Senior CNET Writer Resigns Over Dish Controversy

[harshness]

Does anyone want to bet that as soon as this lawsuit is resolved, CNET, CBS or whoever is going to go back and give Dish their Hopper award?

Since the award was already given to a questionably cool gaming slate, I'd say no.

Since it seems likely that CBS will lose the lawsuit (if the Fox result is any indication), it isn't likely to make CBS (and by extension, CNET) any more friendly towards DISH.

 

[inazsully]

Does anybody really think that NBC, ABC, or FOX would have reacted any differently? Perhaps a little smarter but that does not put them on a higher plateau. They're all cut from the same cloth.

 

[dare2be]

I don't think anyone has said that they would have reacted differently, or put them on a higher plateau.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Actually ABC isn't suing them over AutoHop. But I think thats the only thing they are not suing DISH over.

 

[jbrelish]

I lost all respect for CBS and CNET. I will find my news elsewhere. But who's surprised that news media acts this way, I'm not. Media in this country is disgraceful. They act worse than 3rd world countries.

I would not fault this on the c|net people just yet. I just read the 1 article Scott posted about c|net's side of this and it is quite interesting. They fought with CBS over this and it seems quite vigorously. But they had no choice,you do what the parent company says or go elsewhere, which seems to already be happening. What we should be doing is urging companies like Twit or Revision3 or somebody pick up the people who are leaving. At least to some integrity still means something to some.

 

[Slamminc11]

The only thing CBS did wrong is that they should have told Dish that they do not qualify to be in the contest before CES even started, instead of pulling them out at the last minute like they did.

I don't agree that they where disqualified at the last minute, but I do agree with CBS stepping in and making sure the award was not given due to the lawsuit.

As far as CBS is concerned, they are in a lawsuit with Dish over the Hopper right now. You know how bad it would look if they went to court, and here they are suing Dish over the Hopper, yet they give the Hopper the best of show award?

C'mon, here is an award for designing a DVR that threatens to take away our advertising revenue. Makes no sense for CBS, and they did what they had to do.

As far as the writer who resigned, this will all blow over in a few weeks anyways. Should have kept his Job!

It has been reported that Dish actually won the award and then CBS said no they can't have it, and you still deny it. Amazing...not surprising coming from you, but still amazing!

 

[Foxbat]

Can we look forward to "Dan Rather Reports" covering this in a future show? I'm sure Dan could editorialize about CBS's news division.

 

[whitewolf8214]

They get what they deserve You sew what you reap

 

[kenny9966]

Aint that the truth! Dish must have an Extremely long contract with Disney/ESPN because it has been what, 2 years now since we lost alot of Disney owned HD?
I really thought that contract would of ended by now.

 

[navychop]

They get what they deserve You sew what you reap

Err- backwards. And I disagree. Matter of journalistic integrity.

 

[navychop]

Ain't that the truth! Dish must have an Extremely long contract with Disney/ESPN because it has been what, 2 years now since we lost a lot of Disney owned HD?
I really thought that contract would of ended by now.

Huh? A contract to NOT carry?

 

[whitewolf8214]

Err- backwards. And I disagree. Matter of journalistic integrity.

I mean CNET deserves what they get in Dish wins the award yet CBS who owns them took it away from them due to lawsuit with Dish which is wrong and will just give Dish more publicity now due to this

 

[dare2be]

I mean CNET deserves what they get in Dish wins the award yet CBS who owns them took it away from them due to lawsuit with Dish which is wrong and will just give Dish more publicity now due to this

Still not following you. What did CNET sew to reap this and why do they deserve this?

 

[GaryPen]

I would not fault this on the c|net people just yet. I just read the 1 article Scott posted about c|net's side of this and it is quite interesting. They fought with CBS over this and it seems quite vigorously. But they had no choice,you do what the parent company says or go elsewhere, which seems to already be happening.

Whether or not anybody faults CNET is irrelevant. What has transpired leaves the integrity and neutrality of their reviews, articles, and awards in question, regardless of whether or not their editorial staff was directly involved in this debacle.

 

[gdarwin]

I have unsubscribed from all the CNET mailing lists and deleted the app off my phone.

 

[kenny9966]

Huh? A contract to NOT carry?

Kind of... Surely a new agreement would include all channels in HD. Last time i heard ESPN Allowed Dish ESPN and ESPN2 in HD ONLY because alot of sports bars/commercial accounts use them for sports.

 

[ScooterS]

Hummm...
Dish is the clear winner and CBS is the loser in this one.

If they won the award, It would have looked pretty on the shelf, but probably wouldn't have generated much buzz.
The longer the story goes on, the more good publicity for Dish and bad for CBS.

I suspect that some will pause long enough to listen to the ads and realize that there is a box that will skip commericals. That will generate business.

People like to root for the underdog. Ya' can't pay for advertising like this!

 

[ScooterS]

Think of the next Dish ad..... Hopper comes in, pulling awards out of his pouch, shows them to Joey, and one is missing. He then tells little Joey why the big guys don't like him... hummmm...

 

[kenny9966]

ESPN didnt want the backlash from removing all HD from dish...

 

[TheForce]

Claude- I agree with you. What I find really stupid was that CNET didnt use their heads. They should not have even considered Dish Network for the award. It's like the US giving the medal of honor to Osama Bin Laden. You don't award something that tries to kill your livelihood.

I'm sure there are other benefits to the hopper that outweigh this auto commercial eliminator feature. Frankly, I think this whole feature is costing Dish far more than its worth. But I have a 722k and don't mind zapping commercials manually. This manual feature, while it annoyed the broadcasters, never pissed them off like this Hopper auto zapper does. When Dish announced it it was like daring the broadcasters to go after them. If Dish could cite an actual monetary benefit to them, like selling this auto zap feature for $30 extra a month, it may be worth fighting over. But it doesn't justify any measurable return on their investment.

If Dish took that one feature away and just gave you a 30 sec skip ahead with 10 second skip back, would you be so angry you would cancel your subscription? Probably not. But, how angry would you be if the broadcasters boycotted Dish Network? I know they can't legally but I'm certain all of you would switch to DirecTV or cable if Dish didn't do locals.

Earlier there was a comment that the amount of advertising was regulated in the shows. To my knowledge there is no such thing. It's a marketing choice. I've been retired from the TV advertising business for a couple years now but to my knowledge you can produce a TV show that is 100% 30 second spots if you want. I did a couple of these that were both Broadcast half and Broadcast hour programs. Normally the broadcast hour show has a total of ~40 minutes of content, the rest commercials.

Either way, I think it was stupid for CNET to consider Dish in the first place, but even dumber to pull it as the PR and credibility destruction is worse. Regardless, this will not stop me from enjoying the Network's prime time shows like NCIS, Vegas, and others. We skip the commercials manually too.