Why No Fox Sports West 2?

[boonguyen]

Now I know I'm probably in the minority here, but....

I'm a new Dish customer after coming over from DTV. How come Dish does not offer Fox Sports West 2 to customers outside of the Southern California market? When I was with DTV, I'd pay an additional $10/month to receive all the Fox Sports networks so I can catch my Ucla Bruin football and basketball games during those seasons. I was planning to do so with Dish, but they only offer Fox Sports West, not West 2. You would think that if DTV can provide that channel, DISH can. Anyone know why or can offer some solice to me?

 

[pro96]

Now I know I'm probably in the minority here, but....

I'm a new Dish customer after coming over from DTV. How come Dish does not offer Fox Sports West 2 to customers outside of the Southern California market? When I was with DTV, I'd pay an additional $10/month to receive all the Fox Sports networks so I can catch my Ucla Bruin football and basketball games during those seasons. I was planning to do so with Dish, but they only offer Fox Sports West, not West 2. You would think that if DTV can provide that channel, DISH can. Anyone know why or can offer some solice to me?

Due to the spot beam, you will not be able to see Fox Sports West 2 outside of the L.A region. That's how Dish Net has it setup, and nothing you or anyone else can do im afraid.

PS: Dish has nothing to do with Dtv when it comes to spot beams

 

[boonguyen]

Uh...at the risk of sounding completely ignorant, what is a "spotbeam?"

 

[TNGTony]

Satellites have channels called transponders. Each DBS satellite location has a total of 32 transponders. You can put up to 12 standard definition or cram in 3 high definitioin TV channels on each transponder. Once you fill the up 32x12, you cannot cram any more channels on a satellite.

So, what both Dish and DirecTv do is to use a "spot beam" satellite. These satellites have groups of transponders that cover only a specific point on the US. This way the same transponder number can be used in another location. This basically lets them have local channels all over the place with the limited bandwidth (32 transponders) they can use. Dish has a satellite at 110 and another at 119 that use 5 transponder numbers 5 times each basically giving Dish 25 transponders instead of 5 at each location. The dra-back is that any channel on a spot beam can never be seen outside the spot beam location

Dish has FSW2 on a transponder that only covers the southern california area. There is no way in hell to get this channel from Dish outside the spot beam area.

See www.echostaruser.com and click on the spot beam maps. But keep in mind that these maps are a little old and are not 100% accurate any more.

BTW, welcome to Satelliteguys!

See ya
Tony

 

[Airblair]

Boonguyen, as a UCLA Bruin in Northern California, who is also going to miss this week's game against Rice, I feel your pain. And I'm irritated that Dish chooses to do what they do with this channel, especially since our football and basketball teams are becoming watchable again.

As the others have noted, it was a technical decision that Dish made to put it on a spotbeam. I'm unaware of any legal issues keeping FSW2 where it is, although contracts may have to be redone if they were to move it.

The only solace I can offer you is that it isn't necessarily a final decision. Dish is undoubtedly re-evaluating their transponder map because of their new satellites and the switchover to MPEG-4 (in many respects this is a never-ending process), and enough politicking by sports fans MIGHT prompt them to move it to a CONUS* transponder. Dish offers an e-mail form on their website that you can use to contact them; it's at http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/aboutus/contact_us/index.asp . Similarly, the e-mail address ceo@echostar.com has been used by people on this and other forums to get the attention of their CSR's. Try those. I will.


*CONUS=COntinental US; i.e. a transponder broadcast to the entire nation, as opposed to a spot beam.

 

[Mr Tony]

FSW2 was put on spotbeam per the agreement by Dish & fox. When they renegotiate it, it might end up on CONUS....after all, they need them spots for lcoals

 

[jrbdmb]

E* saved some $$$ on this channel by proving it only to those right around L.A. Many Dish subs who should qualify to see the Dodgers (Hawaii, Las Vegas) don't get the channel either. Since only those in the L.A. area get FSW2, might as well keep in on the spotbeam (until the contract is renegotiated).

Now, normally I complain about penny-pinching Charlie, but in this case the owner of the Dodgers (at least when the contract was signed) and FSW2 was Rupert, so in this case I understand where Charlie was coming from.