Scott Greczkowski
03-11-03, 09:29 AM
I know I am probably going against the grain but I must admit, last night I actually enjoyed the Charlie Chat.
Yes it could have more questions and answers but for what it was it was a fun hour (it was even more fun if you joined us in our Live DBSTalk Charlie Chat... Chat)
It started off with Charlie telling us it's Dish Networks 7th Birthday. You could see the pride as he talked about it. Last night Charlie seemed more sincere then I ever remember seeing him, he was laid back, yet up beat.
There were lots of locals talked about last night, it seems like each city is different in what you will actually get if you subscribe to the locals. They took their tame explaining each city, which in my book was a little slow but ok.
Next up was an HDTV update, this is what I was waiting for, and while it was long and drawn out it explained what you need to get HDTV from Dish Network, it showed the 6000 and each of the add on modules, it explained all the channels currently being carried on Dish.
Then Jim Defranco "did it" he threw us the bone we asked for, first he looked down at his script then asked question we have all been waiting for, (not an exact quote) "Charlie, can you maybe give the folks at home and idea what HD Channel are coming soon to Dish Network"
Charlie then said the magic letters that I was waiting to hear... ESPN-HD. His next words out of his mouth were "Dish Network WILL be the leader in HDTV" with a big grin on his face.
Of course if you have been reading here at DBSTalk.COM we told you a few weeks ago that ESPN HD will be launching on Dish Network on March 30th. It's probably one of the worst secrets ever, with various people from Dish telling me its coming (including a few execs letting me know they are getting 6000's installed at their houses so they can watch the launch themselves) and from ESPN themselves, as you may know I don't live too far from the ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. I know a lot of people that work there. My contacts from ESPN are the ones who first told me ESPN-HD on Dish is a done deal.
The reason Charlie first said ESPN-HD then "Dish Network WILL be the leader in HDTV" was his signal to us that YES ESPN will launch on Dish Network on March 30th, without actually saying it! In talking to contacts at Dish Network there is some clause in their contract with ESPN which prevents them from announcing that they are indeed carrying ESPN-HD until a certain date as specified in the contract. This is why NO ONE has announced coverage of ESPN-HD as of yet. What is that magic date? I don't know but you can bet that ESPN-HD will indeed debut on Dish Network.
This explains why there was the push for 6000 information last night, if you don't know already the 6000 has been discontinued and no more are being made, it was discontinued because of the lack of support for HD Closed Captioning. They kept on pushing the Enhanced HD Adapter which is a 8PSK Adapter. This adapter will be needed to see ESPN-HD, which is why they were pushing the 6000 and the adapter.
Charlie then went on to give additional HD Channels we will see soon on Dish Network, he then mentioned HDNet and explained to us a little bit about Mark Cubans channels, in a surprise he talked about talking about picking up a new HD Channel that NBC will be offering (this channel is Bravo HD)
Later in the show someone asked about the 921, in a surprising statement Charlie said not to expect the 921 until the fall or late summer at the earliest. I have been talking with a few of the folks involved with the 921 and I have been told that they understand that this PVR will be one a user buys and keep it for years to come, it's not your standard $99 throw away receiver, they are doing everything they can to make sure that the 921 give you a good long bug free life, and like the 6000 they are making the 921 upgradeable just in case something new comes down the road years from now. It is this thought of making a quality product that is holding it up. For all those waiting for a 921 I know waiting to the fall is a long time, but you will have a much better product when it arrives. :)
Then more questions came in, most of them programming questions which were referred to Michael Schwimmer the Sr Vice President of Programming. Now if I were a betting man I would say that Mr Schwimmer has something for foreign sports, it seems as of late the only real time Mr Schwimmer talks is when someone asks him a question about soccer or cricket. Last night was no exception, he was glowing from ear to ear when someone asked about Gol TV. I wish Mr Schwimmer had as much joy for normal programming such as Oxygen, PBS Kids, Goodlife, Trio, the MTV suite and other standard cable fair, as he did for Cricket and Soccer.
I must admit I really enjoyed seeing Leo Laporte on the Chat last night, he had a good time and it appeared everyone had a good time with him there. (I want one of those blow up radios!) Where else can you see major executives trying to sing Karaoke on live TV? I know Charlie was disappointed the Karaoke Mic did not have his favorite song "Rocky Top" but it made for fun television.
While the chat may have seen boring to many we must remember the chats are aimed to the average home user not us in the know power users. They did a good job of educating users on the products they wanted to market. The key word there is "market" after all the Charlie Chat is a marketing tool, nothing more and nothing less.
When ESPN-HD comes on and order come in for 6000's and 8PSK modules the marketing staff will know that the Charlie Chat was indeed a success.
So I give my nod of approval to last nights chat, I think the only thing I was Disappointed they didn't do was at the end bring out a birthday cake... (and wouldn't it be great to see it dropped on Leo Laportes head!) :D
Good Job Charlie and Jim! I look forward to next months show and I am also looking forward to May's Tech Chat with Dave and Mark!
