Time to hop in the DeLorean........

[rocatman]

And YOUR attitude that "Charlie - THE GOD of DBS who walks on water & who's ground you kiss that he walks on", has blinded YOU that he, in fact, cause ALL of these problems on himself by "playing with the law"...

D*, who has followed the must carry law to the letter since day one, DOESN'T have any of these problems with having to do a mad dash to possibly having to comply with a new law. (that was written SPECIFICALLY to correct E*'s mistakes - not ANYONE else's)

EVERY cable co. still has to follow must carry

Why IS it that YOU don't think E* has to follow the SAME law all these other providers do?

Look, I don't think that MC should exist either, but since it IS the law, WHY do you think E* has a right to break it? If E* DOESN'T like MC, then he needs to go about it the proper way & GET THE LAW CHANGED FIRST, instead of breaking it THEN asking for leniency to fix things.

Of course, you know yourself that this IS the way E* has done things since day 1 of LIL - E* was carrying locals BEFORE the actual law even PASSED & in violation of copyright law. You can argue against me all day, but it IS a fact that this DID happen. (but, I'm SURE we don't want to mention this bit of dirty laundry... )

First, I don't think Charlie walks on water or is the God of DBS. I don't know how you get that idea. I have been critical of Dish on this board especially related to the 811 that I own. I have complained in posts about the lack of guide info for HD OTA locals and finally Dish is providing them. It is obvious that you think Charlie is satan.

Second, if what E* is doing with locals on the wings is illegal, then Congress would not have to write new legislation to prevent it and the FCC could force E* to comply, so to say E* is breaking the law is incorrect. Please cite examples of where E* has been in violation of the must carry laws and has been fined or warned by the FCC and no the incident you cite related to locals in Miami has nothing to do with must carry.

Now you could argue that E* is not living up to the spirit of the law but that is based on how you interpret it. In addition, "must carry" and "must carry on a single dish" is obviously different. E* took advantage of the way the law was written and was able to provide locals to more markets faster than DirecTV by using the wings and made substantial gains in subscribers, hardly a mistake by E*. Subscribers benefited as well since they had a choice between cable and Dish to get their locals. By the way, DirecTV would love to be able to have locals in all the markets that E* currently carries but does not have the space at this time.

Yes, now if the law is changed, E* will have to comply and yes it may cost them but E* has the right to lobby Congress just like any other corporation or industry group to try to influence legislation to their benefit and issue press releases to try to win public support. Yes E* will have to change their plans for locals if the single dish for locals legislation is passed but they have some time and several options. One possible option is using Superdish. I do not have access to Claude's board so I don't have access to dealer information.

 

[dishrich]

Please cite examples of where E* has been in violation of the must carry laws and has been fined or warned by the FCC and no the incident you cite related to locals in Miami has nothing to do with must carry.

You REALLY need to read my reply's MORE carefully - where DID I say ANYTHING about the "locals in Miami" thing??? If you knew the complete history of E*'s "toying with the LIL laws" (NOT with just MC, either...) you would know that E* was, in fact, supplying subs with their locals in the 6 original markets that were on the 61.5 bird, BEFORE it was even legal to do LIL. Of course, E* "claimed" they were ONLY giving it to people in white areas in those DMA's, under the guise of the "distant nets" law, but it was a fact that he WAS. AND, since there was NO LIL law back then, the local stations were upset that he was able to do this, without ANY sort of "restransmission consent" (I assume you DO know what that is...) for redistribution in that same market. E* DID stop offering those locals for a little while per a request from the FCC, but the new LIL was getting ready to be issued just around the corner, so they didn't loose all that much. BUT, they still got to keep their existing ill-gotten subs, so they STILL made money, even though they were NOT supposed to be offering the service in the first place.

Now you could argue that E* is not living up to the spirit of the law but that is based on how you interpret it.

No, D*, local cable systems & NAB thinks so too - otherwise, Congress WOULD NOT HAVE TO BE REWRITING THE LAW SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THE WAY E* IS DOING BUSINESS NOW!!! HELLO - they are NOT rewritting it for ANYONE ELSE BUT E*!!!

In addition, "must carry" and "must carry on a single dish" is obviously different. E* took advantage of the way the law was written and was able to provide locals to more markets faster than DirecTV by using the wings and made substantial gains in subscribers, hardly a mistake by E*. Subscribers benefited as well since they had a choice between cable and Dish to get their locals.

