Interesting Idea: New Sports Pack???

[Adam Richey]

Hello everybody. I was just sitting here thinking about all of the "high-quality" channels that Dish Network has recently added, a la Catalog TV and the upcoming Bingo TV. I had an idea. I'm sure all of you know that DirecTV's Sports Pack is considered a premium pack and costs $12 a month. Dish Network keeps their Sports Pack at $5.99 a month and offers FAR less channels, including several that have been HIGHLY requested. Some of you may know what I'm getting at, but I suggest that Dish KEEP the $5.99 package with the basic RSN's and ADD a new Multi Sports Pack for say $10 a month. It's still $2 cheaper than DirecTV's, and they would be able to add nearly all of the channels that have been requested. Many of you may say, "how many channels could I get for an extra $4?" Well, I've included a list below, and this new $10 pack would include ALL of the channels in the smaller one too.

Blackbelt TV (ONCE LAUNCHED) - http://www.blackbelttv.com
I've already seen some requests for this one. Unique programming that I don't think is available ANYWHERE else.

College Sports TV - http://www.cstv.com
This is the my 2nd most wanted channel on Dish Network. I think College Sports TV is the #1 most requested channel for Dish to add right now.

Cox Sports TV - http://www.cox.com/louisiana/coxsportstv/
This one stands a chance since it's NOT like the Comcast SportsNet Philly. Louisiana sports fans would probably REALLY like this one.

Fuel - http://www.fuel.tv
This is the channel I want the most on Dish Network. I would really like Trio and Good Life, but this channel looks AWESOME.

Horse Racing TV - http://www.hr.tv/index.php
Few of you have probably heard of this channel, but it offers a nice alternative to TV Games Network.

NFL Network - http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/
Another football network, but I think the other one sounds more interesting. We all know Dish ain't getting Sunday Ticket for a while, so this would be GREAT bone to throw customers who have been loyal enough to wait for something that will probably never happen.

NHL Network (ONCE LAUNCHED) - http://www.tsn.ca/nhl_network/
Since Dish already carries Center Ice, I don't see how this would be much of a problem.

Sportsman Channel - http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com
I am sure there are MORE than enough outdoor enthusiasts on Dish Network to make this channel worth adding. It has been uplinked for who knows how long, and for what????

Tennis Channel - http://www.thetennischannel.com
I've seen a few requests for this. It definitely looks like a must for any tennis fans.

Victory Sports One - http://www.victorysports.tv
This probably could be in the $5.99 pack if Dish worked hard enough, but this could add more appeal to the package for Minnesota residents.

YES Network - http://www.yesnetwork.com
I am not sure what pricing structure YES wants with Dish, but if it's $1 per customer who accesses it, I don't see why this wouldn't work? The other channels I've suggested are probably no where NEAR that expensive. If it's anything other than that, then I can see why Dish DOESN'T want this.

I think that all of these services (minus YES and VSO for out-of-area subscribers) would be a GREAT deal for even $11 a month. Those who don't want it could always stick with the $5.99 pack too. Why not? Anybody have any reasons BESIDES that Dish Network is too worried about locals and shopping channels? I think it's a pretty good idea myself.

[Adam Richey]

I forgot about the upcoming Wheels channel and maybe Golden Sports TV, if they can ever get off the ground.

[JohnH]

Not a bad idea, but you are saying DISH Network should offer more channels than DirecTV for what in some cases is less money.

The last price I heard for YES was $1.85. It seemed as though they wanted it to be in AT50 at least for all of the Yankees territory. There was some indication they wanted the fee for all subscribers, but that seems ridiculous since not all 9 Million or whatever would be able to receive the content.

While The Sportsman Channel was up there for a while, it has been replaced by the CBS O&O card which is there in case there is a breakdown. The Sportsman Channel may be up there somewhere, but it has not been reported.

[Richard King]

I believe they carried Horse Racing Tv for a short time, but dropped it some time ago. If this is the same channel, it was actually 3 or 4 channels covering live racing from around the country.

How about the Chess channel? :D

[TonyM]

I like the NHL network on ExpressVu. At night they go around to all the games and show bits & pieces of them (sometimes up until a commercial break). When a goal is scored, you see it within minutes.

Victory Sports is going to have to come down from what they want for money....2.20 per subscriber!!!! They are only on rinky dink cable companies in MN (none in the Twin Cities). Their subscriber base is around 70,000 right now. They arent on any of the big players (Time Warner, Concast, Charter, Mediacomm) and last I heard, they broke off talks with "The biggest cable & satellite player", which would mean Concast & Direct.

[bryan92]

I would like CSTV also. I remember Charlie saying a few months back that he did not think many Dish customers would like to watch lesser university's sports on television. I knew then I would never see it. What about 1AA football. Harvard and Colgate are not lesser university's. Yea, I know but we get the point.

I edited this post to include this email. I sent ol' charlie an email after his comments on charlie chat. This is the email I got back:

Thank you for your feedback, currently we are in negotiations with CSTV now
and are considering launch of the service during the 1st Quarter of 2004 if
we can reach an agreement on fair terms.

