Why does Dish seem to have more Provider Disputes?

[GaryPen]

I Have been with Cable, Direct, and Dish. A far as price goes Cable seems higher but Dish and Direct are neck and neck for me. I think my bill changed one dollar when I came back to dish last year and I can not remember which way. So with dish and directs prices almost the same why is it Dish seems to have way more provider disputes than Direct and they seem to last a lot longer when they do with direct.

You are correct. When it comes to disputes with content providers, Dish has more of them, they last longer, and seem to involve more hyperbole from both sides than with DirecTV or Cable.

There was actually a study done that compared the number and length of these disputes, and the statistics gathered showed that the above was clearly the case. (Other than the hyperbole part, which is subjective.)

 

[Scherrman]

This nonsensical myth hangs on here at SatGuys for some strange reason.

Dish offers some low-priced packages with fewer channels not offered by DirecTV. But, for comparable packages with comparable equipment, the price to the consumer is similar.

Have you compared a two room hook up with DVR between Dish and DirecTV? The 722k is still the most popular receiver that Dish has and I don't see DirecTV being comparable to what Dish offers. Does anyone know what the most common setup is for customers? I'm not sure what it is nationally but for me it's been just a single 722 receiver. The next most popular would be a 722 with a 211. I don't think DirecTV is able to duplicate what Dish can do for the same price.

When we start comparing the more advanced receivers then we see very comparable prices. These are not the most common installs though, at least not that I know of.

 

[bnewt]

I understand that Charlie is trying to keep cost down but I don't think others are getting my point. It seems to me that Dish has at least 3 times as many of these disputes as Direct yet price wise Direct and Dish cost almost the exact same amount. So is Direct just absorbing the cost and living with a smaller profit margin, are the companies trying to charge Dish way more than Direct for the same programming or what

Personally, I could accept the increases, if the disputes were less often, because I like the dish equipment better.........on the other hand Direct has a slightly better hd picture & less loss of programming at basically the same rate

Just wonder how much the purchase by AT&T will changes things..........for the better or maybe worse

 

[Scherrman]

Out of all of the channel drops over the last 10 years how many of them have drastically affected your viewing? This question is for anyone who reads it. The last one that really affect me was when Dish dropped BTN for a few weeks. Even AMC wasn't that big of a deal because I could still watch the shows online.

 

[dishcomm]

I know Charlie wants to be viewed as the lowest price alternative, but in my area, currently Charter Cable is less expensive. Their Silver package, which is about par with AT-200 is $59.99. I realize this is a regional thing and some other area it is more than likely more expensive and with either Sat Co their prices are Nation wide.

Newsflash...When all programming costs, taxes and fees are factored in, one can compare ANY provider's REGULAR rates ( no discounts or promo rates) for similar sized channel packages and they will find the prices fall within a few dollars of one another.
One other factor...The respective providers package their channels differently. So for instance to get all of the Discovery channels( yes they have different names now) on Dish, one must choose the AT 250....On Directv, these are in the Choice package which is less per month. However, there are channels in the Dish AT 250 that one must move to Directv Premier...
It jumps all over the place.

 

[Deadlocked]

Out of all of the channel drops over the last 10 years how many of them have drastically affected your viewing? This question is for anyone who reads it. The last one that really affect me was when Dish dropped BTN for a few weeks. Even AMC wasn't that big of a deal because I could still watch the shows online.

Last year's back to back local disputes lost me CBS/CW and ABC/FOX for over a month each in a 3ish month span.

Election night is usually CNN night for me, but as a democrat I was kinda glad I could skip it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[GaryPen]

Have you compared a two room hook up with DVR between Dish and DirecTV? The 722k is still the most popular receiver that Dish has and I don't see DirecTV being comparable to what Dish offers. Does anyone know what the most common setup is for customers? I'm not sure what it is nationally but for me it's been just a single 722 receiver. The next most popular would be a 722 with a 211. I don't think DirecTV is able to duplicate what Dish can do for the same price.

When we start comparing the more advanced receivers then we see very comparable prices. These are not the most common installs though, at least not that I know of.

DirecTV doesn't have a dual-tuner DVR like the 722? That seems weird. Unless you are talking about the 2nd SD-only output, which is useless to anybody with HD service and only HD TV's in the home.

Yes, Dish does have definite advantages for the older/simpler subscribers with antiquated TV's and basic programming packages. They are also the clear leader for International programming. Nobody comes close.

But, for modern HD, whole-home systems with HD programming on mainstream mid-tier and above English-language packages, the pricing is quite similar.

 

[KazooGuy]

I get the feeling that if you add up all the costs of Charter Cable packages, including fees for devices and compare it to Dish and their fees for devices, you'll either be real close in price, or Dish will be lower, and overall the value from dish will be higher. Their hopper devices are better than anything Charter has and I find their picture quality much better.

