View Full Version : Free local channels
isantoso
07-01-06, 11:25 AM
I saw an ad on USA Today last Friday that from July 4th, DirecTV will no longer charge additional fee for local channels... Just wondering when Dish will follow :rolleyes:
jonsnow
07-01-06, 11:34 AM
Why in the wide world of sports are channels that are considered "public airways" and subject to government censorship, much like the way dish treats it's customers below at60, not free on satellite to begin with? Especiallly since it only really hurt the rural customers and not the city dwellers who can get very good ota signals. Time to switch to DirecTV.
Michael P
07-01-06, 12:03 PM
It costs E* and D* money - big money - to put the locals on satellite. Neither provider is a non-profit organization.
Not only dis they have to upgrade their satellite fleet with spot beam satellites, they also have to deal with the local station ownership groups, some of whom are arguably the greediest b@stards in the business.
If D* is "no longer charging" for locals, it only means that the cost for the locals are now included in their basic packages, which is exactly what cable systems have been doing all along.
While it's fine for a cable system to do this, keep in mind that neither provider had the locals up for every single market. What if you are a DBS customer in Glendive, MT (the smallest DMA in the nation) neither provider has that DMA. If the cost for locals are included in the package, you are getting gyped.
Slamminc11
07-01-06, 12:20 PM
Why in the wide world of sports are channels that are considered "public airways" and subject to government censorship, much like the way dish treats it's customers below at60, not free on satellite to begin with? Especiallly since it only really hurt the rural customers and not the city dwellers who can get very good ota signals. Time to switch to DirecTV.
Time to understand how the whole "local markets" thing works. Cable charges you for it, direct changes you for it, dish charges you for it. The difference is that Dish gives you the option on whether you really WANT to pay for it or not.
James Long
07-01-06, 12:42 PM
I saw an ad on USA Today last Friday that from July 4th, DirecTV will no longer charge additional fee for local channels... Just wondering when Dish will follow :rolleyes:Looks like marketing where locals are included with every package whether you want them or not. :D Forced purchase of locals in their 142 markets."If local channels are not available in your area, you can still enjoy TOTAL CHOICE programming for $3 less than the listed prices."Hopefully this will remain true for D* viewers.
E* has actually mentioned the contrary, saying that locals are a choice on their system and if you want to save $5 you don't have to buy them.
talk000
07-01-06, 01:55 PM
Actually, that does not sound free to me IF you get a discount for not taking them. Just more misleading news from Rupert and company
[QUOTE=James Long]Looks like marketing where locals are included with every package whether you want them or not. :D Forced purchase of locals in their 142 markets."If local channels are not available in your area, you can still enjoy TOTAL CHOICE programming for $3 less than the listed prices."Hopefully this will remain true for D* viewers.
Paul Secic
07-01-06, 02:17 PM
I saw an ad on USA Today last Friday that from July 4th, DirecTV will no longer charge additional fee for local channels... Just wondering when Dish will follow :rolleyes:
How I wish that was true. Local news is a joke & six Spanish stations, which I don't understand.
restart88
07-01-06, 03:49 PM
Everybody seems to be forgetting something about D*. All new receivers incur a $5 monthly lease fee, if I'm not mistaken. You can debate what's what, but in my book $5 is still $5 even if you switch what it's supposed to be going for to calling it something else.
I'd rather have Dish over Directv anyday. I have seen locals on their systems and the picture on some of them doesn't look that great at all. Dish network receivers have a much brighter color rich picture than Directv does. Everytime I visit my parents I think their Directv picture looks horrible compared with what I get with Dish.
restart88
07-01-06, 05:13 PM
I'd rather have Dish over Directv anyday. I have seen locals on their systems and the picture on some of them doesn't look that great at all. Dish network receivers have a much brighter color rich picture than Directv does. Everytime I visit my parents I think their Directv picture looks horrible compared with what I get with Dish.
I've actually had the opposite results.
Personally, I love the D* hardware and only need a single dish & LNB. But my E* setup has always given me fits, I think mainly because of the multi switches.
But as for locals, I think that goes pretty much market by market.
larrystotler
07-02-06, 09:59 PM
Uhhh, E* tried that with the DHAs. For over 2 years, if you were a DHA account, you HAD to have the locals. Only recently did they change that. So, for the Harrisonburg, VA DMA, you got nailed for an extra $5 a month for nothing. Old news. At least with E*, you can get just the locals for $5.99 + $5 per month. Basic cable here is $20 month, but they do offer Baltimore(2, 11, 13), Hagerstown(except MPT) and Harrisonburg(3, 51) locals for that.
Michael P
07-03-06, 10:56 AM
Dish network receivers have a much brighter color rich picture than Directv does. Everytime I visit my parents I think their Directv picture looks horrible compared with what I get with Dish.YMMV
What is perceived as the receiver's ability at color reproduction may actually be the monitor's ability. Unless you had both an E* and D* receiver set up side-by-side and conected to the same monitor doing an A/B compairison, your compairison is tainted. Even if your parent's had the same brand and model monitor, you still have to accouont for the affect of room lighting, etc. before your compairison can stand the test of scientific scrutiny.
Geronimo
07-03-06, 11:06 AM
Why in the wide world of sports are channels that are considered "public airways" and subject to government censorship, much like the way dish treats it's customers below at60, not free on satellite to begin with? Especiallly since it only really hurt the rural customers and not the city dwellers who can get very good ota signals. Time to switch to DirecTV.
theya re public airwaves so getting them free OTA makes sense. But asking a cable or satellite provider to put in all the infrsatructure for free does not make sense t me.
jonsnow
07-04-06, 06:09 PM
theya re public airwaves so getting them free OTA makes sense. But asking a cable or satellite provider to put in all the infrsatructure for free does not make sense t me.