If you have further concerns please feel free to contact me

Sincerely,

Denise LeBoeuf
Customer Resolution Specialist
Denise.leboeuf@echostar.com

[Chris Freeland]

Hello everybody. I was just sitting here thinking about all of the "high-quality" channels that Dish Network has recently added, a la Catalog TV and the upcoming Bingo TV. I had an idea. I'm sure all of you know that DirecTV's Sports Pack is considered a premium pack and costs $12 a month. Dish Network keeps their Sports Pack at $5.99 a month and offers FAR less channels, including several that have been HIGHLY requested. Some of you may know what I'm getting at, but I suggest that Dish KEEP the $5.99 package with the basic RSN's and ADD a new Multi Sports Pack for say $10 a month. It's still $2 cheaper than DirecTV's, and they would be able to add nearly all of the channels that have been requested. Many of you may say, "how many channels could I get for an extra $4?" Well, I've included a list below, and this new $10 pack would include ALL of the channels in the smaller one too.

Blackbelt TV (ONCE LAUNCHED) - http://www.blackbelttv.com
I've already seen some requests for this one. Unique programming that I don't think is available ANYWHERE else.

College Sports TV - http://www.cstv.com
This is the my 2nd most wanted channel on Dish Network. I think College Sports TV is the #1 most requested channel for Dish to add right now.

Cox Sports TV - http://www.cox.com/louisiana/coxsportstv/
This one stands a chance since it's NOT like the Comcast SportsNet Philly. Louisiana sports fans would probably REALLY like this one.

Football Network - http://www.footballnetwork.com
Okay people. This is football 24/7. Enough said.

Fuel - http://www.fuel.tv
This is the channel I want the most on Dish Network. I would really like Trio and Good Life, but this channel looks AWESOME.

Horse Racing TV - http://www.hr.tv/index.php
Few of you have probably heard of this channel, but it offers a nice alternative to TV Games Network.

NFL Network - http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/
Another football network, but I think the other one sounds more interesting. We all know Dish ain't getting Sunday Ticket for a while, so this would be GREAT bone to throw customers who have been loyal enough to wait for something that will probably never happen.

NHL Network (ONCE LAUNCHED) - http://www.tsn.ca/nhl_network/
Since Dish already carries Center Ice, I don't see how this would be much of a problem.

Sportsman Channel - http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com
I am sure there are MORE than enough outdoor enthusiasts on Dish Network to make this channel worth adding. It has been uplinked for who knows how long, and for what????

Tennis Channel - http://www.thetennischannel.com
I've seen a few requests for this. It definitely looks like a must for any tennis fans.

Victory Sports One - http://www.victorysports.tv
This probably could be in the $5.99 pack if Dish worked hard enough, but this could add more appeal to the package for Minnesota residents.

YES Network - http://www.yesnetwork.com
I am not sure what pricing structure YES wants with Dish, but if it's $1 per customer who accesses it, I don't see why this wouldn't work? The other channels I've suggested are probably no where NEAR that expensive. If it's anything other than that, then I can see why Dish DOESN'T want this.

I think that all of these services (minus YES and VSO for out-of-area subscribers) would be a GREAT deal for even $11 a month. Those who don't want it could always stick with the $5.99 pack too. Why not? Anybody have any reasons BESIDES that Dish Network is too worried about locals and shopping channels? I think it's a pretty good idea myself.

I like this idea too, perhaps it could be called the Sports Plus pack or Multi-Sports Plus and go for perhaps $9.99/mo or $10.99/mo like you said, when added to AT60Plus or AT120, or at a discount when added to AT180, perhaps $7.99/mo or $8.99/mo and since Sports Plus would also include the RSN's, make it available to AEP subs for the same $5.99/mo that E* currently charges for just the Multi-Sports package by itself, this way AEP subs would get the extra channels at no additional charge as a bonus. Since many of these channels are cheap, some of them could also be available in AT180 too and perhaps Golf, Outdoor Channel and FoxSportsWorld could be included too since AT180 subs would get a discount on these channels, and it would make the package even more like the D* sports pack.

[jrbdmb]

Don't forget to add Fox Sports West 2. It is currently carried by Dish, but not in the Sports Pack.

[TonyM]

FSW2 is on spotbeam right now...I think that was some agreement with Dish & FSN to get FSW2 on Dish a while back.

[Bobby94928]

Don't forget to add Fox Sports West 2. It is currently carried by Dish, but not in the Sports Pack.

FSW2 is on spot beam and only available in the Los Angeles DMA. That was part of their contract.

[Adam Richey]

Richard, I know the channels you were talking about. Horse Racing TV has never been carried by Dish Network. This is just one channel. Even without Victory Sports One or YES, I still think this package would be a good deal. I just suggested the $10 price but even $11 means it's a buck cheaper since I KNOW Dish is always trying to one-up DirecTV and usually fails miserably. This might just work. LOL

[DCSholtis]

According to a story in today's Philly Inquirer, The Football Network went dark in December and most employees were furloughed. Hopes are that it will be revived in the spring.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/7820508.htm

[FTA Michael]

I was expecting something in between at rate increase time. I figured Charlie would add College Sports TV, the Tennis Channel, and maybe the NFL Channel to the Sports Pack and raise its price by $2/month or so. Sports folks would get some requested channels, and E* would have higher margins on all sports pack subs.

