[psanrules]

According to the list on channel 103 (SD), there is supposed to be a free preview of Showtime from 12/9 - 12/12. Channels included are: 318-328, and 333. The streaming versions of the Showtime channels in the Dish Anywhere app started showing up for free for me yesterday. This makes sense, since free previews usually start on the day before the announced date in the list. (under-promise, over-deliver) However, we are now on the day actually listed as the start date, and the above-listed channels still have not shown up on my Dish receiver. They are still listed in green, and I get a "Programming Not Authorized" pop-up when I try to select them.

Is anyone else having trouble getting the Showtime channels on your Dish receivers? If so, I thought it would be helpful to post here and let everyone know that you should still be able to access these channels through Dish Anywhere, even if your receiver still does not get them.

 

[harsh]

While authorization on Dish Anywhere is "on demand", getting the satellite-delivered authorization takes considerably more time as it must be sent out to all active receivers on all active accounts in sequence.

I just checked my HWS and it is not yet authorized for the Showtime linear channels.

 

[psanrules]

While authorization on Dish Anywhere is "on demand", getting the satellite-delivered authorization takes considerably more time as it must be sent out to all active receivers on all active accounts in sequence.

Still, a delay of more than a day seems a little excessive, especially since this is routinely completed the day before the date listed for the start of the preview. Maybe Dish will extend the preview slightly, since they technically started it late. (Although those of us with the Dish Anywhere app still had early access as always, using the app should still not be a requirement in order to get the preview at all.)

I just checked my HWS and it is not yet authorized for the Showtime linear channels.

Anyway, sometime after I posted (evidently less than two hours ago, judging by harsh's post) the Showtime channels finally got turned on. I updated my MPEG-2 list, which also shows all of the other available free preview channels:

MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 transition on Western Arc

Since Dish is starting to transition their standard-def channels from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, I thought it would be a fun project to track which national channels are still being broadcast in MPEG-2. We no longer have Uplink Reports to tell us about these changes, so I will be tracking them using my...

www.dbstalk.com

 

[harsh]

My free preview authorization hit sometime just after noon Pacific.

As long as it happens before the preview officially starts, do you really have a right to be perturbed?

 

[psanrules]

As long as it happens before the preview officially starts, do you really have a right to be perturbed?

I was going to let it go. The only reason I started this thread was because I saw that someone had started a thread about the problem over at that other forum. When I read that other people were having the same issue, I realized that it wasn't just my receivers not getting authorized. So, I came here to see if other members were also having this issue, and to let everyone know how to work around it through the Dish Anywhere app if necessary.

In that other thread, a member from Dish Technical Operations confirmed that it was a known issue, and it was resolved at 1:59 PM Eastern time, according to the post there.

Dish traditionally starts most previews the day before the official start, either during the overnight uplink (3 AM Eastern) or, more often, at 8 AM Eastern. Premium package preview start times can vary, but it is usually by 10 AM or 11 AM Eastern the day before, which is when I checked Dish Anywhere yesterday and saw that it had started. I was surprised that my receivers were not authorized, but I was willing to give it a day before complaining. With a resolution this afternoon, that is basically more than an entire day wasted, although most of that was before the official start anyway.

The reason for the usual early start is to give customers time to update their guides, and start scheduling DVR recordings before the preview actually starts. With this late start, people are still posting in the other thread about having problems with "No Information Available" in the guide for HD channels this afternoon and evening. So, by the time each customer gets those problems resolved by refreshing their guides, it is basically an entire day (of the actual preview, not only the pre-preview) wasted, before they are able to properly schedule recordings.

 

[psanrules]

Maybe Dish will extend the preview slightly, since they technically started it late.

Showtime preview ended today. Also, just in case an issue like this ever happens again, I found out that the Sling app also had the Showtime free preview. So, that is another alternative for when the previews do not show up on the Dish receivers right away. The advantage of the Sling app is that it is available on Roku, unlike the Dish Anywhere app.

 

[psanrules]

I finally saw the ad for this month's free previews in the Hopper's standby screensaver. It shows a Showtime preview, but does not give the exact dates.

 

[psanrules]

No Showtime yet on my receivers, nor is it available through Dish Anywhere or the Sling app. It is still a little too soon to tell for sure, but I am starting to think that the Showtime preview isn't this weekend. (Premium package previews usually start Thursday mornings.) Some more specific dates in the preview listing screensaver would have been nice, Dish, rather than simply saying "March Free Previews." Obviously, Showtime is not a month-long preview, so give us the dates.