I COMPLETELY understand this - NOW, E* can pay to get all those subs in compliance with a "clearer" law that (obviously) they are "taking advantage of", to use YOUR words.

By the way, DirecTV would love to be able to have locals in all the markets that E* currently carries but does not have the space at this time.

That IS because D* choose to follow the "spirit of the law" & NOT just the "letter of the law" - they now, DON'T have to worry about getting ANY subs compliant with another new law, while E* does - hmm, which DOES make the most sense???

 

[SimpleSimon]

Let's see dishrich.

Because E* managed to get more service to more people in a shorter time, thereby putting your beloved D* in the hole, you now want to slap down E*.

I'll bet you're a Kerry supporter, too.

 

[dishrich]

Because E* managed to get more service to more people in a shorter time, thereby putting your beloved D* in the hole, you now want to slap down E*.

Geeze, you E* pom-pomer's JUST DON'T GET IT!!!

First of all, WHO says D* is "in the hole" - as I recall for the past few quarters, D* has actually EXCEEDED E* growth in new subs, so they must be doing SOMETHING better than E* is - in SPITE of NOT serving as many LIL markets.

As far as me "slapping down E*", I'm SO sorry that is ALL that you can see through your rose-colored glasses. Frankly, I don't really give a rat's a$$ what you guys & E* does with it's locals, as it's DOESN'T affect me at all, except for a few of my customers. All I have been saying is the same damm thing many others have said about E* & it's playing fast & loose with the LIL rules since day 1. These are FACTS that even Dan Collins has spoke about in length on dbsforums - of course, he ALSO had people like you crying that he was beating up on poor, poor E* & Charlie - & ALL just because he was stating facts about E* & how it "interprets" the LIL laws.

OH, but I almost forgot - this IS the same company that says "lifetime" PTV service is REALLY 3 years:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=31745

HEY, maybe if YOU both called congress & the NAB, just MAYBE they'll listen to YOU TWO & you're reasoning why ONLY E* should be "excused" from following the "spirit of the LIL law" & E* can leave things as is. !sadroll !sadroll

What I don't understand is WHY IS THIS SO SURPRISING THIS IS HAPPENING TO E*??? Many of us on Claude's board were smart enough to KNOW that this was NOT a question of IF this would happen, but WHEN. Many of us ARE surprised it took SO long for the NAB to pitch a bitch about this, considering what many customer had to go through JUST to get their stupid 2nd dish.

I'll bet you're a Kerry supporter, too.

Uh, OK whatever THAT has to do with this conversation, since you OBVIOUSLY can't come with ANY sound reasoning whatsoever why E* should get a pass on this, other than "it allowed them to get more markets than D* did"

Don't you normally spend most of your time anyway these days at the "pro-E*" board...

 

[SimpleSimon]

Gotcha.

The Kerry jibe was because you're so emotional about this whole thing for no good reason - it's just TV after all.

And if you would actually read some of my approximately 5000 posts between the 2 boards, you'll find I really do NOT like E* at all. The equipment sucks, the programmers suck, the CSRs suck, and Charlie sucks. I'm with them for 2 reasons - grandfathered distant nets and superstations (UPN).

 

[rocatman]

Let's see dishrich.

Because E* managed to get more service to more people in a shorter time, thereby putting your beloved D* in the hole, you now want to slap down E*.

I'll bet you're a Kerry supporter, too.

Actually I think Charlie backed Gore in 2000 hoping that a Gore adminstration would approve his purchase of DirecTV. Also Charlie is from Tennessee as is Gore. Obviously, Rupert/NewsCorp/Fox was backing W and Rupert certainly didn't want Charlie to get DirecTV. I would think Charlie would back Kerry since the FCC under Powell has not been too friendly to Dish.

Now regarding dishrich comments. He thinks Dish made a mistake by putting locals on the wings allowing them to get locals into many markets sooner than DirecTV. What he fails to realize is that the percentage of subscribers that switch from one satellite carrier to the other is quite small. By Dish getting locals into markets first and signing up subscribers who are disenchanted with their cable company, it allowed Dish to gain significant ground on DirecTV. Yes, Dish has not passed them in the number of subscribers but Dish has significantly narrowed the gap at least on a relative basis. Dish is close enough that when they negotiate contracts with content providers, they can now get terms equal to those of DirecTV. This certainly helps Dish's bottom line and more easily allows them to be price competitive with DirecTV.

