is his profit margin, and I'm not thick enough to deny that.
However, Mr. Ergen will at least try and haggle with networks, unlike DirecTV, which apparently accepts any and every deal thrown at them by the content providers. That is how it has seemed to me, at least, particuarly since Rupert Murdoch assumed the helm. As a former DirecTV subscriber, I would have been paying roughly $10.00 a month more for Total Choice in March of this year (compared to a little under three years ago), had I given into their latest rounds of price hikes.
DirecTV, at this point, is courting the well heeled consumer who doesn't mind spending a fortune each month for television. Charlie Ergen at least seems to realize that there is some money to be made by offering lower tiered packages at a decent price...and that's why I now have AT100, not Total Choice.
I still stand by my original contention...if anyone has the guts to stand up to overpriced providers like ESPN, it would be Charlie Ergen...regardless of his motives.