June 9th Charlie Chat Postmordem

[Mark Holtz]

Well, another Charlie Chat, another 45 minutes of fluff.

[John Corn]

:nono:.........:confused:

[Disappointed]

Z'loth,

I agree Charlie was simply beating around the bush, although he left the window open for the July Tech talk. :-(

[Nick]

postmordem?

59.9 min of an ABOSLUTE waste of time. Jeeeez! :rolleyes: Thanks a pantload, Charlie & Jim

[clapple]

Charlie's 0 for 3. OK, so he missed one month; but three straight months of an HDTV non-event. Why bother? But I guess the six people, who are interested in cricket and mountain climbing, we entertained.

[firephoto]

At least they showed us the approved tree mounting method for your dish. :lol:

[TNGTony]

So....nothing? No news or anything interesting?

I had to work late again and just got home. I guess I should be glad I missed it again?

See ya
Tony

[Steve Mehs]

Another dull chat, not that I expected anything more...

[Nick]

If I covered my dish with aluminum foil and pointed it toward the sun, would the concentrated solar radiation melt the LNBFs? Gosh, I hope so. :rolleyes:

I'm so bummed we didn't get to see the 15 min video of Charlie's last proctological exam. :barf:

[STXJim]

Originally posted by TNGTony
So....nothing? No news or anything interesting?


WHAT???
Charlie just told us the worst news that could be possible.
F/X will probably be canceled due to cost next season.
That means we will no longer be able to watch the best show on (any kind of) TV.
"The Shield".
This must be some kind of package deal that E* made with the DishPlayer F-Ups! :shrug:
How is it that some people can be so stoopid??????

[FTA Michael]

What, did that Charlie Chat really happened? I thought I had a tequila dream where people keep talking and talking without saying anything.

And the weird part was that there was this mountain climber, you know, one of those dream elements that make no sense when you think about it rationally.

So when I woke up, I come here, and it really happened?

[Mark Holtz]

Originally posted by TNGTony
I had to work late again and just got home. I guess I should be glad I missed it again?One local channel is going live on the 18th, and F/X may go off the air after July 13th because of problems with coming up with a new carriage agreement.

[jeffwtux]

How come Dish raises prices higher and higher while removing more and more programming while Direc doesn't ever remove any, and their rates have stayed the same in many cases.

[TNGTony]

Here we go again....I know its nothing more than a troll, but I have to answer.

What programming has dish PERMENANTLY removed from their line-up since its inception? I know dish has temporarily removed ESPN Classic and a few ABC channels. But they have returned after Dish ends up getting a better or more favorable deal. Have you ever walked away from a purchase you wanted to make because you wanted a better deal? I have. And I've rarely regretted it.

As to rising rates...With the exception of ONE package on DirecTV...they ALL went up AT LEAST as much as EVERYONE else.

Dish's AND DirecTV's price increases have been less than that of their competitors. Dish because it's getting better deals. DirecTV, because it is fighting for marketshare against Dish. Even with all its faults, Dish was gaining new net subscribers at a rate 3 or 4 times faster than DirecTV. DirecTV had to do SOMETHING to stop this. Now Dish is only gaining subs at a rate 1.5 to 2 times faster than DirecTV.

With dish Three new packages LOWERED the price of the programming. I haven't seen sub numbers since this happened.

And Dish has now had TWO profitable quarters as oposed to the other guys that have yet to see a nickel in profit. Though neither company is truly profitable yet.

Interesting.

Now..what that has to do with the price of tea in China is NOTHING. It adds nothing to the conversation.

So either talk about the subject which is DISH NETWORK...not DirecTV or any comparisons there-to..., or start your own topic about this in the general forum. In any case this is not what this topic is about.

To see details on Dish's price increases see http://ekb.dbstalk.com/17

See ya
Tony

[Darkman]

F/X - is not going off air..
They never said that...

They said the contract expires soon, and they do not have a new one in place, but they are talking with F/X (and in the past were able to successfully negotiate with F/X)...

So it was just a regular "worst case scenario" warning...
I am sure they ll find a way to keep F/X - comes July 13th..

[Bob Haller]

Well I feel asleep during the show. Guess I didnt miss much:(

[sampatterson]

I fell asleep right before the show. Glad I didn't waste PVR space on it...

[Nick]

Good morning, folks.

Bob's reaction just about sums up this Charlie Chat!

[Bubba]

Originally posted by Bob Haller
Well I feel asleep during the show. Guess I didnt miss much:(

It would be funny if everyone they went to on the phones pretended to have fallen asleep and was snoring real loud. But maybe they don't need to pretend, and I guess they have screeners.