I have to laugh about the logic of dishrich. He implies that Dish is breaking the must carry laws and doesn't address why the FCC doesn't stop Dish from doing this. Instead, Congress needs to put in place a new law to stop Dish from breaking the original law. He also expects American corporations to stay competitve in today's world by following the spirit of a law when too often we have corporations that don't even follow the letter of the law. I guess it makes a lot a sense to someone who is so angry about something that he states he doesn't give a rats a$$ about.

In regards to the new legislation, you have to be foolish to think that Dish wasn't aware that the locals on a single dish legislation was a definite possibility but that does not mean that they were not going to fight it. In today's politics, you sometimes fight a battle you know you are going to lose in order to get something else you want like HD local white areas. E-10 will allow Dish to be in compliance with this locals on a single dish legislation.

 

[dishrich]

The Kerry jibe was because you're so emotional about this whole thing for no good reason - it's just TV after all.

I agree - actually, I'm NOT the one that's upset at all about WHY congress is doing this to E*. Like I just said, I 110% KNEW this day was coming; it was ALL just a question of WHEN. ALL I was trying to explain to all the OTHER people, that are SO upset that E* is (most likely) in trouble with THEIR spin on how MC should work & what IN the world E* is going to do about it.

Contrary to what you might think, I also do NOT want to see E* go out of business. Unlike Larry, I am SO glad the merger did NOT happen. The ONLY way there will be progress with DBS services is to have competition. Having ONLY 1 DBS provider, WHETHER it be E* OR D*, would NOT have been good, IMO. That's why I wish E* HAD done things the right way the FIRST time, so now they didn't have this crap of having to comply with MC on 1 dish.

And if you would actually read some of my approximately 5000 posts between the 2 boards, you'll find I really do NOT like E* at all. The equipment sucks, the programmers suck, the CSRs suck, and Charlie sucks. I'm with them for 2 reasons - grandfathered distant nets and superstations (UPN).

Uhhhhh, OK - now YOU are even MORE confusing. So, what you ARE saying is, that in spite of HOW much you REALLY hate E*, (which I just quoted from YOU, YOURSELF) you are staying with them ONLY for the distants/SS's - Damm, you REALLY must like them.
Gee rocatman, SimpleSimon sounds like HE thinks charlie IS satan - got any snappy comments for HIM (too)...

AND, just for the record, the ONLY reason why I (also) have an E* sub, is for the SAME thing & ONLY those channels. (The rest comes from D*, obviously)

 

[dishrich]

I guess it makes a lot a sense to someone who is so angry about something that he states he doesn't give a rats a$$ about.

Read my reply to SS, since I don't feel like repeating myself (AGAIN)

E-10 will allow Dish to be in compliance with this locals on a single dish legislation.

And YOU know this for a FACT that this WILL happen, AND in TIME for the new legislation, because... (please fill in the blank)

Unless you WORK for E*, you DON'T know jack that this WILL happen in time, so DON'T state things as facts that you know NOTHING about.

 

[SimpleSimon]

... Uhhhhh, OK - now YOU are even MORE confusing. So, what you ARE saying is, that in spite of HOW much you REALLY hate E*, (which I just quoted from YOU, YOURSELF) you are staying with them ONLY for the distants/SS's - Damm, you REALLY must like them.
Gee rocatman, SimpleSimon sounds like HE thinks charlie IS satan - got any snappy comments for HIM (too)... ...

You just quoted me saying I hate E*, huh? Try again, troll.

I never said any such thing. I reserve my hate for important things like terrorism.

I DID make comments regarding the quality of E* services, equipment, and management. And I never implied that Charlie was evil. By most measures he's not even incompetent. He's simply not getting me the TV that I want. That "sucks".

Definition of "sucks": A 2 on a scale of 5 where "frelled"=1 and "outstanding"=5.
For future reference, "enh"=3, and "cool"=4.

And yes, I like having 3 timezones of network feed. It allows me to record what I want regardless of network 'stacking'. I also like Star Trek: Enterprise, which is on UPN. Those two things me more to me than any slight improvement I might get by switching to D* - although they have their own set of problems - mostly the same ones as E* is turns out.

I'm also not the one that is indicating emotional involvement by using all caps in selected words.

 

[dishrich]

Definition of "sucks": A 2 on a scale of 5 where "frelled"=1 and "outstanding"=5.
For future reference, "enh"=3, and "cool"=4.

Uh OK, what dictionary DOES this come from? (It's amazing the things you learn on these boards... )

you'll find I really do NOT like E* at all.

