War heats up: Dish's latest ad

[Davenlr]

Ok, so the dueling widescreen TVs are at it again, this time is DISH blasting DIRECTV and listing a scrolling list of paid celebrities that have been featured in DIRECTV advertisements, and claiming they (DISH) are cheaper because DIRECTV is wasting money on celebrity spokepersons.

A logical person would think those celebrities probably did those commercials in exchange for free service, or something that wouldnt affect the cost of programming, since the budgets for advertising are more than likely not tied to the cost of the service... But the ad sure made it sound that way.

Wonder how DIRECTV will counter this time? Reminds me of several years ago where there was an ongoing commercial, where you actually looked forward to seeing the next one...sort of a 30 second soap opera.

[masterdeals]

You really think ANY of those celebrities did it for free service, please, not happing. I feel 100% confident that they were paid, and paid significantly more than the cost of a titanium package. If anything, service could be a throwin.

[Jason Whiddon]

:new_sleep

[Davenlr]

In any case, I dont believe the paid endorsements are the cause of our $5 price increase, as Dish seems to be implying.

[jsquash]

Dish is just jealous because they cant afford to hire the celebrities to do commercials because they spend all their money paying lawyers to fight lawsuits.

[hilmar2k]

You also have to count the added subs that a high quality ad campaign brings in. DIRECTV would not have a marketing campaign that cost more money than the added revenue brought in by that campaign. If anything, it would reduce cost to us, not increase.

[gfrang]

I am sure a lot of it is tax deductible.

[BattleZone]

You also have to count the added subs that a high quality ad campaign brings in. DIRECTV would not have a marketing campaign that cost more money than the added revenue brought in by that campaign. If anything, it would reduce cost to us, not increase.

Exactly. DirecTV positioned itself as a higher-end service and sought to attract higher-end customers, and DirecTV's performance during this recession has certainly demonstrated the wisdom of that approach. DirecTV's profits remain high and they've continued record growth while most companies are downsizing or going bankrupt.

Dish positioned itself as the "low-price leader", attracting the lower-end customer, and that strategy has really come back to hurt Dish during the recession, as many of their customers left, either to a lower-priced competitor (usually a phone company) or canceling pay TV altogether. They continue with this strategy today, though the new pricing is going to make Dish the more expensive option for many people going forward.

Dish has a very good product, but I can't figure out the marketing; it's never made sense to me. DirecTV clearly knows exactly how to market their service, and the numbers bear that out.

[jsquash]

The way I have seen it, the bottom line price for programming is usually close. No more than a $5 a month difference between any of the available options that I have. I have had U-verse, Dish and D*. I have also checked into Time-Warner Cable. The costs are not that much different. The difference comes in what programming is available. Basic channels, premium movie channels and sports options are the main difference that end up making the decision for me. They all have advertising budgets and are going to spend according to what kind of return they get for their money. D* sees celebrities as a good investment. Dish normally just tries to talk bad about the completion. This is just the way I see it. The lawyer thing was just a joke by the way.

[tech24218]

Wonder how DIRECTV will counter this time? .

A lot more peyton manning talking about how directv is the champion of satlite/ football broadcasting. the whole time he will be holding up the lumbardy trophy as manning ad nausea goes full blown when the colts win the super bowl

[RAD]

Swanni today actually called out Dish's ad as a bit of BS. His point was that DirecTV has NFL Sunday Ticket (he also didn't mention MLB-EI) package which can add $300 -> $400/year to a customers bill which skew's the numbers for ARPU. I also wonder how the numbers would look if Dish wasn't giving away the store for awhile, like Cinemax for $0.01 for a year deal, to try to stop the subscriber losses they had for a few quarters.

[harsh]

You also have to count the added subs that a high quality ad campaign brings in.The neat thing about advertising is that you don't know until a promotion is over whether or not it brought in more than it cost.

[harsh]

Exactly. DirecTV positioned itself as a higher-end service and sought to attract higher-end customers, and DirecTV's performance during this recession has certainly demonstrated the wisdom of that approach. DirecTV's profits remain high and they've continued record growth while most companies are downsizing or going bankrupt.

