[Steve Mehs]

When EchoStar launches its newest satellite next week, the company could add as many as a half-dozen additional cities to the DISH Network local TV slate. EchoStar confirmed that Las Vegas could be among the cities possibly added to the list of DMAs receiving local TV channels from the satellite TV service. The Las Vegas local TV package could become available from DISH Network by October or November. Also, Waco, Texas, is expected to be added to DISH Network's local TV slate, possibly by the end of August. EchoStar VIII, set for liftoff next week, will allow DISH Network to add about a half dozen more local TV markets, thanks to spot-beam technology, spokesman Marc Lumpkin said. Without the company's pending merger with DirecTV, EchoStar will be limited by capacity restraints from offering local TV to about 50 markets. With the merger, the combined company promises it will reach all 210 TV markets.
Local TV packages for DISH Network customers sell for $5.99 a month, or a dollar cheaper depending on if there are channels missing from any package.

From SkyReport (Used with Permission)

 

[lee635]

Seems that Dish is leapfrogging past D* in the local adds. We'll see what E* brings.

 

[Adam Richey]

BUT Dish Network isn't adding markets that would benefit the biggest amount of customers. I would hope they will finally launch Baltimore soon.

 

[Jacob S]

Why is Dish not adding the locals that would benefit the most customers?

 

[mattb]

I wish they would add Columbus Ohio Locals... =) Give me more of a reason to put my dish back up and deal with my apartment on actually getting it up (they have a terrible policy on dishes (something about 250,000 in libality insurance)

 

[Jacob S]

I am surprised that Columbus, Ohio is not up now, I thought that city was already up.

 

[pbrown]

I can with a fair amount of certainty announce that Spokane, WA, will be on E*8. I work for a local TV station and we are in the process of dotting the I's and crossing the T's on a retransmission consent agreement with Dish right now. I know that won't be too popular with bigger markets, but it's gonna rock for us to be on Dish. Our market has a large rural viewership, so it should help local viewers in our area.

 

[jrjcd]

E* isn't adding the more prominant markets because it is easier to deal with smaller markets who are itching for more exposure in getting a good deal contract wise...more than likely...

 

[Jacob S]

That may be good for my DMA then seeing that they are not as big of a market but DMA #61

How can you find out if your local stations were talked to by Dish or DirecTv on being added? Maybe Dish plans on adding locals that DirecTv is not going to add for a while, or maybe they are taking turns like Dish will add one DMA, DirecTv will add another DMA, and then when they go to swap out the receivers, some will purchase the other brand to get the locals saving them money on the merger costs of swapping out the equipment, being all new equipment is compatible now.

 

[Mike123abc]

E8 has 4 transponders in 2 spots pointed towards the North East. This should be enough to pick up Baltimore, Hartford, Buffalo and Albany.

In FCC merger filings, E* pretty much has said that they would service the top 80 or so DMAs if the merger does not go through. This is with the current E7 & E8. They also show D* doing somewhere between 75 and 100. The limit on markets is really driven by the cost of servicing the market vs return on subscibers. The cost of a location to recieve all the stations and the transmission costs back to the DBS company plus what they give stations for each subscriber is the main limiting factor. In the FCC filings they have the numbers covered up as confidential, but they have a general formula that is composed of the number of subscribers in a DMA what the percentage that would do LIL. This gives them the expected revenue stream for a market with LIL. They then budget this money over the cost of land/building/equipment/transmission to DBSco/uplink equipment/transponder cost/local station cut.

Currently there are 5 unused spot freqencies on E7 that they can add for locals (N. CA, S. CA, E. TX, AK, Mexico City). E8 will have 25 over 15 Spots. They are using about 14 transponders on e8 that will go to spots at this time. That will leave 11 beams still available for expansion on E8 spots plus the 5 still unused on E7. This means they could easily pick up the rest of the top 60 markets and probably throw a few odd ball DMAs in that they happen to have spot capacity lying around like Waco, TX on the Dallas-Austin-SanAntonio spot. This would have them close to 80 markets on their own.

 

[dishrich]

Originally posted by lee635
Seems that Dish is leapfrogging past D* in the local adds. We'll see what E* brings.