Hmm, OK - this is your direct quote. "Do NOT like" vs "hate" - guess I'm just can't see that much difference, but whatever...

I'm also not the one that is indicating emotional involvement by using all caps in selected words.

OH, I DIDN'T realize I was SO emotionally involved when I capped selected words. (Ooops, there I go AGAIN) :shocked :shocked
Oh, you KNOW how us trolls ARE though...

 

[TuxCoder]

dishrich test

I like Dish Network. Echostar is cool.

 

[larrystotler]

Dishrip - IF E* was doing something Illegal, then why are they not being charged for this? How often do most people merely follow the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law? Quite frankly all of this is a moot point, since we have absolutely no say over any of this whatsoever. Do I care that I have locals on the wing? Nope. Do most of my customers? Nope. Do any of them really want to have a second dish installed to begin with? Nope. Do I & the E* CSR tell the customer about the extra locals? Yep. How many actually get it? Very few, unless they want CBS HD or an international that's on the wing so they don't have to pay the extra $50 for the international install. Is all this a bunch of BS politics that could really have been prevented? Yep. Blame it on the lawyers. I am NOT defending E*'s choice of splitting the locals. They did it, big deal. As for the fact that E* uses more bandwith for it's s/w updates, they have well over a dozen receivers and all these updates are continuously sent, and this takes up transponder space just like everything else. D* doesn't have anywhere near the s/w upgrade program, so they waste less bandwidth doing this. I've seen less than a dozen D* receivers take an update at install, where ALL Of E*'s receivers have to. Both companies did things differently. That's what makes all this so fun. Personally, I despise TiVo. It's crap compared to my 721, which does everything I want a DVR to do. TiVo is slow and I personally have no interest in a machine trying to pick what it thinks I might like. The only thing that TiVo has that my 721 does not is the seaon pass option, which I will most likely get eventually. I can wait.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Wow. My little topic has got folks panties in a bunch.... My .02........

Charlie came up with an ingenious way of using his limited bandwidth to offer as many people in as many markets as they could without compressing the crap out of them. (I know..... THAT is open to argument from many of you as well...). To paraphrase the law ..."if you carry ONE local channel in a market, then you must carry them all", even the redundant shopping channels and channels like PAX that offered nothing different from the national feed. The law never mentioned a single dish. The NAB was able to get Congress to agree that these broadcasters became second class citizens in their markets because most didn't want two dishes on their roof, or didn't have a line fo sight to the wing satellites. BUT NO LAW WAS BROKEN. That's why they are trying to write a new one to close the loophole Charlie skillfully exploited.

Plus at the time of this decision, E* was cleaning D*'s clock in new subscriber adds although D* still had the lead in market share, it was shrinking. That all changed 18 months ago, when E* tripped on their faces trying to get the 811/921 receivers online faster. Couple that with a newly focused Murdoch-led D*, new HD receivers from D*, and more advertising and D* reclaimed the momentum they had lost. I'm HOPING Charlie takes up the challenge and announces some counter tactics soon as D* is systematically chipping away at all of E*'s current advantages (internationals, more locals in smaller markets, etc.)

I've always been accused of being an E* pom pom waver, but I like the superstations, my distant networks, the Sirius Channels, and I like being able to get an English speaking CSR on the phone (yeah, the standard CSRs can be iffy, but I usually go to an advanced tech and they've always been really helpful). I'm not "blind" to E*'s faults, but I keep holding out hope that most of the annoying bugs will eventually be ironed out. I also like his maverick style, and worry that a Murdoch led D* will soon start raising prices as fast as their wired brethren now that Rupert owns Production AND Distribution.

I worry that E* won't be able to match D*'s massive HD upgrade. THAT may be the thing to finally get me to switch, but I'll see how the next 12 months play out (I'm locked in until November 2005 since I added a free 510 upgrade in exchange for a 2 year commitment last year).

 

[dishrich]

It's crap compared to my 721, which does everything I want a DVR to do. TiVo is slow and I personally have no interest in a machine trying to pick what it thinks I might like.

Gee that's funny, MY D-Tivo's DON'T pick things out for me to watch at all. Of course if you (really) knew what YOU were talking about, you'd know that you CAN turn this option off from the get-go, so this is really a non-issue.
As far as the "slowness", (I assume you mean the guide) I'd much rather live with this, instead of having to reboot the stupid thing every week or 2, or having ALL my shows mysteriously "disappear" - but to each his own poison...