[ibglowin]

The thing that got me last night was every time Charlie was asked to answer a question, the moderator would look at him and basically tell him "now answer this in a general sort of way". Hell if we can't get specifics out of the CEO of Dish Network, who the hell can we? I agree, it was pure fluff, no substance. At least they mentioned StarzHD and they would begin negotiations.

[cpufixer1]

II have been waiting for the 921 for a year and I have just about had it. No news again last night.

Enough with the Spanish and Latino programming. I would like to know what % of Dish customers subscribe to this. These channels are taking up bandwidth and money.

I am tired of also hearing that his retransmissiom agreements are expiring. Just renew them in way in advance and keep it to yourselves.

My one year agreement expires in Dec, if they do not have their act together on HD , HELLO DIRECT

[Jerry 42]

Can some one such as Charlie's PR man a/k/a TNG Tony explain why "The leader in HDTV" has not added new HDTV channels and has no HD hardware in in production. Oh yes E* will "announce" some thing in the future perhaps my grand son will see the announcement.

Even after 5 years with E* and my investment in 2 6000, 1 301 receivers - 2 dishes - switches - etc. DirectV looks better and better to me.

[Tomsoundman]

Lay off Tony! He doesn't work for Charlie.:mad:

[Scott Greczkowski]

I honestly don't care for sports so I don't care for ESPN-HD however I was hoping for a firm date for the addition of the two new HDNet Channels.

The channels were announced on May 1st and yet still not firm start date, while DirecTV on the other hand announced a full HD package with start date.

My feeling is if Charlie could not announce a start date for HDnet then perhaps he should have waited to announce it untill he did have a firm date.

[angiodan]

I called the chat last night, and tried my hardest to let them get me through live; to no avail. I was watching it between periods of the hockey game, and knew within the first five minutes of the show, Charlie wasn't going to say a damn thing about HD. They transferred me to some programming dude. I asked what was going on with HD Net, is Charlie going to announce what he will do to counter Directv's HD package, etc. He simply said, "Thats not on the agenda for the chat tonight."

And Scott, I see that you also noticed Charlie mention upcoming HD in 'years' not months. That line alone pretty well was the nail in the coffin.

Charlie and Dish, you are dreaming if you think I'm going to pay $7.99/mo for DiscoveryHD when my pre payed year is up next month. I'm sure I won't be the only one.

[TNGTony]

Jerry, then go to Direct TV. Do it today and stop whining!

As to me being a PR man...you haven't read too many of my posts or seen the EKB very closely either. What I rail against is idiotic whining "why doesn't this company already have what this other company has announced for a future date" comments.

But in your case I guess just using the ignore feature on this board will have to suffice.

[wont]
See ya
Tony

[Scott Greczkowski]

Tony is STILL the man! :D

[Bob Haller]

Hey remember when it was me pom poming:)

E has lots of issues now if they would just FIX some of them properly!

[Mark Holtz]

All you have to do is mention four certain letters for TNGTony to go off on a tangent.

Right now, the $400 that I have to switch to DirecTV went instead to "plumbing cleanout". I really don't care about HDTV programming (for now).

[awax]

Screw the HD half the stuff on HD channels aren't even in HD, just give me a better PVR with name based recording and more features (like Tivo or Ultimate TV) other than that I'm happy.

[JBKing]

Originally posted by Z'Loth
All you have to do is mention four certain letters for TNGTony to go off on a tangent.


Or three.... T.N.N. :D

:down: black bar

[BobMurdoch]

F/X is going nowhere. Rupert owns Fox, Fox owns F/X, and Rupert has to show Congress that he can play well with others or Congress will slap his merger down like they did E*. Look for a deal at the eleventh hour or after a few days of being yanked. It's just negotiations, people. We've all seen this movie before, we know how it ends........

[STXJim]

Bob,
I sure hope that you are right. :)

[Scott Greczkowski]

Bob is correct, if F/X was pulled from Dish it would make Uncle Rupert look like the bad guy here and it would not be good for his merger atempt with DirecTV.

I also say F/X is not going anywhere.

[dmodemd]

Calm down peeps - I think it was pretty clear Charlie was showing little HD interest since many negotiations are going on right now for these channels. He wants to pay as little as possible! He's probably trying to get everything down to $9.99. So he is playing like he is in no hurry for HD - that the channels have little value/content now and he is willing to wait a couple years. It will all turn out ok, he won't let DirecTV upstage him.

[Curtis0620]

Too late they already have.

[Mike123abc]

Originally posted by Curtis0620
Too late they already have.

Actually they have not. All they have done is put out a press release. When July 1st rolls around and DirecTV starts with ESPN-HD and Dish is still not talking, then DirecTV will be upstaging them. DirecTV has announce only one more channel than Dish has announce... ESPN-HD.

DirecTV is in a bind, they have to be first to announce the HDTV because they are very badwidth limited. But, as in the past Dish will probably not take advantage of the situation.