You would be wrong! At least in my area, sure you have to pay for an additional box, but it each box is $6.00 NOT $7.00 and there are ONLY three levels of packages. There SILVER level provides the customer with many more channels than what DISH offers in their AT-200 package. Included is my local RSN nand an additional RSN, that DISH does not offer at all. Both are 24/7 HD and ALL HBO, SHOWTIME and CINEMAX and All channels that have an HD feed are shown on in HD Currently, Charter in my area has gone to Switched Digital Video, which has amazing PQ, because the only stream going down the wire is the channel that the box in tuned to, so unlike analog they are not trying to push all those channels down the same wire at the same time. I left DISH in August after being a happy customer for 11 years, but had grown weary of the constant price increases and made up my mind to cut the cord and go OTA. However, after hanging out at a friends house I saw how great his PQ was with cable. I was amazed at all the channels Charter had that DISH did not have or did not have in HD, so I signed up with their basic expanded service. Which had FOX Sport 2 in HD and at the time was not offered by DISH at all and only in SD in their AT-250. I ended up with the Silver package because I enjoy having HBO and the ability to use HBOGO. I originally turned to DISH when my local cable company was horrid and was costing me $30 a month more. Now I am saving myself $28 a month from what I was spending and have MANY more channels that I enjoy without having to have higher tiers that cost more.

 

[sam_gordon]

Newsflash...When all programming costs, taxes and fees are factored in, one can compare ANY provider's REGULAR rates ( no discounts or promo rates) for similar sized channel packages and they will find the prices fall within a few dollars of one another.
One other factor...The respective providers package their channels differently. So for instance to get all of the Discovery channels( yes they have different names now) on Dish, one must choose the AT 250....On Directv, these are in the Choice package which is less per month. However, there are channels in the Dish AT 250 that one must move to Directv Premier...
It jumps all over the place.

I just did this a week or so ago. Currently, matching the equipment I have (1 HD DVR, 1 HD receiver), Direct would cost me $5 more a month. However, if I ever get signed up for auto-pay and can get "free" HD, that should save me another $10. Side note: I've contacted DIRT to ask about saving money and have heard NOTHING back. It's been over a week. So a $15 difference per month.

 

[KazooGuy]

Newsflash...When all programming costs, taxes and fees are factored in, one can compare ANY provider's REGULAR rates ( no discounts or promo rates) for similar sized channel packages and they will find the prices fall within a few dollars of one another.
One other factor...The respective providers package their channels differently. So for instance to get all of the Discovery channels( yes they have different names now) on Dish, one must choose the AT 250....On Directv, these are in the Choice package which is less per month. However, there are channels in the Dish AT 250 that one must move to Directv Premier...
It jumps all over the place.

NEWSFLASH! You think you know what you are talking about. I looked at moving to DIRECT this past spring and found that I would not save a dime, in fact even with a new customers promo, it would have cost me more than I was paying and after the 12th month, forget about it! It would be about $35 more to be able to have the same viewing options. I had a single VIP DVR that provided me with my main television and a second TV, DIRECT does not have that at all. At the time I was paying with fees, taxes around $87 per month for the AT-200 package. I am now paying far less than that with cable. IN fact bundled with Charter, phone, Internet and their Silver package I am paying all three together LESS than what it would cost me to have DIRECT in two rooms.

 

[SomeDishGuy]

Okay, a lot of talk about how all the prices are similar. Maybe this has been calculated elsewhere, but it would be educational to compare the regular (non-promotional) prices of a few.

For Dish, I'd offer a 2 room and 3 room solution for Hopper and Joey. How much would this cost on DirecTV, or another provider?

2 room: 1 Hopper, 1 Joey. AT200.

AT 200: $69.99
DVR fee: $12.00
Joey: $7.00
Total: $88.99

3 room: 1 Hopper, 2 Joey, AT200.

AT200: $69.99
DVR fee: $12.00
Joey: $7.00
Joey $7.00
Total: $95.99

If you want to choose AT250, add $10 to each and get $98.99 and $105.99. How does that compare to the same equipment choices and roughly same programming from DTV and others?

 

[PortlandChris]

I Have been with Cable, Direct, and Dish. A far as price goes Cable seems higher but Dish and Direct are neck and neck for me. I think my bill changed one dollar when I came back to dish last year and I can not remember which way. So with dish and directs prices almost the same why is it Dish seems to have way more provider disputes than Direct and they seem to last a lot longer when they do with direct.

I do not think this is true at all. I was with Dish had we had disputes. I was with Direct and we had disputes, I came back to Dish because the a-holes at Directv told me that I didn't need Pac 12 Network. That's not their call to make by the way.