Considering Denise LeBoeuf's response, maybe this will all happen in a few months?

[jrbdmb]

FSW2 is on spot beam and only available in the Los Angeles DMA. That was part of their contract.At $11 a sub for the proposed new Sports Pack they can renegotiate the contract. ;)

[Adam Richey]

I wouldn't mind seeing Fox Sports West 2, but most of the quality stuff would be blacked out. I think Dish needs to do SOMETHING in terms of new quality programming because Dish is becoming what it was when it first started out: a second-rate company that is trying to keep up with DirecTV. I did say BECOMING, so I'm not trying to start a company war. LOL. I'm a Dish subscriber, but DirecTV seems to have a much more focused and customer-friendly agenda for the coming months.

[FTA Michael]

When it comes to new programming, I think Dish has stopped trying to satisfy 100% of its customers. I think Dish's main goal is profits, and if that means dropping the folks who would switch over Oxygen or College Sports, they'll accept that. Dish's focus is new locals (which add lots of subscribers in the new market) and revenue-generating channels (shopping, international, and that g--awful Bingo).

[Adam Richey]

I was surfing all of my old posts, and I found this bad boy. I figured I'd bring it out. Anybody else think a sports pack like this would be a good idea? This would, like I've said before, be a compliment to the $6 sports pack.

[Roger]

Adam wrote:

"I wouldn't mind seeing Fox Sports West 2"

Do you mean to tell me that E* still doesn't have this channel after all these years?

A sports pack is pretty worthless IMO because everything good will be blacked out. I use to subscribe to the sports pack just to see ECW wrestling on MSG and another channel because I couldn't see it any other way.

[ypsiguy]

I would like CSTV also. I remember Charlie saying a few months back that he did not think many Dish customers would like to watch lesser university's sports on television. I knew then I would never see it. What about 1AA football. Harvard and Colgate are not lesser university's. Yea, I know but we get the point.

I edited this post to include this email. I sent ol' charlie an email after his comments on charlie chat. This is the email I got back:

Thank you for your feedback, currently we are in negotiations with CSTV now
and are considering launch of the service during the 1st Quarter of 2004 if
we can reach an agreement on fair terms.

If you have further concerns please feel free to contact me

Sincerely,

Denise LeBoeuf
Customer Resolution Specialist
Denise.leboeuf@echostar.com

Ditto here, bring on CSTV. They have Univ of Mich hockey games. :D

[Adam Richey]

Most of the channels I suggested for this new pack are NOT regional sports networks, and would not be blacked out though.

[jrbdmb]

Adam wrote:

"I wouldn't mind seeing Fox Sports West 2"

Do you mean to tell me that E* still doesn't have this channel after all these years?

A sports pack is pretty worthless IMO because everything good will be blacked out. I use to subscribe to the sports pack just to see ECW wrestling on MSG and another channel because I couldn't see it any other way.Fox Sports West 2 would be one of the better RSNs in the Multi-Sport because it shows a lot of USC and UCLA football / basketball that is not on any other RSN. These games are not part of the ESPN packages and should generally be blackout free. A (small) bonus would be Mighty Ducks and Clippers replays, and the end of Dodger games that run over three hours.

[amit5roy5]

DISH should return to its old goal to satisfy 100% of thier customers. Not the majority. People won't care that a channel was added that they won't watch. Even if 5% want the channel, it is still a large number.

[TNGTony]

DISH should return to its old goal to satisfy 100% of thier customers. Not the majority. People won't care that a channel was added that they won't watch. Even if 5% want the channel, it is still a large number.

What's the old phrase?

You can please some of the people all of the time.
You can please all of the people some of the time.
But you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Sure beats the other old saying:
You can pick your friends.
You can pick your nose.
But don't pick your friends' noses.

See ya
Tony

[James Long]

DISH should return to its old goal to satisfy 100% of thier customers. Not the majority. People won't care that a channel was added that they won't watch. Even if 5% want the channel, it is still a large number.
Charging the 95% who don't want the channel is not satisfying to them.

JL

[amit5roy5]

But this is a brand new package.

Charging the 95% who don't want the channel is not satisfying to them.

JL

[James Long]

But this is a brand new package.
OK, spending time developing a package that is of no interest to 95% of customers is not satisfying. Spending time developing this package instead of getting other new channels on the air isn't satisfying.

No matter what you do you won't satisfy 100% of the customers - and if you add any channel or package requested you'll soon run out of space.

So lets allow them to satisfy 95% of their customers on a good day, and be glad that those who just want sports and those who want no sports can subsidise each other.

JL

[amit5roy5]

No, people won't care. I didn't get angry when AT150 was created. I just did not subscribe to it. You probably just don't watch sports.

[James Long]

Adding channels to AT180 and adding price to AT120 is not satisfying.

JL

[amit5roy5]

I agree with you for that. DISH hasn't added anything to AT120. It became a still package.

Adding channels to AT180 and adding price to AT120 is not satisfying.

JL