The only thing that TiVo has that my 721 does not is the seaon pass option, which I will most likely get eventually. I can wait.

Yea, yea - by the time E* makes THIS happen, you'll probably be too old to be watching DBS - or TV at ALL...

 

[larrystotler]

Gee that's funny, MY D-Tivo's DON'T pick things out for me to watch at all. Of course if you (really) knew what YOU were talking about, you'd know that you CAN turn this option off from the get-go, so this is really a non-issue.
As far as the "slowness", (I assume you mean the guide) I'd much rather live with this, instead of having to reboot the stupid thing every week or 2, or having ALL my shows mysteriously "disappear" - but to each his own poison...

The ONLY problem I have really had with my 721 was the HD crashed, and as a computer tech, I am familiar with it. Yes, it was irritating, but it was replaced with no problem. And yes, sometimes I do have to reboot, but since most people use WinDoZe, it's not like they don't realize that computers(which is all a receiver is) have some problems. A 5 minute reboot that makes things work better is much more tolerable to me than that slow TiVo system. I can skip up to the 9th day in less than 2 seconds. With TiVo it's about 20-30 to go that far. And, yes, I know that the helpful features can be turned off. But like I have said before, I am not impressed with what TiVo offers. Sure, if it works for you great. But I won't trade my 721 for a TiVo anytime soon. And, after looking at the DTiVo forums, seems that v3.1.1d has made quite a mess of things for some customers, so I would have to say that TiVo is far from perfect as well.

Yea, yea - by the time E* makes THIS happen, you'll probably be too old to be watching DBS - or TV at ALL...

So what? I really am not that worried about the season pass. I always look for what I want to watch anyway. If I miss it, oh well. I'm used to not watching TV since my kids own it all day anyway.

As far as the locals on 1 dish/sat is concerned, we will have to see what happens. Charlie could sue over it, and he would probably win since he didn't technically do anything wrong. It's the lawyers that make all this crap so difficult anyways.

 

[Greg Bimson]

And the amount of misinformation abounds...

Charlie came up with an ingenious way of using his limited bandwidth to offer as many people in as many markets as they could without compressing the crap out of them. (I know..... THAT is open to argument from many of you as well...). To paraphrase the law ..."if you carry ONE local channel in a market, then you must carry them all", even the redundant shopping channels and channels like PAX that offered nothing different from the national feed. The law never mentioned a single dish.

No, but the law did mention that must-carry channels cannot be discriminated against. The problem here is that the FCC handles all disputes. The FCC is a bureaucracy. The FCC has had over two and a half years to do something about any issues regarding the two-dish solution. Instead, the FCC has chosed to monitor Dish Network for any issues regarding the two-dish solution. And let us not forget that one of the reasons that Dish Network did not gain approval for the DirecTV merger was that the FCC felt Dish Network could not be trusted to be a great steward of the airwaves due to the problems with their two-dish solution.

I've always been accused of being an E* pom pom waver, but I like the superstations, my distant networks, the Sirius Channels, and I like being able to get an English speaking CSR on the phone (yeah, the standard CSRs can be iffy, but I usually go to an advanced tech and they've always been really helpful).

Repeat after me: RAH! RAH! RAH! SIS! BOOM! BAH!

Did you know that Dish Network has some overseas outsourcing? Have you ever heard Music Choice channels? Why can you get distant network on Dish Network, but not DirecTV? There are many unanswered questions.

As far as the locals on 1 dish/sat is concerned, we will have to see what happens. Charlie could sue over it, and he would probably win since he didn't technically do anything wrong. It's the lawyers that make all this crap so difficult anyways.

The only way a law can get thrown out is if it is unconstitutional. I highly doubt there is an issue with the law alienating any of Echostar's rights.

 

[BobMurdoch]

And the amount of misinformation abounds...,

...And let us not forget that one of the reasons that Dish Network did not gain approval for the DirecTV merger was that the FCC felt Dish Network could not be trusted to be a great steward of the airwaves due to the problems with their two-dish solution.

Did you know that Dish Network has some overseas outsourcing?.

I've called E* about a dozen times to add programming, drop programming, and resolve technical issues and every time they were answered by someone in Colorado. I know because I made small talk and asked each time (usually along the lines of how is the weather in Colorado?) so at least in my experience I didn't experience any problems with language challenged CSRs.

