[CapeCodder]

With DISH subscriber numbers apparently heading south (according to SKYReport today - http://www.skyreport.com/), there must be some concern at Dtv HQ! With luck, the DISH news will be the stimulous D* needs to address the constant stream of complaints one reads about installers and unperforming equipment on this and other sites, even if they are from just a few of millions of customers. D* can and should do better - hopefully they'll get the message before it comes home in the same way DISH's has!

 

[jimb726]

With DISH subscriber numbers apparently heading south (according to SKYReport today - http://www.skyreport.com/), there must be some concern at Dtv HQ! With luck, the DISH news will be the stimulous D* needs to address the constant stream of complaints one reads about installers and unperforming equipment on this and other sites, even if they are from just a few of millions of customers. D* can and should do better - hopefully they'll get the message before it comes home in the same way DISH's has!

Maybe I am missing something, but why would there be concern at DirecTv if Dish is losing subscribers? I think I read that DirecTv added 275,000 new subscribers last quarter. Pretty good business. Once Dish gets their new sats up and running and gets their HD capabilities on par with DirecTv, they will start seeing subscribers coming back.

 

[DodgerKing]

With DISH subscriber numbers apparently heading south (according to SKYReport today - http://www.skyreport.com/), there must be some concern at Dtv HQ! With luck, the DISH news will be the stimulous D* needs to address the constant stream of complaints one reads about installers and unperforming equipment on this and other sites, even if they are from just a few of millions of customers. D* can and should do better - hopefully they'll get the message before it comes home in the same way DISH's has!

I don't see anything about Dish on the link. Why would bad news about Dish concern Direct anyway? Dish has already had a bad quarter in both sub gains and profit while Direct has improved.

 

[harsh]

I don't see anything about Dish on the link.

Look under the SkyFILES heading under "A Battering 2Q"

 

[DodgerKing]

Look under the SkyFILES heading under "A Battering 2Q"

Thanks.

 

[bonscott87]

I don't see anything about Dish on the link. Why would bad news about Dish concern Direct anyway? Dish has already had a bad quarter in both sub gains and profit while Direct has improved.

Exactly. Dish almost had a sub loss last quarter while DirecTV added over quarter million. Dish going down in subs is only good for DirecTV, assuming they keep on growing as well. I wouldn't expect them to grow as much as they did in the 1st quarter but it should still be healthy.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

Exactly. Dish almost had a sub loss last quarter while DirecTV added over quarter million. Dish going down in subs is only good for DirecTV, assuming they keep on growing as well. I wouldn't expect them to grow as much as they did in the 1st quarter but it should still be healthy.

The speculation is that they may actually lose some net subscribers for the quarter...prompting the view that things are not rosy there right now...
Not sure what more than speculation and observation all that has...let alone why its in a DirecTV section....but....

 

[bonscott87]

The speculation is that they may actually lose some net subscribers for the quarter...prompting the view that things are not rosy there right now...
Not sure what more than speculation and observation all that has...let alone why its in a DirecTV section....but....

The OP was saying that a Dish net loss would be bad for DirecTV. Thus why it's posted here I guess. But I don't think it effects DirecTV at all except in the positive.

 

[Newshawk]

Actually, the difference in subscriber growth between Dish and DirecTV highlight the differing marketing strategies the two DBS providers have adopted.

Dish is "Better TV for all" and they aim at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. They even have a prepaid card option like Tracfone! This segment of the market is more affected by the ups and downs of the economy, and are more disposed to trying to get as much for free as they can, paying late and canceling or defaulting on their service. This reduces the monnthly cash flow and drives up the cost of acquiring new subscribers.

DirecTV, on the other hand, has made the effort to go after higher quality subscribers-those that buy on features and not just price. These people tend to be more affluent, have more disposable income and tend to pay on time. They also do not ask for freebies as often, valuing quality over low price. These customers also exhibit greater loyalty and do not jump ship just to save a few bucks. Thus there is a more reliable monthly income for DirecTV and lower acquisition costs for mew subscribers.

Also, I don't think that a loss for Dish directly translates into a win for DirecTV. Even though the two companies are rivals, both would tell you their common foe is terrestrial cable.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

The OP was saying that a Dish net loss would be bad for DirecTV. Thus why it's posted here I guess. But I don't think it effects DirecTV at all except in the positive.

Yeah...I'm with you on that....

 

[Azalo]

i get the same cheap flyers from D* as I get from Dish both promising basically the same deal.

 

[bonscott87]

i get the same cheap flyers from D* as I get from Dish both promising basically the same deal.

Yes. But if you have poor credit Dish will sign you up anyway. DirecTV on the other hand will either refuse you or require an up front deposit of 2-3 months worth of programming. That's the difference. Dish will sign up anyone with a pulse while DirecTV doesn't. Thus in this economy Dish is losing many of those people with a pulse because they just drop pay TV. DirecTV however has more subs that won't drop the service. They may cut their packages like I did, but they keep the service *and* keep paying their bills. And when the economy turns around they are still subs and just up their package. DirecTV doesn't have to aquire that sub again (at a large cost, called the SAC - Subscriber Acquisition Cost which runs about $600+). Meanwhile Dish is spending millions on collections on people that didn't pay and then has to have a large up front SAC to replace them when things turn around.