 

[Jim5506]

With the ransomware attack, I'm pretty sure Showtime free previews are the least of their worries right now.

 

[psanrules]

With the ransomware attack, I'm pretty sure Showtime free previews are the least of their worries right now.

That's kind of my point. It's possible that all of the changes we saw at the beginning of the month were already pre-programmed into Dish's uplink system before the ransomware attack happened. As far as any new uplinks (such as starting a new free preview) Dish may still be locked out of making any changes. However, Dish is still advertising for the Showtime preview in the Hopper's screensaver. If it doesn't happen this month, that is false advertising. Dish had enough sense to remove the free preview slate channel SD 103, maybe for precisely that reason. (If that slate channel removal was pre-programmed into the uplink system, I'll leave it up to you to guess whether that means Dish knew in advance that this outage was coming.)

 

[psanrules]

No Showtime yet on my receivers, nor is it available through Dish Anywhere or the Sling app. It is still a little too soon to tell for sure, but I am starting to think that the Showtime preview isn't this weekend. (Premium package previews usually start Thursday mornings.) Some more specific dates in the preview listing screensaver would have been nice, Dish, rather than simply saying "March Free Previews." Obviously, Showtime is not a month-long preview, so give us the dates.

I think it is now official that the Showtime preview is next weekend. Technically, Dish could start the preview on March 31 and it would still count. That seems a little weird to advertise that weekend as a March free preview, though, since the bulk of the preview would actually be in April. The weekend of March 23 seems like the more likely option, if the preview is even happening at all. (I haven't seen the ad in the screensaver the last couple of days.)

 

[psanrules]

The Showtime free preview has begun!

 

[psanrules]

The streaming versions of the Showtime channels still have not shown up in the Dish Anywhere app. Of course, the timing of the Dish Anywhere previews is usually a little out-of-sync with the satellite-delivered timing, so nothing new there.

As I noted in the MPEG-2 thread, this preview does not seem to include Flix (channel 333) even though that channel normally is included in Showtime previews.

 

[harsh]

The Showtime free preview has begun!

Even a watched pot boils.

 

[psanrules]

Even a watched pot boils.

It would have been nice to know when to watch, though. All is good now.

 

[mwdxer]

No Flix seems to be included this time and normally the Dish Anywhere app has the free Showtime stream too, but those are locked.

 

[psanrules]

No Flix seems to be included this time and normally the Dish Anywhere app has the free Showtime stream too, but those are locked.

For the regular monthly free previews, the Dish Anywhere streams have been activating on a one-day delay lately. So, that will probably be tomorrow. That would technically make them "on time" if the preview is supposed to start on Friday.

Also, I just realized there is only one channel of The Movie Channel included. I know both west coast feeds are part of AT250, not the Showtime package. However, this means that channel 328, TMC Xtra East is also missing from this preview.

 

[mwdxer]

For the regular monthly free previews, the Dish Anywhere streams have been activating on a one-day delay lately. So, that will probably be tomorrow. That would technically make them "on time" if the preview is supposed to start on Friday.

Also, I just realized there is only one channel of The Movie Channel included. I know both west coast feeds are part of AT250, not the Showtime package. However, this means that channel 328, TMC Xtra East is also missing from this preview.

Maybe it will all show up tomorrow. I did not know since Dish was hacked, I wondered if there would be issues with the Dish Anywhere app.

 

[psanrules]

Maybe it will all show up tomorrow. I did not know since Dish was hacked, I wondered if there would be issues with the Dish Anywhere app.

The delay on Dish Anywhere streaming free previews had been happening even before the cyberattack shut everything down. The good news (for the regular month-long previews, anyway) is that they also end a day late. So, you still get them for free for the same amount of time, just shifted by one day. By combining using your receiver's free preview and using the Dish Anywhere free preview, this effectively extends the free preview even further. Keep in mind that Dish already "under-promises, over-delivers" their free previews with a slight "start early, end late" approach, compared to the announced dates. The staggered start and end times (depending on which device you are using) make this practice an even better deal.

 

[psanrules]

Maybe it will all show up tomorrow.

Friday noon, Eastern.
Still no TMC Xtra East or Flix.
Still no Dish Anywhere Showtime streaming.