EchoStar Satellite Drops CBS in 16 Cities

Yahoo ^ | Reuters

[mgist]

It's time to trade my DIRECT TV service for Echostar.

[B Knotts]

I have Dish. I say leave the Viacom channels off. They're filled with pretty much nothing but vile garbage anyway.

[martin_fierro]

Echostar Communications Corp. on Tuesday dropped local CBS stations from its satellite service in 16 cities and dropped MTV, Nickelodeon and other cable channels nationwide after contract talks with Viacom Inc. broke down. The impasse left an estimated 1.6 million people without CBS network television in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Miami the week before the CBS broadcast of the NCAA basketball tournament. It leaves another 9.5 million nationwide without 10 Viacom channels....
Echostar shares were up 2.4 percent in early afternoon trading, while Viacom shares were down 0.9 percent.

'Nuff said.

[NormsRevenge]

No Mo' South Park,, That's about the extent of the damage here in Dishland

Go Charlie!!!

[EggsAckley]

We use Dish Network, and lately they've been running banners listing about a dozen stations that are going to be removed. Is this the same thing? A lefty friend swears that this is the conservatives censoring TV.

[ClearCase_guy]

"That's a shame" (/Seinfeld)

[Lunatic Fringe]

Viacom said it was "dismayed and disappointed" by the action.

They shouldnt be... they were demanding outrageous fees from Echostar.

[blackdog]

By noon today my three year old has made some concessions in his demand for Nick Jr. He has found some puzzles to do and he's playing with the dog. Better he learned this now than later on in life.

Way to go Echostar/Dish!

When I grew up I had three broadcast stations to view. Now my kid has like 300 at any given time? I say good riddance to Vilecom.

[blackdog]

Actually that was Viacom embedding the message in it's feeds to call Dish to tell them to keep your Viacom channels.

I don't like to be a third party involved in bill disputes, being asked to be an advocate without collecting my attorney's fees.

Trashy move on Viacom's part and a classy decision on Echostar's part.

[HamiltonJay]

Dump the dish and go back to 3-6 channels, you'll be far happier and find that all those projects you didn't think you had time for, suddenly get done.

I haven't had cable now for over a year... other than when breaking news happens... I don't miss it a lick. Take your lives back....

[Hodar]

Go Charlie!!!

I must disagree. I have and am paying subscriptions for 3 satellite receivers, I have had excellent quality programming for over 6 years. One could easily say that I am among their oldest customers. When I purchased Americans Top 150 programming package, then paid extra for local stations, I paid for these stations. I recently took advantage of an offer to upgrade one of my receivers, but now must stay with them for a year or pay them for the upgrade. This was fine, but now THEY have changed the deal.

So, without warning they dropped the Comedy channel which I did watch, and a few channels I didn't watch. But the point is, they dropped channels from an advertised package without recourse and redress. What is to stop them from dropping all of FOX, Discovery, History, Biography, A&E and various local stations with the same lack of warning or consideration they gave me?

DirectTV had no problem increasing the rates; and as the rates have been flat for over 6 years, I don't have a problem with that. But, to increase the rates, and the very next month to drop channel coverage is inexcusable.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Your leftie friend is insane. it's about money... pure and simple.

[lilylangtree]

I'd drop CBS just for the sheer fun if the decision were up to me.

[blackdog]

I am too rural to get broadcast television.

Fox News and Nickelodean make up 90% of our viewing. I wish I could just pay a small fee and pick four feeds and pay pro-rated. This of course was forseen by Madison Avenue types and is what causes bundling of feeds. That being if you want NickJr you need to take MTV and Comedy channel too.

[EggsAckley]

Yeah, that's what I tried to tell her. She listens to lefty radio here in Santa Cruz.........that just about 'splains it!

Thanks.

[blackdog]

I have witnessed however, that if my daughter plugs the Nintendo only half way into the coax jack of her television in her room she picks up Fox 11 out of Green Bay thru the Nintendo. Sort of an unintended booster device I guess. Fox 11 must be operating close to some processor frequency in the Nintendo. It works better than expensive antennaes we've purchased in the past.

I have a conical amplifier antenae that I can adjust with a spectrum analyzer to use in a pinch. It just takes up half the room and looks like something out of "Mars Attacks". I swore off all professional sports for the new year so I see no need to drag it out.

[blackdog]

What's a CBS?

[glowworm]

I have been for this for eons of time.. I only watch 4 channels regularly.. yet I must pay for a hundred I don't care to watch. The next "tier" packeage will cost me too much to have. In that tier is Fox programming. I am STUCK with programs I don't want to support politically or morally.. CBS, Disney, MTV, CNN... etc..

It is not technicaly hard to set up channel "a la carte" selection and billing. It is done now for many "Premium" channels.. I would rather pay a bit more for my 4 channels than the 96 in the "package" I don't want. It is the American way to let survival of programming be by individual selection and not coertion.. IMHO.

[ContemptofCourt]

Both are down, now...as is the whole DJIA. Can't see this helping either side's share price.