Tribune Broadcasting Company Blacks Out DISH Customers in 33 Markets;

[bluegras]

Ergen: Dish Prepared To Do Without Tribune Stations
Dish chief says Tribune not ‘super-popular] with subs
As its retransmission consent dispute with Tribune Media entered its fifth week, Dish Network chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen said the satellite company is prepared for the long-haul, adding that if necessary he could do without the channels indefinitely.
http://www.multichannel.com/news/sa...530?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Hall]

Ergen: Dish Prepared To Do Without (enter-name-of-network-or-media-conglomerate-here) Stations

Heard that before from Ergen....

 

[Tampa8]

Heard that before from Ergen....

And if you read the whole statement, Charlie is directly calling their bluff. This is the important part "If .......Then maybe we can piece something back together again." He is publicly stating there is nothing more to talk about. Tribune should take him at his word on this and if they are sure they are not asking too much or can't make a different deal then stick to their guns knowing it is unlikely DISH will blink. I still think the FCC is going to be pressed to get involved, in fact I would not doubt DISH feels they will given more time.
My question is, have they made a deal for what they are presently asking with other providers?
And if Tribune is unwilling to market WGN separately that sure suggests they know it isn't worth anywhere near what they want and need to use extortion to get it. In fact they may know some would not carry it.

 

[KAB]

If all goes according to plan, we will be buying a new house that now has a DTV dish neatly tucked almost out of site. IT will be the VERY FIRST think I will replace!!!

I know this if getting off topic, but I call Directv for grins to try to get as close to an apples to apples comparison to the programming and equipment I have after the first 12 months. I had already done the groundwork on their website. It took me nearly 15 minutes to get NO answer. All they wanted to do is sign me up on the spot, telling me a million times how much better their equipment is and repeating the SAME cost info for the first 12. Then they told me what it would cost if I bundled with my present Uverse internet account. They said they could lock me into two years with the promo + $5 internet...which would be a significant savings. BUT they would NEVER give me the post contract rate. And when I repeated for the 20th time I was just researching and not going to sign up tonight, he just said goodnight, have a good evening. I didn't know I was going used car shopping!

 

[Jw2016]

WGN America has turned into the "Cops" station. Seems like it's always on so who can blame Charlie about not carrying WGN America. Between them and Spike, it's non-stop Cops.

 

[STDog]

At this point in time it benefits both.

Sure, there is value to the sat & cable companies. They wouldn't use the bandwidth otherwise. Just not as much as to the stations. Much has changed since the 90s or even 2000s.

Look at all the cord cutters. They dib;t care about the local stations. They might care for national level stuff, but they don't care if it's channel 5, Hulu, ot the network web site.

I don't either. It's a convenience, nothing more. I haven't watched live in a decade. Everything is time shifted.

And sice I still have a single tuner DVR I have to find alternate sources for dome things anyway. Just tonight I watched something where the last 3 minutes was missed because of another recording starting (and the shows running past the published end time).

So I had to find an alternate source for the end. I'd have to do it more often if there was enough on to get many back to back recordings.

Since I often need alternates, I could just make them primary sources.

 

[RONZ]

And Directv has a Bundle pack right now, that's $200 for 4 rooms HD DVR Select pack. With 4 Smart phone with unlimited data.
Everyone has cheap alternativeso.

Some just have to be cheaper.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Active

I know your discussion is about cost but in my area AT&T cell service does not exist. Sure they claim to have service but the sites are 16 miles apart on a system that can only support towers being 8 miles apart. AT&T said they will not fix the problem

 

[sam_gordon]

Our resident NAB member would disagree with that statement.

While it hurts me to defend the Networks, I can't totally agree. There is absolute benefit to DISH (anyone) carrying the locals. Primetime TV watching is far more on the Networks than Cable. When a Cable show reaches Network levels it's still a big deal. Also, people want their local news. Meanwhile it is certainly true those who can not get an OTA signal depend on Satellite/Cable and then the Station depends on them.

At this point in time it benefits both.

You don't need me. Tampa handled it very well.

Sure, there is value to the sat & cable companies. They wouldn't use the bandwidth otherwise. Just not as much as to the stations. Much has changed since the 90s or even 2000s.

Look at all the cord cutters. They dib;t care about the local stations. They might care for national level stuff, but they don't care if it's channel 5, Hulu, ot the network web site.

I don't either. It's a convenience, nothing more. I haven't watched live in a decade. Everything is time shifted.

And sice I still have a single tuner DVR I have to find alternate sources for dome things anyway. Just tonight I watched something where the last 3 minutes was missed because of another recording starting (and the shows running past the published end time).

So I had to find an alternate source for the end. I'd have to do it more often if there was enough on to get many back to back recordings.

Since I often need alternates, I could just make them primary sources.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but you might want to check some facts. Go ahead and talk to cord cutters. Look at websites that talk about how to "cut the cord". Step #1 for just about all of them is going to be putting up an antenna and see what can be gotten OTA. As mentioned up thread, compare the ratings for OTA vs. cable shows. Last but not least, look at how satellite subscriber growth exploded once LiL was available.

IMO, if either Dish or Direct lost ALL the locals in a market, you would see a mass exodus to cable. Would some people stick around? Sure. But the majority want the "Big 4" and will go where they need to to get them. Again, just my opinion.

