Fisher Channels Off Dish Network
Last night as clocks stuck 11pm on the West Coast the local channels owned by Fisher communications were dropped from the Dish Network lineup.
Dish Network said that Fisher is "demanding unreasonable contract terms and an excessive programming rate increase of 82 percent for continued carriage."
Last week Dish was in a dispute with Young Broadcasting, and the Young Broadcasting channels were removed from the Dish Network lineup for 3 days. Dish is also in a dispute with ComCorp which appears to be demanding up to 2 cents a day per subscriber for its stations.
Stations dropped overnight include Seattle powerhouse KOMO as well as KATU, KBCI, KVAL. KBAK, KBFX, KIDK, KUNS, KATU and KIMA.
As I have said before while indeed Dish Network is charging customers for their locals, I do believe that they are losing money by offering their customers locals, with the cost of getting the signal, fiber lines, processing, uplinking and transponder costs. Not to mention the fact that the transponders used to deliver locals could make a lot more money for Dish by delivering national HD content. Dish is helping these stations reach people in the stations home market that would have no other way of seeing the stations broadcast, thus giving these stations more viewers, which in turn equals more ad revenue.
As much as I hate seeing Dish in programming disputes, I am standing behind Dish in these disputes.
DirecTV Relaunches Forums
Besides great satellite discussion forums such as my own SatelliteGuys.US and DBSTalk.COM there is another forum out there I invite people to check out and that is the recently renovated forum at DirecTV.COM.
Yesterday DirecTV took the wraps its new updated forums which will help DirecTV customers get help with their systems and learn about all the things that DirecTV is offering.
In addition the new improved forums at DirecTV also introduce five new forums for folks that install DirecTV systems for a living. These new forums include a General Installer forum, a forum with tips on handling issues affecting customers, service call troubleshooting, tips on cabling and custom installs and also Wildblue installation support.
The new forums also offer an improved look and some exciting new features. The new DirecTV forums can be found at http://forums.directv.com.
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samramirez commented:
I have read several articles comparing direct tv and dish network. From that I found out that people have varying opinions on which one is better. This post as well as the comments from different people will help me decide which between the two will I be choosing.
Shawn commented:
If dish network had caved to an 82% increase in cost for the privilege of rebroadcasting a signal then every other owner of local affiliates would have demanded similar increases. And you, me, and every other dish network customer would have ended up paying higher monthly fees to dish. I like the level of service I receive from dish and I'm happy with the price. Yes, it was annoying to not have ABC but I dealt with it and when I really missed a show I looked for it online. I find it interesting the day after dish announced they would be able to bring in LA or San Francisco ABC feeds when the new digital TV rules went into effect Fischer channels were magically approved to go back on the air. I think they finally realized Dish can technically beam any channel anyplace and would do so once the rules allowed it.
Sam commented:
DISH is charging me the disconnect fee as well.
They breached the contract, IMO. For two months, I put up without Letterman, Two and a half men, Price is Right, etc, thinking they would surely settle with Fisher, but when it came to their not providing me the NCAA basketball playoffs, that was the final straw.
Has anyone successfully not paid the fee?
Scott Havsy commented:
RE: DIsh... I believe that there is a breach of contract and false advertising on Dish's part. Tehir commercials advertise local channels without an "*". Regardless of the reason I watch the local ABC affiliate for sports. I wil be forced to switch to DTV if the problem is not resolved soon. The threat by the executive offices that I am responsibel for the a cnellation fee does not sit well with me as Dish in my opinion breached the contract first. It is ludicrous to expect satellite TV without local channels though I am sure some people don't mind. They were told if I get charged and it is reported on my credit as an unpaid bil lthat I would see them in court.
dan commented:
I find it very interesting for thoes of you who think Dish is charging to much for their network package. You knew what it was when you signed up for it. The charges Direct Tv charges for these networks are built into their base packeges. Now do the comparrison. You are still paying more for DTV. This same situation could happen to Direct TV customers. This dispute is all about Dish not trasmitting the signal of Fishers newly aquired Oregon station from 2006 -2008. Therefore the lawsuit. Fisher is definately trying to recover their loss of revenues. I have been a Dish customer for the past 7 years. Before that C band. (The good ol days). I will not switch to DTV and cannot get cable where I live. For thoes of you who cannot receive over the air antenna signal, you might be eligible to still get a Network signal from another city in. Check out www.mydistantnetwork.com. I just orderd ABC for only $3.40 a month to relace KOMO 4 out of Seattle. I receive two ABC channels for that price. Bay area and Denver. Also check out what the AG office from Washington State has posted at their website. It will substantiate Scott Greczkowski comments.
pdx commented:
I noticed that my dish guide will resume showing KATU programming at 12pm today… Is it over?