I totally disgaree Dish has more.

The whole issue is all about revolving contracts. Everyone has contracts due at different times. Right now TNT just cut a deal w/NBA on a huge increase in rights fees. The new agreement is ridiculous. It's a HUGE increase. Look, I like the NBA, but I am so tired of paying more for some spoiled bogus NBA players to get paid more. This is what the Turner/Dish dispute is all about - and it is also all about bundling of other worthless channels that we have to pay for.

 

[Stargazer]

There's always got to be one company that will have more disputes than someone else and in this case its Dish.

 

[edisonprime]

I remember TWC going dark. That was actually good because Dish gave us Weather Nation, I think, which actually gave me weather instead of disaster programming. I'm caring less and less about cable networks with the number of channels appearing on local sub-channels and what I can get with Roku. Dish had their fight with AMC a year or two ago and they gave a free streaming device to watch AMC via internet. I think they are giving subs Blaze and History 2 to replace CNN now and will probably substitute something else if the Turner stuff goes.

I think you mean TWC went dark with DirecTV and they replaced it with WeatherNation. Dish Network didn't drop it.

 

[jbrelish]

Only because the government forces them to with cable card.

I am not questioning your statement. But could you direct me to what you are referring to? Again I like to learn facts.

 

[Yespage]

Dish doesn't have more provider disputes regarding content. Other providers have lost channels for decent periods of time. And all providers have had a lot of disputes.

I think Dish have had more disputes regarding contractual and technological stuff (Autohop, Voom, TIVO, Disney and the dual SD/HD charges).

 

[dare2be]

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/cablecards

There is no law requiring Satellite to offer something similar.

 

[jbrelish]

I have been with Dish a long time. Charlie always said on things like Charlie Chat he will always fight for the subscribers to get the best value for their dollar. I never saw him retract that way of doing business.

Before I came to Dish I had cable. Any time any contract was signed it seemed they were raising prices. The attitude was "sure, where do I sign the new contract, I'll just pass the increase on to the customer and tack on a little more to add to profit". My bill was going up every couple of months for the same programming. So I was fed up and bought my first Dish system.

My question to some people here is why is it evil for a company to make money? If there were no companies many of you would have no jobs. Now if the company is truly bad then it will eventually fail due to lack of customers or lack of employees or both. Businesses do not start up just so you can have a job or get something for free or dirt cheap. The only entity that can do that is government, and they don't even use their money, they use ours. I guess you could wish for a government run cable/satellite system, but throw choice out the window. You'll watch what they allow you to watch.

 

[KAB]

Dish doesn't have more provider disputes regarding content. Other providers have lost channels for decent periods of time. And all providers have had a lot of disputes.

I think Dish have had more disputes regarding contractual and technological stuff (Autohop, Voom, TIVO, Disney and the dual SD/HD charges).

Very astute and accurate, IMO.

 

[Scherrman]

DirecTV doesn't have a dual-tuner DVR like the 722? That seems weird. Unless you are talking about the 2nd SD-only output, which is useless to anybody with HD service and only HD TV's in the home.

Yes, Dish does have definite advantages for the older/simpler subscribers with antiquated TV's and basic programming packages. They are also the clear leader for International programming. Nobody comes close.

But, for modern HD, whole-home systems with HD programming on mainstream mid-tier and above English-language packages, the pricing is quite similar.

You'd be surprised with how many people that don't care one bit about getting HD programming on their secondary TVs. There is usually or two TVs in a customer's house that they feel they need HD on and the rest they are not willing to spend the extra money on. Those extra TVs in the house may be HD but they are typically 32" or smaller and are in rooms like the kitchen, bedrooms, bonus rooms, offices and exercise rooms. Most people don't care about these rooms just as long as they can watch something on them. Once you go over all the extra fees with the customer they start realize that HD on a infrequently watched TV is not important.

These customers generally go with a 722k and a 211 in order to have their two main TVs in HD and then they mirror side 2 to all the rest of the TVs in the house. I have yet to see or hear of any TV provider that can offer a product like that. Sure you can mirror other provider's receivers but it's a major pain in the butt and an extra cost to the customer. I know that people have more and more HDTVs in the house but the setup I mentioned above is still very much in demand and is more popular than any Whole Home DVR system.

It's important to remember that I'm coming from a retailer's point of view and we sell the customer what they need and not what makes me the most money. If you go by what Dish sells then you would see that the Hopper is the most popular but that's only because it's about the only solution they offer to new customers. The Hopper is amazing but it's not for everyone. If we want to compare Dish's prices with the Hopper system to DirecTV and their Genie system then I think we'll find that they are about the same price in which case I would give Dish the slight nod because I feel the Hopper is better.