With the exception of ESPN-HD Dish has announce carriage of every channel currently available in HDTV. The only real question is when they will be available.

[raj2001]

Originally posted by Scott Greczkowski
I honestly don't care for sports so I don't care for ESPN-HD however I was hoping for a firm date for the addition of the two new HDNet Channels.

The channels were announced on May 1st and yet still not firm start date, while DirecTV on the other hand announced a full HD package with start date.

My feeling is if Charlie could not announce a start date for HDnet then perhaps he should have waited to announce it untill he did have a firm date.

So Scott, what do I get for being right? :D

Remember I was asking why you were so sure that DISH would come out first with all the HDTV channels?

I'm not bashing you or DISH, I just love to be right about these things.

[markh]

It's hard to believe the difference in the way D* and E* subs react to something like channel negotiations. Charlie says on a chat that FX might have to go away. Both groups of subs jump all over him for being cheap, stupid, etc.

D* issues press release awhile back saying PAX is going away. No reaction from E* subs, D* pom pommers say way to go, that channel is worthless anyway.

Reasonable question: why the difference in reaction?

[Steve Mehs]

Been wondering the same thing Mark, but I think it has something to do with the specific channel. Channels that Charlie announced could potentially be dropped were for the most part popular channels, while Pax, well, isn't. The channel is about 50% infomercials.

This is a catch 22, while I (in a way) appreciate being informed that a channel may be dropped, I don't think they should announce it like that. No need to air dirty laundry.

[Bob Haller]

Better to let a bandwith limited D put up its HD content then have E blow them away with more channels from a side slot.

D wouldnt have the room to add tons of HDs

Charlie will likely do this...

[edeclark]

I think I could hear the tension rise in the room when someone asked a HD question. A really dry chat to say the least.

I was also surprised that there was not even ONE LOCAL MARKET they had a launch date for. It was such a tradition for a long time....at least one announcement per chat. Now we don't see Chuck & Jim until August and they didn't say a word about Green Bay, Shreveport, Little Rock, Yakima, or Anchorage? I'll still assume that Green Bay is next but only because it was spotted in the Dishplayer hidden guide before it disappeared but I would've felt better had they announced a launch date.

[awax]

I was told by a station manager for KATV in Little Rock that June 26 is the launch date.

[Karl Foster]

Originally posted by markh
It's hard to believe the difference in the way D* and E* subs react to something like channel negotiations. Charlie says on a chat that FX might have to go away. Both groups of subs jump all over him for being cheap, stupid, etc.

D* issues press release awhile back saying PAX is going away. No reaction from E* subs, D* pom pommers say way to go, that channel is worthless anyway.

Reasonable question: why the difference in reaction?

Are you seriously comparing F/X to Pax? Pax runs infomercials most of the day, sometimes 16 hours or more. F/X runs syndicated series, movies, and original programming 19 hours per day. Many of us also have a local PaxTV, so losing the national feed (which we didn't lose anyway) is no big deal. :)

Crying wolf has become an art form for Dish Network. I wouldn't worry about losing F/X. It is just a scare tactic to get negotiations rolling. Not necessarily the best negotiating tactic in my book, but it seems to work for Dish Network just fine.

[kstevens]

man, I think I have to stop reading this board, it has become one gigantic whine session. If you don't like dish then go to D* and be done with it.

Ken

[Inundated]

For what it's worth, D* does actually carry a handful of local Pax affiliates as local channels. In my current home market of Cleveland/Akron, OH, they carry WVPX "Pax 23". I think they carry them primarily if there is any significant local programming... and here, "Pax 23" produces two half-hour segments of local news for the Akron part of the market daily (with the help of NBC affil WKYC/Cleveland).

I don't believe E* carries any Pax locals.

[jeffwtux]

Originally posted by markh
It's hard to believe the difference in the way D* and E* subs react to something like channel negotiations. Charlie says on a chat that FX might have to go away. Both groups of subs jump all over him for being cheap, stupid, etc.

D* issues press release awhile back saying PAX is going away. No reaction from E* subs, D* pom pommers say way to go, that channel is worthless anyway.

Reasonable question: why the difference in reaction?


Ohh, maybe F/X has better programming than Pax. PLUS, many people can get a PAX affiliate OTA, if they REALLY value it.

[jeffwtux]

Originally posted by kstevens
man, I think I have to stop reading this board, it has become one gigantic whine session. If you don't like dish then go to D* and be done with it.

Ken

Many people on this board have lots of ClubDish credits and would be stupid to switch when they are getting significantly discounted programming. For many people, ClubDish is the ultimate trump card(or gray card as they now are) that makes Dish better no matter what.