That should be covered in the 6 dollar access fee.
Everybody seems to be forgetting something about D*. All new receivers incur a $5 monthly lease fee, if I'm not mistaken. You can debate what's what, but in my book $5 is still $5 even if you switch what it's supposed to be going for to calling it something else.
When you only have 1 receiver the lease fee is included in the package.
I've had both E*and D* locals and they look the same on my TV.
jonsnow
07-04-06, 07:59 PM
Right now the only thing stopping me from upgrading to the next higher tier and buying the family package is the 5.99 dollars a month in extra fees to receive my local stations which I am unable to get ota. It just makes economic sense for dish to concentrate on offering more low cost packages like the family package and by making the locals free they would create an incentive for people to upgrade and thereby increase profits. A good compromise would be to offer a American Top10 package(the ten most popular basic cable stations) for 19.99 with the locals included, a locals plus type of package. Anyhow the tv show 24 is worth the 11.99 a month for locals.
James Long
07-04-06, 11:07 PM
With DISHFamily or any of the AT or DishHD packs locals are only $5 more than the base. It would be nice to see them "free" but more likely we would see them "free" as D* is doing ... a required part of a higher priced base package.
I'll take them "free" at the w/o local price any day - but I believe that boat has sailed.
kenglish
07-05-06, 06:28 AM
Sounds like a great deal for the satellite companies..........
"Give" you your existing local channels for "free", so you won't bother with putting up an OTA antenna.
Then, as your OTA channels go digital, you will be more likely to pay the sat company for their single "HD" or "digital" channel of down-rezz'ed local TV, and you probably won't even realize that there are many more (and better quality) channels of free OTA out there.
Maybe the local stations should start a "plant a large tree in front of every home" campaign, and see if they can bluff people away from satellite. Call it a "public service", and let the games continue :) .
(BTW, I believe that E* once told me that the local POP equipment costs about 8 million dollars per market, by the time it's all up and working. Add the monthly costs of fiber optics and satellite time, and it does cost them money to provide the service. Only reason they both do locals is to compete with Cable's marketing ploy.)
Michael P
07-05-06, 11:51 AM
Maybe the local stations should start a "plant a large tree in front of every home" campaign, and see if they can bluff people away from satellite.That would backfire on the local stations. Today the local stations get $$ for every satellite subscriber (unless they chose must-carry). For every OTA viewer they get 0$. Even if, for some strange reason, they wanted more OTA viewers, the leaves on the trees would mess up reception of UHF signals, then all you would receive reliabily wuld be the upper VHF stations.
I saw an ad on USA Today last Friday that from July 4th, DirecTV will no longer charge additional fee for local channels... Just wondering when Dish will follow :rolleyes:They aren't charging for locals because they reworked the price structure of the Total Choice packages to include them. You can have them taken out and they may give you a $3 credit. This was something that happened during the last price reconfiguration some months ago.
Geronimo
07-05-06, 01:29 PM
That should be covered in the 6 dollar access fee.
It is not. They charge separately for it. That's how it is.
ban_cable
07-10-06, 06:39 PM
Direct TV cost way more than Dish. 1 more additional tv, $5.00 already. How about getting cable back, unlimited TVs
Ther is no such thing as FREE TV.
FTA Michael
07-10-06, 09:57 PM
Sure there is. There are over-the-air broadcasters and FTA satellite channels. If you don't want the great pay-TV channels, you can always unsubscribe from their providers and get a fair amount of entertainment for free.
Signed, an AT180, Sports Pack subscriber. :D
ban_cable
07-10-06, 10:29 PM
Ther is no such thing as FREE TV.
Yes there is. Plug in your television, hook up the tv antenna and FREE TV, the local channels.
James Long
07-10-06, 10:48 PM
* Television and suitable antenna not included. Purchase of an OTA tuner box may be required for certain televisions. OTA stations may not be available in all areas, check AntennaWeb (http://www.antennaweb.org/) for details. Digital OTA stations may not be avaliable in HD in many areas. See specific market threads (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45) at AVSForum (http://www.avsforum.com/) for details. Satellite viewing options require equipment that will need to be purchased and maintained. Check our FTA Forum (http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=67) for details. Cost for electricity not included in any option given. Check providers for local rates or seek alternative electrical sources.
Free TV!!! Somebody has to buy this stuff they are hawking. Major Funding provided by Power Tool Heaven, Pull the Wool Carpeting, Coverup Paints and People like YOU!! View Screen available at your Moth and Rust doth corrupt Welfare Outlet.
kenglish
07-11-06, 08:50 AM
Of course, with a DVR, you don't even have to watch the commercials anymore. So, in essence, you get plenty of expensive programming absolutely FREE.
"Free" being defined as "letting someone else pay for it". :)
I went to a yard sale the other day and they had a Free TV...
Jason Nipp
07-11-06, 06:19 PM
Direct TV cost way more than Dish. 1 more additional TV, $5.00 already. How about getting cable back, unlimited TVsUnless you have digital Cable and/or the cable HDTV service tier, then your renting additional STB's that is contrary to your example. Plus there's other fee's depending on who the service provider is. I can vividly recall my cable days when I paid $6 /mo rental for each of 3 STB's and an additional $1 /mo rental for each remote. YMMV.
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