 

[dare2be]

You don't need me. Tampa handled it very well.

At this point in time it benefits both.

Yep. it benefits both. So there is no need for an exchange of money outside the costs of providing the transmissions and uplinks themselves.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yep. it benefits both. So there is no need for an exchange of money outside the costs of providing the transmissions and uplinks themselves.

I've mentioned before I still think satcos brought this on themselves when they charged directly for locals way back when LiL started. IMO, they weren't just "covering costs" but actually profiting. The locals then saw another company making money from their product and decided they should get a piece of the pie. This is simply my assumption. Do I think locals should get retrans money? Yes. Do I think locals can ask for too much money? Yes. But please explain to me why is it ok for ESPN to get $6+/sub AND collect commercial $$, but when a local asks for any money, it's bad? ESPN *MUST* have the cable/satcos to get to all of their viewers. Locals can reach the majority of viewers without cable/sat (I understand most people using MVPDs to receive their locals, but for most it's convenience rather than necessity).

 

[STDog]

IMO, if either Dish or Direct lost ALL the locals in a market, you would see a mass exodus to cable. Would some people stick around? Sure. But the majority want the "Big 4" and will go where they need to to get them. Again, just my opinion.

I was talking about sat AND cable all telling the stations to pound sand w/r/t retransmission.

I was perfectly happy with the PT24 style feeds back before locals was an option, as were many others (even back to the C band days with 10 and 12 ft dishes)

Still, a lot has changed since the start of retransmission.

Sure cord cutters start by looking at OTA, but they aren't spending hundreds or thousands putting up antenna masts/towers like we did in the 70s and 80s when there was no alternative.

There are alternatives today that didn't exist then. I did 3 deployments (2 in Afghanistan and 1 in Africa) and stayed current with all shows across all networks (OTA and cable). I can watch any network show out there hours after it airs (even before if it airs earlier elsewhere). Same for most cable stuff, from HBO & Showtime to USA and FX.

 

[TNGTony]

I've mentioned before I still think satcos brought this on themselves when they charged directly for locals way back when LiL started. IMO, they weren't just "covering costs" but actually profiting. The locals then saw another company making money from their product and decided they should get a piece of the pie. This is simply my assumption.

Retransmission disputes with cable companies were not uncommon before satellites started to make local channels available.
And to make things more interesting, Time Warner Cable started charging a "Broadcast Channels Fee" a couple of years ago. According to them, this is how much they are paying the local channels in retransmission fees. My last bill before I dropped TWC completely a couple of months ago had a "broadcast channels fee" of nearly $4.

 

[Hall]

I still think satcos brought this on themselves when they charged directly for locals way back when LiL started

I suspect Dish (and possibly) DirecTV (re-)considered this a number of years when they no longer advertised or charged for "local channels". What they need to do going forward is claim that our "local channels are free with qualifying packages".

Interestingly, in case you're not aware of the new packages Dish has quietly available, the "Flex" package, it doesn't even include locals. They are a separate package and the charge is $10/month !

 

[Hall]

But please explain to me why is it ok for ESPN to get $6+/sub AND collect commercial $$, but when a local asks for any money, it's bad? ESPN *MUST* have the cable/satcos to get to all of their viewers.

It's not ESPN though.... It's ESPN, ESPN2, various Disney channels, and so on. That is the root of the problem. ABC/Disney or whoever should not be allowed to bundle them together in an all-of-nothing offering. By doing this, they have too much power over the satellite and cable companies.

 

[Bruce]

It's not ESPN though.... It's ESPN, ESPN2, various Disney channels, and so on. That is the root of the problem. ABC/Disney or whoever should not be allowed to bundle them together in an all-of-nothing offering. By doing this, they have too much power over the satellite and cable companies.

No $6 is just for ESPN, ESPN 2 is .74 a month, Disney channel is $1.21 a month, etc, etc.

These are 2014 numbers, prices could have gone up.

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/how-much-cable-subscribers-pay-per-channel-1626/

 

[Hall]

They can list the prices individually but in reality, it's

$6 + $0.74 + $1.21 and so on

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

BTW if anyone is looking for a OTA Tuner for your Hopper you can get one here...

Amazon product ASIN B00B4X2JHY
But it's kinda pricey.

 

[zippyfrog]

No $6 is just for ESPN, ESPN 2 is .74 a month, Disney channel is $1.21 a month, etc, etc.

These are 2014 numbers, prices could have gone up.

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/how-much-cable-subscribers-pay-per-channel-1626/

The one that gets me is the projected cost for ESPN alone in 2018 at more than $8. There was an article that I can't find at the moment, but it had the 2019 projection at just over $9 for ESPN.

 

[Jw2016]

The one that gets me is the projected cost for ESPN alone in 2018 at more than $8. There was an article that I can't find at the moment, but it had the 2019 projection at just over $9 for ESPN.

Over $9 per sub in a couple of years is just plain crazy. What are they smoking over there in Bristol?.

 

[Tampa8]

Over $9 per sub in a couple of years is just plain crazy. What are they smoking over there in Bristol?.

It's whatever the wind blows over from Newington.