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I'm a DISH Network customer -- and a relatively pleased one. For a very affordable fee, we get TIVO service and over a hundred channels, including locals.
Unfortunately, we just learned that Viacom, the media producer responsible for MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and the Comedy Channel, is demanding a 40% rate increase for access to those channels. DirecTV has agreed to the increase and will pass the $5/month cost to their customers; DISH Networks, however, believes the rate increase to be excessive, and consequently -- unless something is resolved -- all DISH customers stand to lose all Viacom/CBS stations until the matter is sorted out.
In the interim, the DISH Network will apparently rebate us $1/month (*grumble*), but will not allow us to prematurely exit our programming contracts.
So whom should I be calling?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I'd be calling the FCC and tell them to start giving customers the right to drop whatever crappy stations you don't want to watch.
Mainly, I say this because I'm forced to pay more for cable this year, so that others can watch ESPN and such (which I never feel the need to watch).
Otherwise, I'd be calling up DISH and tell them that you support them (and not to give in like Cox did).
Posts: 851 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Tom, I went through this once before. I'm also a Dish customer, and they had a similar situation with one of our local channels. I complained both to the local channel and to Dish. The local channel never got back to me, but Dish network emailed me back and told me they understood my frustration and were working hard to correct the problem. They got it resolved in two days, with no rate increase to me, and Dish emailed me back to make certain I was satisfied with the situation.
You think you're frustrated? We have no Nickelodeon! I had to tell the twins we couldn't watch Dora today. "But we can watch Blue Mommy." "No, not even Blue." The horrors!
I will say I was impressed with the way Dish handled the issue with our local station. They were open and forthright about what was going on and they followed up with me to make sure I was happy. The other party didn't give a darn if I was happy or not.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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You should be mad at Dish - that's who your contract is with. And frankly, you probably have a good shot at getting out of your contract with them if you make a big enough stink. Tell them that x% of your TV time is on those channels and that you're not getting the product you paid for. Keep asking or supervisors until you can't get any higher, and if they don't give you satisfaction, ask the address where legal correspondence should be sent. Make it clear (without saying it) that they will pay more than the contract is worth to force you to stick with them.
Dagonee P.S., they'll keep saying "We said in your contract the channel lineup may change." You say, "I'm not trying to talk about what's in the contract. I'm trying to talk about how you're treating your customers."
quote:Tell them that x% of your TV time is on those channels and that you're not getting the product you paid for.
That's the bottom line. They should fight their own battles with Viacom and not have it affect the customers. But, if their battle does end up affecting them, you should legally have the right to get the heck out of your contract. A class action law suit is a possibility here.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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As long as they get the local PBS, HGTV and BBCAmerica, all will be well in this household. Noggin is a loss, but PBS plays just as good of shows and we usually only watch them while getting ready for school. If we need to have kids programming at night, we can just PVR a morning show and watch it later. I think a buck a month reduction is a poor savings, though...how about taking off the $5 that the other network is adding? I have been both a DishNetwork (current) and Directv customer and I still prefer the Dish. My reception has less issues, the picture seems to look better (maybe it is just my happiness with the service), the PVR rules and so on. This will get worked out, as it always does.
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And one more thing...I am glad that Dish just didn't buckle and pay a ridiculous increase like 40%. What has significantly changed on those networks to justify such a rate increase? Why kowtow to that demand and pass that cost on to the customers...of course Directv doesn't care...they aren't paying for it, their customers are. Dish at least is taking the time to hash it out. Complain all you want, but you won't hear this customer clamoring to pay MORE for the same service I had a month ago.
I think they need to work on a "ala carte" menu for stations. One could pick x-channels for x-cost per channel or some such. We like the Dish for some of the services (digital music, above mentioned stations in addition to a handful of others, etc.) but lets face it, 95% of the channels (if not more) are not watched and thanks to a guide, not even scanned over in surfing channels. I would love to have Nick at Night continue (my daugther, though amazed that tv was once in B&W, loves Bewitched) we can live without it. Take away those few stations we like, though, and the subscription becomes useless.
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The reason you CAN'T choose alacarte programming is precisely that: most households only watch five or six "favorite" channels. And programmers DEFINITELY don't want that, since it eliminates the incentive they have to siphon off advertising dollars by making new stations on which they can put commercials. In the current format, the successful channels subsidize the fringe ones.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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The only thing I miss is Comedy Central and CBS. However my mother liked the nick/noggin channels for my little sister. And supposedly DishNetwork doesn't even want noggin, MTV2, GAS, and one other channel.
Posts: 2489 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Hey, Tom, I'm a Dish Network customer, too, and I'm personally upset with Viacom.
I don't WANT my rates to go up, and Viacom knows there isn't some magical place that the cost increase can be eaten by Dish Network that would leave the cost per month the same for me, so they're in essence trying to charge ME more, knowing I'm locked into a contract with Dish Network, and would have to pay it.
Still, maybe I wouldn't mind that, if they were a premium network, like HBO, but knowing that they're charging me another buck a month for each of their channels, just so they can turn around and sell my eyes to advertisers--
I hope Dish Network's solution--of not airing the channels--works. If Viacom's forced to realize they're losing revenue by not being able to sell all the Dish Network customer's eyeballs to advertisers, they'll want to create a better contract to make it work.
