Wake Up Charlie!

[Scott Greczkowski]

On Monday Night, Dish Network customers nationwide tuned in for the Dish Network “Charlie Chat” with Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen. Many customers were tuning in hoping to hear some good news about the future of Dish Network, instead they tuned in to see Charlie Ergen looking like he wo…

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[tigerfan33]

Great one Scott!!!! Took the words right out of my mouth about Charlie.

 

[Pepper]

Thank you Scott, I hope Charlie gets the message.

 

[keeletronix]

Sense when has charlie chat became a info commercial for sports. It seems to me they have got into more flashy sports stuff than answering peoples chat.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

On Monday Night, Dish Network customers nationwide tuned in for the Dish Network “Charlie Chat” with Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen. Many customers were tuning in hoping to hear some good news about the future of Dish Network, instead they tuned in to see Charlie Ergen looking like he wo…

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Catch new editions of "The Satellite Dish" every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at MultiChannelNews.COM!

Just curious - what do you (all) think you're missing? Dish has been adding 3 or 4 HD channels per quarter, they have the best DVR, lots of channels, lots of music, external storage, an advancing software platform...

I've had Dish since May and they've added at least a dozen national HD channels on top of the 35 or so they had when I joined. Comcast in my area, by contrast, has only added TBS-HD to their limited lineup, they offer a horrible DVR, the service is more expensive and has fewer channels, and there are no features like external storage or remote scheduling on the drawing board. And nobody there announces anything about future plans.

And sorry Scott, but you of all people should know that to compare Dish to DirecTV right now is very unfair. Direct just launched a new satellite dedicated to HD, so what did you expect things would be like for the next few months?

Finally, you should really find an editor for your column. There are so many spelling and grammar mistakes that it really detracts from your credibility. You make great points and you create great discussions, but you need a copy editor in a big way!

OK, I'm done. Thanks for the interesting posts, even if I don't agree at all this time...

Jeff

 

[db2]

Nice article Scott. A lot of us E* customers share your sentiment.

Dish does a lot of things right and the always seem to have something up their sleeve when you count them out.

That being said I don't think dish has ever learned the art of manipulating the PR machine. They always seem to shoot from the hip with little to no gameplan.

As far as the recent Charlie Chat my personal opinion is that Charlie had all but said goodbye to dish thinking the sale to ATT was done. When that fell through it took the wind out of his sails and he's still in shock.

my $0.02

 

[tigerfan33]

And sorry Scott, but you of all people should know that to compare Dish to DirecTV right now is very unfair. Direct just launched a new satellite dedicated to HD, so what did you expect things would be like for the next few months?



Jeff

Thats funny. Scott has not been comparing Dish with Direct. DISH has been comparing itself with Direct. Remember Dish has 75, 76 national hd channles now. Which number is it Charlie, I forgot.

 

[PopcornNMore]

Just curious - what do you (all) think you're missing? Dish has been adding 3 or 4 HD channels per quarter, they have the best DVR, lots of channels, lots of music, external storage, an advancing software platform...

I've had Dish since May and they've added at least a dozen national HD channels on top of the 35 or so they had when I joined. Comcast in my area, by contrast, has only added TBS-HD to their limited lineup, they offer a horrible DVR, the service is more expensive and has fewer channels, and there are no features like external storage or remote scheduling on the drawing board. And nobody there announces anything about future plans.

And sorry Scott, but you of all people should know that to compare Dish to DirecTV right now is very unfair. Direct just launched a new satellite dedicated to HD, so what did you expect things would be like for the next few months?

Jeff

Jeff, I too think Dish Network is one of the best choices for SD and HD programming available today. Like you said they have the best DVR on the market and offer a lot of choice for their subscribers. Unlike DirecTV if you don't want local channels you simply don't pay for them.

Also people must understand that Dish Network is a business and they must spend their money wisely. There are a lot of Dish Network subscribers who don't even have a HD TV or even care to receive HD programming. My parents for example still have a first generation DirecTV receiver and enjoy the SD programming it provides. They could care less about having a DVR. I would love to find out what percentage of customers actually subscribe to HD programming at $20 a month extra. If this percentage is 10% or possibly even less why should Dish Network spend the money it takes to add more and more HD programming? If I were Charlie I would be focusing on the other 90% of subscribers who enjoy SD programming in order to build the business and make profit in order for the business to survive. Then once more people have HD sets and the demand for HD programming is greater only then would I begin to add more HD content. I feel adding 3-4 new HD channels per quarter is perfect until the demand increases.

As far as I am concerned, I will remain a Dish Network subscriber for a very long time. Both the hardware and software are excellent and I couldn't be happier.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

Thats funny. Scott has not been comparing Dish with Direct. DISH has been comparing itself with Direct. Remember Dish has 75, 76 national hd channles now. Which number is it Charlie, I forgot.