I disagree that the two dish scenario killed the merger, as all the FCC members except Kevin Martin specified the elimination of satellite competition as the basis for killing the merger. If DirecTV had tried to buy out E* it would have been shot down just as quickly as Voom wasn't in the marketplace yet. E* tried to argue that Cable was a viable competitor, but the FCC brushed that argument off. Martin did mention his distaste for E*'s two dish policy, but it was one line in a much larger statement, and I doubt it would have contributed to their nixing of the merger.

I think that the FCC would approve an E*/V* combination as you have #2 and #3 combining to compete with #1. I think that Satellite TV must eventually turn into a Duopoly for bandwidth reasons.

Yes, I have heard Music Choice at my sister's house and it strikes me a being fairly equal to the Sirius Channels in quality of playlists, and I think that the audio quality is better on E*, but it is tough to tell as my sister's surround sound system isn't as good as mine. Yes, I could probably get Distant Broadcast networks from DirecTV, but not the Superstations, where I get to timeshft WB programs and tune into Boston News on WBSK as well as WWOR and WPIX in New York (which is my closest market here in Central NJ)

As for your "misinformation" comment, this is an opinion thread I started asking to forecast future events based on past experiences. I expect it to be highly subjective and I value all civilized discourse. I get a little frustrated with all "those" people who ridicule anyone whose opinion differs from their own. Take a chill pill and relax. It's just TV.

 

[Greg Bimson]

Bob, I value civilized and accurate discourse. And while I even agree that the FCC mainly shot down the merger due to monopoly concerns, this piece of information regarding the two-dish solution still sits out there.

I am not out to ridicule anyone regarding their opinion. I do ridicule people that throw out some supposed facts when taking leaps of faith for their arguments.

For example, we'll try these:

DirecTV never has problems with their DVR implementation.
DirecTV doesn't outsource, since I've never spoken with a foreign CSR.
DirecTV PVR's record shows it thinks I want to watch.

Now, we'll try these:
I know DirecTV has had problems with their DVR's. The new upgrade hit both of my DirecTiVo's, and I was required to do the wonderful reboot feature that is usually done on Dish Network receivers. I have even had to speak with about six different CSR's over the course of two months, and I have had wonderful conversations and service.

DirecTV has signed contracts with call centers outside of the United States. Dish Network has a contract to outsource call center and customer service support to other countries, as well.

DirecTV PVR's can have the "suggested recordings" turned off. After a month, it works pretty well. But to each his/her own.

this is an opinion thread I started asking to forecast future events based on past experiences. I expect it to be highly subjective and I value all civilized discourse.

Cool.

DirecTV and Dish Network will be somewhat handcuffed by the FCC's rules regarding digital must-carry.

Dish Network will be forced to bite the bullet regarding one dish locals. This will cause a few grumpy customers, leading me to predict that DirecTV will gain 300,000 customers more than Dish Network in 2005.

I believe that neither company will raise rates in 2005; however, there could be a very modest increase, like $1 on some packages.

Either Dish Network or DirecTV will draw a thicker line on new RSNs. I am surprised that DirecTV will be carrying Comcast Sports Net Chicago. I wouldn't be surprised that DirecTV has issues with Altitude. And I expect the reverse to be true for Dish Network. I can't even begin to address the Comcast channel for the Sacramento Kings for either provider.

HD on DBS still won't take off for a while. Not next year.

Dish Network will get all 210 markets up before DirecTV. However, moving the markets around to comply with the one-dish law will trigger requalifications of all distant network subscribers that received a new dish, and all requalifications will be rejected since the new law says you are served if your market's locals are available on your DBS provider.

 

[BobMurdoch]

BTW, sorry Greg if I got sarcastic with you, bad day at the office didn't help my mood at the time.....

I agree with all of your forecasting points except for the HD on DBS predction. I see Rupert pushing HD hard since he is NOW finally pushing true HD on Fox (and not that Fox Widescreen BS). I see him coming through on Summer 2005 since that will apply REAL pressure on E* as many high profit subscribers will bail for greener HD filled pastures.

 

[larrystotler]

The only way a law can get thrown out is if it is unconstitutional. I highly doubt there is an issue with the law alienating any of Echostar's rights.

It has to do with them changing the law after he was basically approved to do it the way E* did. You can't just go and say, well now we feel that is illegal, so we will fix the law, and it will be retroactive. It doesn't work like that. I'm sure E* has multiple plans for each outcome, so they will be ready depending upon what is decided by congress, and how much E* wants to pay it's lawyers.