DBSTalk Forum banner
Cancel

DirecTV HD Competition

6569 Views 85 Replies 31 Participants Last post by  kal915, 
Brent04
Noticed that DirecTV has updated their website and removed DishNetwork from their HD Competition statement.

Sky Azure Font Line Rectangle

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 86 Posts
harsh
The difference in channel count is now so small that it can no longer be considered a stomp.
Reply
Save
Like
Sixto
Brent04 said:
Noticed that DirecTV has updated their website and removed DishNetwork from their HD Competition statement.
Click to expand...
It just might return on Thursday! :)
Reply
Save
Like
Q
Sixto said:
It just might return on Thursday! :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I figure they'll add 20 channels on Thursday (The 12 full time RSNs + the 4 "announced" nationals+ 4 PPVs) to beat E* by 1, then in their note again add that E* counts part time channels and, now, VOD. I'm surprised that D* actually acknowledged E* current "superiority" by taking the comparison down.
Reply
Save
Like
jdspencer
I couldn't care less which company is leading. I have too much invested in equipment to worry about the small stuff. :)
Reply
Save
Like
Q
jdspencer said:
I couldn't care less which company is leading. I have too much invested in equipment to worry about the small stuff. :)
Click to expand...
I mostly agree. Unless one provider has one of your "must have" channels and the other doesn't, it's pointless to switch based on channel count.
Reply
Save
Like
cartrivision
QuickDrop said:
Yeah, I figure they'll add 20 channels on Thursday (The 12 full time RSNs + the 4 "announced" nationals+ 4 PPVs) to beat E* by 1, then in their note again add that E* counts part time channels and, now, VOD. I'm surprised that D* actually acknowledged E* current "superiority" by taking the comparison down.
Click to expand...
More than 20. DirecTV said last week that the the HD total will be at least 130 on Thursday which is an addition of at least 35 over their current count of 95 HD channels.
Reply
Save
Like
D
harsh said:
The difference in channel count is now so small that it can no longer be considered a stomp.
Click to expand...
Or the way they count is so bizarre, that Direct doesn't want to deal with the ridiculousness??? :D
Reply
Save
Like
D
QuickDrop said:
Yeah, I figure they'll add 20 channels on Thursday (The 12 full time RSNs + the 4 "announced" nationals+ 4 PPVs) to beat E* by 1, then in their note again add that E* counts part time channels and, now, VOD. I'm surprised that D* actually acknowledged E* current "superiority" by taking the comparison down.
Click to expand...
Actually, if Direct counted channels the same way Dish did by including part time RSNs and VODs, then Direct could still claim to be stomping them. Or if Dish counted the same way Direct does by not counting part time RSNS and VOD, then Direct would still be stomping them as we speak. Which is why I mentioned how ridiculous this channel counting has become.
Reply
Save
Like
jdspencer
QuickDrop said:
I mostly agree. Unless one provider has one of your "must have" channels and the other doesn't, it's pointless to switch based on channel count.
Click to expand...
If there is a must have channel not offered by one company then eventually they will get it. :)
Reply
Save
Like
FRANKDK2
Remember guys... competition is good for the consumer... i hope E* and D* keep fighting it out... because in the long run the winner is not the companies... but us the viewer.. more choices, more channels and competitive prices.
Reply
Save
Like
Q
cartrivision said:
More than 20. DirecTV said last week that the the HD total will be at least 130 on Thursday which is an addition of at least 35 over their current count of 95 HD channels.
Click to expand...
You're most likely right. The inconsistent way things have been phrased has me somewhat confused on whether there will be 35 new channels on Thursday or the start of adding 35 new channels. For me, if they were gonna go back to the direct comparison route with E* on Thursday, I think they would be better off at 115 vs 114 than 130 vs 114 if 19 of those new channels are (temp) PPVs.

DodgerKing said:
Actually, if Direct counted channels the same way Dish did by including part time RSNs and VODs, then Direct could still claim to be stomping them. Or if Dish counted the same way Direct does by not counting part time RSNS and VOD, then Direct would still be stomping them as we speak. Which is why I mentioned how ridiculous this channel counting has become.
Click to expand...
I've never done a direct count, but from everything I read both here and the E* forums, Dish's count is way off. Unfortunately for D*'s marketing purposes, it difficult to compare exact numbers (such as 95 channels to 114 as opposed to cable's magical "thousands"), since it would take a ton of footnotes to explain why E* still has less "real" HD channels than D*. I just hope the competition between D* and E* doesn't lead DirecTV to decide they can get away with less HD channels simply by "cooking the books" the way other television providers do.