Yes it could have more questions and answers but for what it was it was a fun hour (it was even more fun if you joined us in our Live DBSTalk Charlie Chat... Chat)
It started off with Charlie telling us it's Dish Networks 7th Birthday. You could see the pride as he talked about it. Last night Charlie seemed more sincere then I ever remember seeing him, he was laid back, yet up beat.
There were lots of locals talked about last night, it seems like each city is different in what you will actually get if you subscribe to the locals. They took their tame explaining each city, which in my book was a little slow but ok.
Next up was an HDTV update, this is what I was waiting for, and while it was long and drawn out it explained what you need to get HDTV from Dish Network, it showed the 6000 and each of the add on modules, it explained all the channels currently being carried on Dish.
Then Jim Defranco "did it" he threw us the bone we asked for, first he looked down at his script then asked question we have all been waiting for, (not an exact quote) "Charlie, can you maybe give the folks at home and idea what HD Channel are coming soon to Dish Network"
Charlie then said the magic letters that I was waiting to hear... ESPN-HD. His next words out of his mouth were "Dish Network WILL be the leader in HDTV" with a big grin on his face.
Of course if you have been reading here at DBSTalk.COM we told you a few weeks ago that ESPN HD will be launching on Dish Network on March 30th. It's probably one of the worst secrets ever, with various people from Dish telling me its coming (including a few execs letting me know they are getting 6000's installed at their houses so they can watch the launch themselves) and from ESPN themselves, as you may know I don't live too far from the ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. I know a lot of people that work there. My contacts from ESPN are the ones who first told me ESPN-HD on Dish is a done deal.
The reason Charlie first said ESPN-HD then "Dish Network WILL be the leader in HDTV" was his signal to us that YES ESPN will launch on Dish Network on March 30th, without actually saying it! In talking to contacts at Dish Network there is some clause in their contract with ESPN which prevents them from announcing that they are indeed carrying ESPN-HD until a certain date as specified in the contract. This is why NO ONE has announced coverage of ESPN-HD as of yet. What is that magic date? I don't know but you can bet that ESPN-HD will indeed debut on Dish Network.
This explains why there was the push for 6000 information last night, if you don't know already the 6000 has been discontinued and no more are being made, it was discontinued because of the lack of support for HD Closed Captioning. They kept on pushing the Enhanced HD Adapter which is a 8PSK Adapter. This adapter will be needed to see ESPN-HD, which is why they were pushing the 6000 and the adapter.
Charlie then went on to give additional HD Channels we will see soon on Dish Network, he then mentioned HDNet and explained to us a little bit about Mark Cubans channels, in a surprise he talked about talking about picking up a new HD Channel that NBC will be offering (this channel is Bravo HD)
Later in the show someone asked about the 921, in a surprising statement Charlie said not to expect the 921 until the fall or late summer at the earliest. I have been talking with a few of the folks involved with the 921 and I have been told that they understand that this PVR will be one a user buys and keep it for years to come, it's not your standard $99 throw away receiver, they are doing everything they can to make sure that the 921 give you a good long bug free life, and like the 6000 they are making the 921 upgradeable just in case something new comes down the road years from now. It is this thought of making a quality product that is holding it up. For all those waiting for a 921 I know waiting to the fall is a long time, but you will have a much better product when it arrives. :)
Then more questions came in, most of them programming questions which were referred to Michael Schwimmer the Sr Vice President of Programming. Now if I were a betting man I would say that Mr Schwimmer has something for foreign sports, it seems as of late the only real time Mr Schwimmer talks is when someone asks him a question about soccer or cricket. Last night was no exception, he was glowing from ear to ear when someone asked about Gol TV. I wish Mr Schwimmer had as much joy for normal programming such as Oxygen, PBS Kids, Goodlife, Trio, the MTV suite and other standard cable fair, as he did for Cricket and Soccer.
I must admit I really enjoyed seeing Leo Laporte on the Chat last night, he had a good time and it appeared everyone had a good time with him there. (I want one of those blow up radios!) Where else can you see major executives trying to sing Karaoke on live TV? I know Charlie was disappointed the Karaoke Mic did not have his favorite song "Rocky Top" but it made for fun television.
While the chat may have seen boring to many we must remember the chats are aimed to the average home user not us in the know power users. They did a good job of educating users on the products they wanted to market. The key word there is "market" after all the Charlie Chat is a marketing tool, nothing more and nothing less.
When ESPN-HD comes on and order come in for 6000's and 8PSK modules the marketing staff will know that the Charlie Chat was indeed a success.
So I give my nod of approval to last nights chat, I think the only thing I was Disappointed they didn't do was at the end bring out a birthday cake... (and wouldn't it be great to see it dropped on Leo Laportes head!) :D
Good Job Charlie and Jim! I look forward to next months show and I am also looking forward to May's Tech Chat with Dave and Mark!