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I'd be furious at Viacomm, especially since they're running scrollers on the channels are being cut out telling people only half the story (and a twisted one at that) - that Dish Network is "taking away" Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, etc.
It appears that my cable company was happy to just eat the increase and charge me $4 more a month. Posts: 753 | Registered: Mar 2001
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I support Dish network on this, but I'm also wondering what channels they are giving us to make up for the lack of Viacom... Boomerang perhaps? that would be cool...
I'm glad Family Guy is on Cartoon Network.
Posts: 2112 | Registered: Sep 1999
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AFAIK, only Noggin carries Oobi, our favorite show. I don't let DangerGirl watch much TV, 'cause she gets so whiny. I have an incipient couch potato on my hands and have to watch out!
Posts: 335 | Registered: Feb 2001
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quote: Still, maybe I wouldn't mind that, if they were a premium network, like HBO, but knowing that they're charging me another buck a month for each of their channels, just so they can turn around and sell my eyes to advertisers
I agree with everyone's anger about the situation, but I find this quote kinda funny. I mean, you're ALREADY paying them to sell your eyes to advertisers. What's one more advertiser?
Long live public programming!
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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This is an issue with Viacom and their greed. They want to force Dishnetwork to carry additional programming that very few people watch and are using their ownership of CBS as leverage.
I stand behind any company that doesn't want to charge it's customers more money (unlike what Cox and DirecTV have already done with Viacom)
On the bright side, I was able to teach my 4 year old his first economics lesson yesterday when I had to explain why he was not getting Noggin or NickJr. (The TV people are fighting and wanting to take money from us even though they shouldn't get it)
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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While it might be frustrating not to get those channels, I tend to think that Dish network is on your team, while Viacom is trying to get money. Dish Network hopes that by keeping back a very large chunk of customers, they can get Viacom to back down on the ridiculous %40 price increase.
Posts: 3495 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Yeah, it seems like, if all the customers refuse to pay the price, then DISH won't be able to carry the channels even if they want to, and Viacom would HAVE to put the price back where it should be, or lose a ton of customers.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:An American Association of Advertising Agencies report showed that in the primetime slot on network television, time used by commercials was 16:43minutes per hour. The daytime rate was 20:53minutes per hour, while network news showed 18:53 minutes of commercials per hour, and late night news aired 19:06minutes of ads.
Compensated at FederalMinimumWage for watching commercials, you are paying the equivalent of $1.43/hour to watch "free" television; or more correctly, $1.43per43minutes17seconds of programming-that-ya-wanna-watch. Which works out to be ~$1.98/hour, at minimum wage with no benefits and with minimum commercials per hour.
For the minimum that you are paying, multiply your hourly wage&benefits by 0.385
posted
Viacom has pretty good spin, if you ask me. If it is true that Dish upped customers rates 3 bucks and is complaining about having to pay an extra 6 cents per customer to Viacom, then Dish seems like the bad guy to me. I'm sick of my cable company always raising rates and telling me it's because of stuff like what Viacom is doing. My cable bill has has more than doubled in recent years and if it's actually true that it's because companies like Viacom are charging an extra 6 cents a month, I'd be pissed.
quote:EchoStar insists it's being squeezed by Viacom rate increases and by demands that DISH Network carry Viacom channels like the new Nicktoons.
"They recently hiked their subscribers' bills by as much as $3 a month," Viacom replied. "Yet they are unwilling to consider paying an additional six cents a month per subscriber for the right to carry our channels. When Americans watch TV, they spend more than 20 percent of their time with our networks; nonetheless, we are asking for less than 5 percent of what EchoStar/DISH Network currently generates from the average customer."
[ March 10, 2004, 02:56 PM: Message edited by: jack ]
Posts: 171 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote: My cable bill has has more than doubled in recent years and if it's actually true that it's because companies like Viacom are charging an extra 6 cents a month, I'd be pissed.
From what I hear, the cable companies accepted and passed on a $4 increase on to their customers.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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/ derails thread Be angry against my in-laws. They are really so awfull I don't have enough words to tell it. So if you have angriness to give, give it to them ! / end of whinning. Sorry.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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(((aspectre))) Thank you. I know it's bad but I feel better to know that I'm not the only one to hate them just now. Of course tomorrow I will try to understand and everything, but just now I'm so angry I can't.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote:EchoStar Communications Corp. and Viacom Inc. reached agreement early this morning to end a dispute that for almost two full days left millions of Dish Network satellite-television subscribers without their MTV, Nickelodeon and other Viacom-owned channels, and many of them without CBS programming.
quote: Off Capitol Hill, a more intense battle for public opinion continued yesterday. Viacom struck a blow with a full-page ad in The Washington Post and other papers that included telephone numbers for Dish Network customers to call to switch to cable or Dish Network competitor DirecTV.
"You, our viewers, are the most important relationship we have and we are really saddened that EchoStar/Dish Network has taken these channels away from you," read the ad, which included an image of a stricken-looking SpongeBob SquarePants.
I would sooner go out and by a bag of poop than respond to an ad with spongebob on it.
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