I agree with you about channel counting. If people switch providers based on HD content, it should be because that provider has the channels they want in HD not because of a total number. Of course, because of the number count promotions, most cable subscribers probably believe both D* and E* have Comedy Central in HD.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
syphix
DirecTV states:
Beginning August 14, DIRECTV will launch more than 30 additional HD channels, bringing the total HD channel lineup to 130.
Click to expand...
That in no way states that they will be at 130 HD channels on August 14th. They will begin to expand towards 130 channels. Sorry to deflate everyone's Thursday hopes.
Reply
Save
Like
R
jdspencer said:
If there is a must have channel not offered by one company then eventually they will get it. :)
Click to expand...
You mean like the YES network? :eek2: I doubt that Dish will ever carry it. If they did, I would consider switching.
Reply
Save
Like
Drew2k
Comments from Chase Carey at the 8.7.08 2nd Quarter Results Teleconference:

Carey concluded, "As we head into the second half of 2008, we are poised to extend our video leadership position as we significantly expand our industry-leading HD lineup with the launch next week of more than 30 new channels, bringing our total HD offering to 130 channels."
Click to expand...
Unless he misspoke last week, he expects to have 130 HD channels active THIS week.

Source: http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=326924
Reply
Save
Like
syphix
Drew2k said:
Comments from Chase Carey at the 8.7.08 2nd Quarter Results Teleconference:
Carey concluded, "As we head into the second half of 2008, we are poised to extend our video leadership position as we significantly expand our industry-leading HD lineup with the launch next week of more than 30 new channels, bringing our total HD offering to 130 channels."
Click to expand...
Unless he misspoke last week, he expects to have 130 HD channels active THIS week.

Source: http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=326924
Click to expand...
Well, that certainly is great news....but not so if those "30 HD channels" are all PPV HD fluff, as recently pointed out by P Smith and commented by Satelliteracer (who simply said it's easy to pull down a PPV and put up a national later). Now, I want to be wrong...but I also wouldn't be surprised if that's how they got to 130 Thursday.

P Smith's parsing of the data provided by Sixto shows 12 PPV's. Ouch.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1730497&postcount=134
Reply
Save
Like
robdec
QuickDrop said:
I've never done a direct count, but from everything I read both here and the E* forums, Dish's count is way off. Unfortunately for D*'s marketing purposes, it difficult to compare exact numbers (such as 95 channels to 114 as opposed to cable's magical "thousands"), since it would take a ton of footnotes to explain why E* still has less "real" HD channels than D*. I just hope the competition between D* and E* doesn't lead DirecTV to decide they can get away with less HD channels simply by "cooking the books" the way other television providers do.

I agree with you about channel counting. If people switch providers based on HD content, it should be because that provider has the channels they want in HD not because of a total number. Of course, because of the number count promotions, most cable subscribers probably believe both D* and E* have Comedy Central in HD.
Click to expand...
Here is a great spreadsheet comparing Directv and Dish HD channels.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=135594&highlight=comparison

This shows they are neck and neck with non PPV and sports packages HD channels.
Reply
Save
Like
SPACEMAKER
Who really gives a ****? D* has what I want so I subscribe to them. If Dish had what I wanted I'd have gone with them.
Reply
Save
Like
harsh
DodgerKing said:
Which is why I mentioned how ridiculous this channel counting has become.
Click to expand...
Does ridiculous counting include counting channels with no HD sourced content? It seems like a part-time HD channel is orders of magnitude better than a channel with no HD.

Maybe we can commence a grass-roots campaign to define what constitutes an "HD channel" or maybe we can sit back and let the marketroids continue to pummel the truth.
Reply
Save
Like
syphix
It's not DirecTV's fault that MTV/VH1 et al have no HD content. They were most likely told by Viacom that they had some HD channels, D* gave them the bandwidth and channel space, and now VIACOM is not providing the HD content. It's VIACOM that labels these channels as HD -- not only to us, but to DirecTV.

The channel IS in HD (1080i/720p)...even if the content on the channel isn't.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 86 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
DBSTalk Forum
A forum community dedicated to digital bit streaming enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about programming, content, and reception, home theaters, displays, models, styles, satellites, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
DIRECTV General Discussion DIRECTV HD DVR/Receiver Discussion DIRECTV Programming General DISH™ Discussion DIRECTV Installation/MDU Discussion
Top