Dish positioned itself as the "low-price leader", attracting the lower-end customer, and that strategy has really come back to hurt Dish during the recession, as many of their customers left, either to a lower-priced competitor (usually a phone company) or canceling pay TV altogether. They continue with this strategy today, though the new pricing is going to make Dish the more expensive option for many people going forward.The results from Q3 2009 don't bear out your argument. We'll see in two weeks whether DIRECTV thinks what they were doing in Q4 2009 paid off.

[evan_s]

Advertising is advertising. Dish spends money on it too and they are raising their rates too.

I still don't think Dish's campaign focusing on being cheaper is really the best idea. For satellite, where you have a high initial cost, it doesn't seem like a good match to be going for the customers that are just looking for the best deal. Those tend to focus on the cheaper packages, they are more likely to have problems maintaining the service or just drop it completely and are most likely to jump on the next good deal as soon as they can. These all don't work well with a high initial cost.

[matt]

I thought it was funny that E* claims their (IMHO lame) receivers that have the additional SD output over coax is MRV and D* doesn't offer MRV.

There are going to be some unhappy people when they realize they signed a contract for non-HD MRV when D* gets theirs official.

[Max Mike]

That is funny... a "higher-end service" with inferior HD programing... funny.

At least you stubble on it in the end... DirecTV is all about marketing. DirecTV would lie to its mother if it were not a motherless bastard.

Exactly. DirecTV positioned itself as a higher-end service and sought to attract higher-end customers, and DirecTV's performance during this recession has certainly demonstrated the wisdom of that approach. DirecTV's profits remain high and they've continued record growth while most companies are downsizing or going bankrupt.

Dish positioned itself as the "low-price leader", attracting the lower-end customer, and that strategy has really come back to hurt Dish during the recession, as many of their customers left, either to a lower-priced competitor (usually a phone company) or canceling pay TV altogether. They continue with this strategy today, though the new pricing is going to make Dish the more expensive option for many people going forward.

Dish has a very good product, but I can't figure out the marketing; it's never made sense to me. DirecTV clearly knows exactly how to market their service, and the numbers bear that out.

[BattleZone]

The results from Q3 2009 don't bear out your argument. We'll see in two weeks whether DIRECTV thinks what they were doing in Q4 2009 paid off.

DirecTV announced at the beginning of Q2 09 that they were going to be purposely reducing their advertising and promotions to slow growth after having an industry-record 1st quarter. Their numbers reflect that. I wouldn't read too much into it.

[dlt4]

A lot more peyton manning talking about how directv is the champion of satlite/ football broadcasting. the whole time he will be holding up the lumbardy trophy as manning ad nausea goes full blown when the colts win the super bowl

Fine with me! :)

[Hoosier205]

That is funny... a "higher-end service" with inferior HD programing... funny.

At least you stubble on it in the end... DirecTV is all about marketing. DirecTV would lie to its mother if it were not a motherless bastard.

Inferior HD programming? :rolleyes:

[HarleyD]

Inferior HD programming? :rolleyes:

What the Klingon says is unimportant and we do not hear his words.

[drpjr]

What the Klingon says is unimportant and we do not hear his words.

It just hit me how big of a nerd I am because that's funny!:lol:

[JoeTheDragon]

Ok, so the dueling widescreen TVs are at it again, this time is DISH blasting DIRECTV and listing a scrolling list of paid celebrities that have been featured in DIRECTV advertisements, and claiming they (DISH) are cheaper because DIRECTV is wasting money on celebrity spokepersons.

A logical person would think those celebrities probably did those commercials in exchange for free service, or something that wouldnt affect the cost of programming, since the budgets for advertising are more than likely not tied to the cost of the service... But the ad sure made it sound that way.

Wonder how DIRECTV will counter this time? Reminds me of several years ago where there was an ongoing commercial, where you actually looked forward to seeing the next one...sort of a 30 second soap opera.

They should say while DISH says they have a lot of HD what they don't tell you is they don't Have MLB network , MLB EI, and RSN are not in HD 24/7 limited Regional Sports Alternate HD over flows.