How do you figure? D* currently has 49 markets, with New Orleans getting ready to be the 50th. E* currently only has 42, so even with 1/2 dozen more, they are NOT getting ahead of D*.

Jacob S & mattb - I assume you know that D* does have Columbus, OH up...

 

[johnsmith22]

When E*VII and E*VIII are both carrying locals on their spot beams there will be no spare satellite capable of taking up the slack if either one of them fails. I am wondering if their is a contingency plan, loosing six or eight cities would not be a very good way of making friends with and influencing your customers.

 

[pbrown]

Originally posted by Jacob S

How can you find out if your local stations were talked to by Dish or DirecTv on being added?

Probably one of the best things you can do is call your Favorite TV station and ask to speak with their Chief Engineer. Most of them are pretty good guys, and if your market is up for LIL, you could probably get one of them to tell you. They would certainly be among the most informed people in your town on the subject.

 

[BrettR]

Some of the larger station groups like PAX keep very few people at the station. They make decisions on all their O&O out in other city or state. (Believe for PAX its Florida). Clear Channel does this with radio. They voice track so a local DJ may appear to be home town in Philly but they are out somewhere else.

Usually though with NBC, ABC, CBS FOX affiliates and O&Os they have full staffs (even news divisions) and engineers. They also own radio outlets, like here in Philly its so. I know lot of decisions for 3 6 10 and 29 though are made by network execs 90 miles up in NYC, however there is indeed localism on these stations. PAX only NBC 10 rebroadcast of news.

Before SHVIA, E* didnt have retransmission agreements with local stations (although they had with FOX only). Technically they shouldnt have been doing LIL before SHVIA. They had 13 cities up on 61.5/148 mostly except NY LA on 119. Philly wasnt one of them. WTXF 29 (FOX) was on Primestar, and WTXF 29(FOX) actually wanted E* to carry them. However, Echostar didnt inform them they were even going to be carried or not. Big problem was lack of Comcast SportsNet. Philly was eventually carried on 110 after DirecTV launched it.

I called local stations for if they are going mustcarry or not. All of them did, and WTVE and WBPH will be coming on DirecTV they hope sometime. They are in "process" they say but really I doubt they are anywhere close, but I do expect them up.

WMGM 40 requested mustcarry and DirecTV has to leave a channel reservation for this POS station. Most the stations are POS (I'd say about half), and DirecTV was forced to carry many channels by mustcarry sacrificing the launch of future markets immediately. So a Lancaster subscriber wont get one channel of local content because Philly mustcarry took up majority of TP 4 and TP 12, until DirecTV pays millions to launch another spotbeam satellite. And that satellite will be on 110 or 119 requiring the subscriber use an upgraded dish to get network programming.

 

[Marcus S]

I don't think that E* is that stupid.. Looking at the list most of these cities are surrounded by many many smaller cities that do not have their own local channels. C Springs is a good example as those networks include cities to Pueblo, Trinidad, SE Colorado, and Canyon City, but not reflected in the DMA totals. Waco and I am sure other proposed cities are similar.

This is a good thing for DBS, as most of these cities are still served by old analog cable systems with limited channel offerings. The returns to DBS in general could be very good at least up to the top 150 DMA. They could have been better if the Supreme Court would have heard "distant nets" argument. I was expecting to see at least 18 DMA's stay on conus.

 

[Jacob S]

If they would not have must carry then we would have a probably half more LIL cities up by now. Mine would have probably done been up or getting ready to go up.

 

[jrjcd]

am i the only one who looks at E*VII and E*VIII sees the word "evil" there????lol..(must be that ole charlie hater in me...hehehe)

actually, if you record the 101 channel and then play it backwards, you can hear jim defranco saying "i wish brian olsen was dead...i wish brian olsen was dead..."

sorry-just felt like being silly...

 

[Jacob S]

I remember someone else saying that when they played the chat backwards that it sounded like they were saying something, or when they played that chat back a certain way that there was some secret message. This has been a good while back since I heard this on a message board.

 

[TNGTony]

Waco is now being uplinked on transponder 7 spot 10 (Texas) according to John H and JD.

See www.dishchannelchart.com 8985-8995

See ya
Tony

 

[Jacob S]

Thats DMA #94, why so far down the list for bringing this city up?