[DevoDave]

Charlie Chuckles that extoll the virtues of cricket month after month but wonders aloud if anyone will ever buy an HD set is seriously out of touch with a growing and demanding market segment. Dish used to be a leader, but like many others here, doubts are creeping in. No good news in months from Dish, how discouraging.

Can you imagine the backlog when serious HD gear is released from Dish? Get in line and gently tap foot while supply creeps up to meet demand.

Hold the ladder for me while I place a large HD antenna in the yard, no compression artifacts, no waiting, no fuss, no fees.

Quick Charlie, change gears.

Dave

[Darkman]

i personally do not give a "flying kite" 'bout HD neither (for now anyhow)...

And...... Lay Off TONY!!!!

[Darkman]

Originally posted by awax
I was told by a station manager for KATV in Little Rock that June 26 is the launch date.

Makes sense... as it is listed as "Q2 launch" Local market after all...

On a different note - for those that rather not see Charlie Chat on the Air any longer from now on - easy solution:

Just do not watch 'em... Tune to something else, and pretend that the Chats are off the Air permanently...
The rest can continue to watch 'em Chats (as always)....
Nobody is making anyone to watch 'em Chats (and that's the bottom line, cuz......Stone Cold....LOL)
:hi:

[toddjb]

Originally posted by Mike123abc


DirecTV has announce only one more channel than Dish has announce... ESPN-HD. ...

With the exception of ESPN-HD Dish has announce carriage of every channel currently available in HDTV. The only real question is when they will be available.

Good point. I'd say it actually isn't that critical, first, like Scott, I don't care too much about the sports channels AND I'd say most big sports hounds will already be on D* because of their NFL ticket. So I don't see it swaying over many new customers.

I'm just hoping you are correct and E* is playing dumb to negotiate the lowest rate. I really wish they'd figure out a way to get us more HDTV channels (and locals in particular). I have a 61" HD monitor sitting at home that I don't take advantage of because nobody is offering me good content! I bought it 2 years ago and had figured that by now someone :shrug: would have better HDTV options. (have so far resisted OTA because I didn't want to install the antenna and mess with a second receiver)

-todd

[BobMurdoch]

Originally posted by TNGTony
But in your case I guess just using the ignore feature on this board will have to suffice.

[wont]
See ya
Tony

OK, I'll bite.... what is an ignore feature? You mean there is a way I could have saved myself from Hector's comments all this time?:scratch:

[TNGTony]

Bob,

Click on "user CP" at the top of this window and then "edit ignore list".

JB,

LOL! TNN will generally send me off on a tirade ([best homer simpson voice] Stupid info bar), but that isn't Dish's doing. The 4 letters Z'Loth is talking about are the call letters to a certain local UPN affiliate Dish doesn't carry for no good reason other than they don't have to. They are the ONLY multi-channel carrier in the city that doesn't.

See ya
Tony

[Jacob S]

I also think that this is just a way for Dish to scare the channel provider into having better negotiations. He has done this with ABC Family Channel, SpeedVision, among others. They are still on the air, they always negotiated succesfully. They just do this to get subscribers to contact the stations and complain and to show the stations that they mean business to get a better deal even if its not the deal they wanted.

The thing is Direct may not use this tactic this way to do this, and just make it between them and the channel provider where Dish makes it more public. If Direct does not do this as Dish does then perhaps we should wonder why Dish is the same price as Direct when Direct has the same channels that dish would drop while keeping the price the same. It would make you think that Dish just wants more money in their pockets if they cannot carry a channel that Direct does.

Both providers did have a problem with ABC Family Channel.

[edeclark]

WBQC.

(duck & run, duck & run!)

[Darkman]

what about WBQC?

[TNGTony]

Those are the magic four letters! ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG :D

[Darkman]

hehe - but that didn't really answer my question :)

(and i am too lazy currently to go look it up) :)

[Darkman]

hehe - figures:
"WBQC - UPN 25 - Cincinnati, OH"

lol

P.S. http://www.wbqc.com/ :)

[TNGTony]

ARRRRRRRRGH!....

[Darkman]

Who let "Arrgh, Arrgh" out! :)

[Timco]

Darkman, why are you getting Tony all worked up?
He'll get angry and you won't like him when he gets angry. :)

[Maniacal1]

I like WBQC in Cincinnati. Loni Anderson was really hot back then.

[TNGTony]

Timco...I reminded of what "comic-book guy" once said in a Simpsons episode. "Oh, you couldn't even turn into Bill Bixby!"

See ya
Tony

[Richard King]

I like WBQC in Cincinnati. Loni Anderson was really hot back then.I thought she was at WKRP. :D Loni is a native of Roseville, Minnesota.

[BobMurdoch]

I think he was attempting to make a funnie......

<Truck Horn - "HONK HONK">

Comedy coming through!