There is a thread actually talking just about this issue: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=134008

 

[CapeCodder]

DISH got a message that subscribers vote with their feet. When subscribers get unhappy, either due to lack of desired programming, lousy service (people remember all those bad installs), or crappy hardware, they often walk at the first opportunity. To my earlier point, consider all the lousy customer service posts, the hardware that doesn't work right, the dozens of lousy intall(er)s, the legions of dissatisfied customers with the buggy software upgrade for the HRs three or four months ago, and so forth, that you read here and on other sites. Now, with people reconsidering previous choices about how they spend their money, satellite TV is often a luxury. With the continuing expectation of more HD and more SD channels, continued growth in programming and technology with minimal growth in fees is essential. D* can't afford to be complacent with all the ire about service, programming, and the like that I mentioned earlier. Hopefully, they are reading just as we are, and paying attention. They need to address the grumbling; ignoring it and standing pat on subscribers is more like going backwards. That's my point.

 

[IDRick]

DISH got a message that subscribers vote with their feet. When subscribers get unhappy, either due to lack of desired programming, lousy service (people remember all those bad installs), or crappy hardware, they often walk at the first opportunity. To my earlier point, consider all the lousy customer service posts, the hardware that doesn't work right, the dozens of lousy intall(er)s, the legions of dissatisfied customers with the buggy software upgrade for the HRs three or four months ago, and so forth, that you read here and on other sites. Now, with people reconsidering previous choices about how they spend their money, satellite TV is often a luxury. With the continuing expectation of more HD and more SD channels, continued growth in programming and technology with minimal growth in fees is essential. D* can't afford to be complacent with all the ire about service, programming, and the like that I mentioned earlier. Hopefully, they are reading just as we are, and paying attention. They need to address the grumbling; ignoring it and standing pat on subscribers is more like going backwards. That's my point.

Very well said CapeCodder! I am a potential sub that both satellite services would love to acquire. D* more closely matches my programming interests but I am concerned about stability of the DVR's, the need for continuing upgrades for the DVR's, and possibility of a poor installation. Inertia is easy. My cableco does not provide a large number of HD channels but I can count on successful recording with the cableco DVR. D* requires a 2 yr committment that may be bliss or headaches depending on factors outside my control (poor install, software updates, etc).

 

[djlong]

I don't know how many people there are like me, but I know that the 'promise' of an HDPC20 hooked to a PC that is the nerve center of my home entertainment system (and networked throughout the house) is the piece of hardware that will get me away from my 7-year-old Dishplayer 7200. That's the tipping point for me because I want HD recorded and served throughout the house and I'm just getting to the point where I'm about to take the plunge for the widescreen HDTV that I've wanted for SOOOOO long.

D* seems to me to have an edge in HD programming, but for what I *really* want and would watch it's almost a wash.

Unless E* made some really hot announcement, I can't see why I would keep them once I make my Home Theater investment.

 

[Jestr40]

I don't see why it is just accepted that D* has poor customer service? The only basis of that is the .5% of the total D* customers who come into a forum like this to complain. The only actual way to measure a companies customer service level is by an outside company like JD Power. D* has been consistently #1 over the past few years (source : http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P4350060 ).

 

[Jhon69]

Very well said CapeCodder! I am a potential sub that both satellite services would love to acquire. D* more closely matches my programming interests but I am concerned about stability of the DVR's, the need for continuing upgrades for the DVR's, and possibility of a poor installation. Inertia is easy. My cableco does not provide a large number of HD channels but I can count on successful recording with the cableco DVR. D* requires a 2 yr committment that may be bliss or headaches depending on factors outside my control (poor install, software updates, etc).

Well I am a DirecTV subscriber before I subscribed to the other guys(That'a another story).When you study DirecTV's history you will find that the DirecTV's DVR + is DirecTV's 1st in house DVR and being that it is that it has had it's problems.But kudos to DirecTV and Earl Bonovich a program was started to improve DirecTV's DVR + it's called the Cutting Edge Program.

The Cutting Edge program to me is a first in the satellite industry(For more information please visit the Cutting Edge Forum) because I know there will come a time when other provider's subscriber's will say"Why can't(name of company) DVRs be like DirecTV's DVR +".

 

[IDRick]

Well I am a DirecTV subscriber before I subscribed to the other guys(That'a another story).When you study DirecTV's history you will find that the DirecTV's DVR + is DirecTV's 1st in house DVR and being that it is that it has had it's problems.But kudos to DirecTV and Earl Bonovich a program was started to improve DirecTV's DVR + it's called the Cutting Edge Program.

The Cutting Edge program to me is a first in the satellite industry(For more information please visit the Cutting Edge Forum) because I know there will come a time when other provider's subscriber's will say"Why can't(name of company) DVRs be like DirecTV's DVR +".

Wish the dvr was that mature now.... Would make my decision a lot easier.

 

[Jhon69]

Wish the dvr was that mature now.... Would make my decision a lot easier.

Well for what's it's worth I consider my DVR's to be mature now.Could they be better? sure.Will DirecTV make them better?.You betcha!

 

[harsh]

I don't know how many people there are like me, but I know that the 'promise' of an HDPC20 hooked to a PC that is the nerve center of my home entertainment system (and networked throughout the house) is the piece of hardware that will get me away from my 7-year-old Dishplayer 7200.

Alas, the HDPC20 appears to be the second networked HT attempt that isn't going to see the light of production. With support for it left out of Fiji, things look pretty grim for the near term and decidedly uncertain in the long term.

Note that DIRECTV is not the main problem with bringing the HDPC20 to market. That responsibility lies firmly with the Microsoft Corporation.

A previously promised product, the D-HR20P ended up coming out as the HR21 Pro that delivered only on the promise of rack mount capability.

Does this look familiar?

DIRECTV Pro is for the true technophile and home theater enthusiast. It combines the latest HD and DVR technologies, and differs from all other DTV products as it is designed to mount in a 19-inch rack, which is common in the home theater, custom installation market. Additionally, the Pro Home Theater has new features such as a front panel, HD LCD display, front panel transport controls, and additional control ports on the front and back. DIRECTV plans to launch the DIRECTV Pro at the end of 2006.