I forgot Charlie's exact phrasing during the Charlie Chat, but he said something like "Dish offers more HD (and then very quietly) than just about (and then loudly again) everyone else." So perhaps that was his tacit admission that he knows DirecTV has the edge numerically right now.

Neither Dish nor Direct seem to really go after each other. All the DirecTV adds go after cable, and I can't think of any Dish ads that attack DirecTV. They probably both realize that they have the most to gain, for a limited time anyway, by feeding from the ocean of cable TV subscribers.

When switched digital video technology is deployed widely by the cable companies, however, all bets are off. Satellite's only advantage at that time may be price and the quality of the DVR.

 

[BoisePaul]

...why should Dish Network spend the money it takes to add more and more HD programming?

Because subscriber acquisition numbers mean everything. Sure, those 90% are his bread and butter who keep the lights on, but if they're "perfectly happy" they aren't going anywhere so the lights will still remain lit. Unfortunately, there's no metric for this that means anything to investors other than churn. Again, current subs who are happy with stagnation aren't going to contribute to churn numbers.

Right now, HD is the carrot that will cause people to change providers. This works on both the new sub acquisition numbers and churn. Offer more and have a net gain of subscribers; offer less (or less than the competition), and have a net loss or little growth, neither of which looks good to investors, thus devaluing the company by causing the price per share to drop.

As a customer and/or investor, if I see a company that's keeping up with national, and to an extent local, HD, I see a company thats interested in growth. If I see a company that appears to be lagging and doesn't seem to have a game plan, I'm not as confident in the future of the company. I wonder if the company will take care of me as a customer. I wonder if the company will make money for me as an investor. Which company do I want to put my money with? Not too hard to figure that out...

 

[ScoBuck]

If you take the time to listen to any of the past 3 or so DirecTV conference calls, the reason for these companies to get HD subs is really quite compelling.

First off HD subs spend more monthly and thus the return is greater. Second, the churn rate of these customers is roughly half of the SD base, Third you are locking people in for the committment period. Fourth, as more and more people go HD, you will increase your churn rate if you don't have a competitive product to offer - once you lose a customer you do not have an easy time getting them back. Fifth, if they were to lose a substantial amount of subs, it would force them to increase prices faster and higher.

Many reasons to offer new technology and new channels.

 

[PopcornNMore]

Right now, HD is the carrot that will cause people to change providers.

Yes, but how many people are we talking about? Plus what if in a year from now Dish Network has more HD programming than DirectV. Would you switch back? And at what expense?

 

[PopcornNMore]

First off HD subs spend more monthly and thus the return is greater. Second, the churn rate of these customers is roughly half of the SD base, Third you are locking people in for the committment period. Fourth, as more and more people go HD, you will increase your churn rate if you don't have a competitive product to offer - once you lose a customer you do not have an easy time getting them back. Fifth, if they were to lose a substantial amount of subs, it would force them to increase prices faster and higher.

Many reasons to offer new technology and new channels.

Ok, I have to agree with you here. Plus this is probably why Dish Network is giving away 6 months of free HD programming to new subscribers. If you really like the HD programming and invested the money in a HD TV the odds on you dropping the channels and paying a $6 a month enabling fee are slim.

 

[Stargazer]

Jeff, I too think Dish Network is one of the best choices for SD and HD programming available today. Like you said they have the best DVR on the market and offer a lot of choice for their subscribers. Unlike DirecTV if you don't want local channels you simply don't pay for them.

Also people must understand that Dish Network is a business and they must spend their money wisely. There are a lot of Dish Network subscribers who don't even have a HD TV or even care to receive HD programming. My parents for example still have a first generation DirecTV receiver and enjoy the SD programming it provides. They could care less about having a DVR. I would love to find out what percentage of customers actually subscribe to HD programming at $20 a month extra. If this percentage is 10% or possibly even less why should Dish Network spend the money it takes to add more and more HD programming? If I were Charlie I would be focusing on the other 90% of subscribers who enjoy SD programming in order to build the business and make profit in order for the business to survive. Then once more people have HD sets and the demand for HD programming is greater only then would I begin to add more HD content. I feel adding 3-4 new HD channels per quarter is perfect until the demand increases.

As far as I am concerned, I will remain a Dish Network subscriber for a very long time. Both the hardware and software are excellent and I couldn't be happier.

I agree with this. I do not think the majority of the subscribers out there have or care about HD, so maybe they could add or retain just as many subscribers and additional revenue by other means and realize that there is a cost in having to upgrade customers for all that extra HD capability. What hurts though is that it is going to cost the same for those satellites and upgrades whether it is done this year or next year and that is what is costing them money. DirecTv is getting a lot of that business instead. If Dish offered a really really good deal on HD DVR then that would reel many people in even if they did not offer as many HD channels. The problem is that DirecTv is only $10 vs. Dish being $20 and has many more channels for that price.