Oregon Viewer commented:
SO is there any truth to the rumor Dish is refusing to convert to digital reception of the local signals and thus the propoganda about the rate hikes? From what I read, Dish is the only pay provider that is currently re-broadcasting local stations via an analog signal and the local providers are eliminating that feature in anticipation of the complete change-over pending. This wholesale analog broadcast is what Dish depends on currently where-as no other provider, cable or satelite uses this out-dated system. Don\’t buy all the hype about it being just a rate increase…
Georgette commented:
My contract with DISH expires in the next few days - looks like I\’ll be moving to DirectTV after being a DISH customer for over 20 years. I am THOROUGHLY DISGUSTED WITH THE WHOLE MESS. Does anyone know how to sell DISH receivers… eBay? Bad form, both DISH and Fisher Broadcasting.
:p
DUH! commented:
Well lets see, so Fisher is bleeding and wants money, and obviously it costs Dish nothing more that the per subscriber fee to give you the channel, to take the signal, compress it, move it to tne nearest uplink, etc, gee yeah, that must cost like $0 since eveyrone knows internet connections are free, let alone power, and its not like they could just give us more HD programming using that bandwitdh instead.
Kari In Oregon commented:
I am leaving dish for direct tv. They are installing my new sat on Jan 19. Dish says read the fine print channels are subject to change at any time. I personally believe they will be belly up within the next year. Direct tv does not charge for the local cahnnels you dont have to have your box plugged into a phone line.. DISH NETWORK SUCKS!! I think we should teach them a lesson.. Best of luck to everyone.
JV commented:
I was looking for info and found this blog. FYI...I just spoke to a DISH network rep and she told me there are rumors around their company that MORE stations are going to go off the air as of tomorrow ( 1.14.09 ). Up until now I was pretty happy with DISH but the I can't take the chance of not being able to see the Super Bowl. Yes...that's part of the office gab...that the stations that carry the Super Bowl will be off the air. Grrrrrrrrr. I hate chage but Directv here I come.
Joren Thiessen commented:
dish HAS to pay the money fischer can charge and amount, fischer saw they are gonna lose more money in lost customers who switch to get that channel than they are gonna lose to the higher price so why not jack it up
oregonyo commented:
Why will the FCC not allow us to choose which network stations we get? I live in Oregon but get Yakima, WA networks. I would much prefer to have Portland stations. The local cable companies offer both Yakima/Tri Cities, WA and Portland networks here locally?
Marc Rasmussen commented:
I'm a Dish customer caught in this ridiculous Catch 22. With FCC rules the only ABC station that can be broadcast in the Seattle market is Fisher Broadcastings KOMO 4 Station. The strategy of the combatants seems to be to pit the consumer against the other party in the conflict and try to use them to bring pressure to bear to make a deal. The fact there is now a $1,000,000 lawsuit by Fisher against Dish for another dispute pretty much assures us that there will be no ABC channels available on DISH in the area in the immediate future. A few months ago, I signed a contract to get updated equipment from Dish and am obligated for the remainder of a 2 year contract if I leave them. They basically charge a $10 per month remaining cancellation fee so I'd be out $170 bucks to move somewhere else. I've been in communication with both Dish and KOMO and have received a response from the Fisher CEO that was specific to my concerns. My basic point was, you've got business issues to work out but don't screw the consumers. They offer their condolences but no solutions. I fear this will end up being expensive to many who have to opt out of the Dish contract to get the ABC programming. I've contacted the FCC and complained, asking for some sort of variance to bring any other ABC coverage into this market but it ain't going to happen. Guess the only other option would be the Attorney General's office. I truly believe any provider in a market has an obligation to provide the primary channels as part of their suite of products and when they advertise that they carry local channels they need to carry these. If they aren't able to comply, they should not be allowed to offer their services in the market.
Scott Thomas commented:
I've been digging into this dispute as deep as I can go and what I've discovered is startling. On Dish, we pay something like $5.99 for the Local package per month. It turns out that the monthly fee per viewer paid to the local stations you get for that is far less than the industry average of 35 cents per channel. Usually all local channel viewership surpasses that of all the top 40 national ones in that list. (Think about it, you tune in to your local news, talk shows, soaps, or game shows and so on far more frequently than all the others - most people do.) So, if you only get maybe a few stations for that $5.99, and they only pay a few cents for you to watch then, then I think we just found the Dish "Cash Cow"!
Honestly, a few cents additional on my bill each month for each local channel isn't going to make a dent in my pocketbook. Dish, get with the program settle for the reasonable fee Fisher is asking for!
In the meantime, if no agreement is reached in a timely manner, I do plan to drop my contract with Dish (due to their breach of contract for not carrying a major local channel) and get set up with DirectTV.
(My source for the amount of the monthly fee is Larry Roberts, Regional VP of Fisher Communications, citing the Fisher lawyers, who said he could say, "The fee we’re asking from DISH is only a fraction of what DISH pays for these other less popular services that have considerably fewer viewers.")
Kathy and Richard commented:
Dish and Fisher Broadcasting need to act like adults and negotiate a reasonable settlement. Viewers are being penalized by this outrageous spat between the two companies. Dish may end up losing business because of this.
qroter commented:
Dish has no reason to complain, they are raising the rates for HD programming fee 100%(!!) for it's service. Why don't you post something justifying that next week??
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