[Jeremy W]

That is funny... a "higher-end service" with inferior HD programing... funny.
DirecTV has chosen to favor picture quality over channel quantity, and so their HD channel expansion has to wait until their new satellite is operational, which will be within the next few months. Personally, I am glad DirecTV has taken this route, instead of down-rezzing like they used to, and like Dish does now. I can wait a little while longer for the new channels, if it means that the ones I do have will continue to have superior PQ.

[xmguy]

Reminds me of the ad fighting between Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless.

[paulman182]

Perhaps Dish Network would like to show their superiority even more by ceasing to advertise at all.

[Herdfan]

Advertising is advertising. Dish spends money on it too and they are raising their rates too.

Yep! They have probably spent more on billboards around here than D* has spent on celebraties.

[harsh]

Perhaps Dish Network would like to show their superiority even more by ceasing to advertise at all.As long as one competitor claims to offer bestest or mostest, the other guy will have to respond.

Advertising principles dictate that you have to keep your name in front of potential customers or they will forget about you.

[paulman182]

As long as one competitor claims to offer bestest or mostest, the other guy will have to respond.

Advertising principles dictate that you have to keep your name in front of potential customers or they will forget about you.

I was trying to be humerously sarcastic.

I'm a firm believer that "Advertising doesn't cost, it pays."

[Hutchinshouse]

Last night I saw a DIRECTV commercial. They stated they "now" have the capacity for 200 channels. They did NOT say “soon”. I replayed the commercial to be sure. I guess it’s OK to flat out lie. :nono:

Truth --->:kickbutt:<--- DIRECTV

[harsh]

DirecTV has chosen to favor picture quality over channel quantity, and so their HD channel expansion has to wait until their new satellite is operational, which will be within the next few months.DIRECTV only recently began making qualitative comparisons (PQ) as opposed to quantitative comparisons (channel count). The new satellite capacity claims show a renewed interest in channel counts.

[Hoosier205]

DIRECTV only recently began making qualitative comparisons (PQ) as opposed to quantitative comparisons (channel count). The new satellite capacity claims show a renewed interest in channel counts.

I believe this (http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=101) is what you are looking for. Think of that link as a map that will help guide you home.

[Hutchinshouse]

DIRECTV only recently began making qualitative comparisons (PQ) as opposed to quantitative comparisons (channel count). The new satellite capacity claims show a renewed interest in channel counts.

Oh yeah, we have more channels than DISH, EEEERRRRRRRRR I mean more capacity. Our capacity is well endowed. :lol:

[Jeremy W]

DIRECTV only recently began making qualitative comparisons (PQ) as opposed to quantitative comparisons (channel count). The new satellite capacity claims show a renewed interest in channel counts.
Ummm, no kidding. What I'm saying is that they're not so interested in number of channels that they've sacrificed the PQ on the current ones. They could have easily cut the bitrates and stuffed more channels on D10 and D11, but they didn't. They elected to go the proper route and launched a new satellite to give them more capacity.

[mikeny]

No Christina pics?

[dubber deux]

Not that I am a fan of any pay service provider anymore yet you gotta admit that all I see from D* fanbois (PR people) are cheap shots in reply, nothing to counter the issue....on this issue....

E* wins by a country mile!:icon_da:

[Jeremy W]

nothing to counter the issue
You can only counter rational arguments. Irrational idiocy like this doesn't even deserve a response.

[elaclair]

What the Klingon says is unimportant and we do not hear his words.

It just hit me how big of a nerd I am because that's funny!:lol:



And I just realized that not only do I think the quote is funny, I know the episode it came from, when it aired, and who the main guest star was.....:nono2:

[RAD]

According to http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/02/05/dish-network-pulls-ad-questioning-celebrity-endorsements/

"Satellite-TV company Dish Network has yanked a TV commercial that criticized celebrity endorsements for rival DirecTV, after some of the famous names complained."

[dubber deux]

According to http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/02/05/dish-network-pulls-ad-questioning-celebrity-endorsements/:

"Satellite-TV company Dish Network has yanked a TV commercial that criticized celebrity endorsements for rival DirecTV, after some of the famous names complained."


As of 645 pm EST that very ad is STILL airing on my D* TV haha!:righton:

I clicked on your link but nothing came up.

[RAD]

I clicked on your link but nothing came up.

Don't know what happened with the cut/paste, fixed it and works now.