Posted on 12/29/2014 4:01:31 PM PST by xzins
Furious Dish Network, Inc., customers are dropping the service, demanding refunds and besieging Dish with angry calls and emails after Fox News was dropped over a contract dispute.
On Dec. 21, fans of the immensely popular Fox News, among the 14 million Dish subscribers, awoke to find out that their favorite network had been blacked out, Mediaite reports.
To date, 178,000 complaint calls were made through a toll-free line Fox set up, and 140,000 emails have deluged Dish, but the dispute remains ongoing, Variety reports.
The squabble involves "carriage fees" paid by providers to networks for programming. Dish claims that Fox attempted to obtain a new, higher-priced contract for an "unrelated" channel, likely FXX or Fox Sports 1, as part of the new overall Fox contract, and Dish bucked the effort, dropping Fox instead as a negotiating ploy, Mediaite reports.
Fox News, in a statement reported in Variety, said: “Since Dish dropped Fox News, Dish has focused on shifting blame instead of getting Fox News back on the air. But the facts speak for themselves – Dish has blocked more than 10 channels in the last six months alone. We continue to work on resolving this situation, but until Dish is responsive, we are unable to update you on when Fox News will be available.”
However, in a video released by Dish, chairman Charles Ergen, making a play on Fox's "Fair and Balanced" slogan, stated: "There was nothing about this extortion attempt that was fair or balanced. Rather, it was greedy, arrogant and disrespectful to you, their loyal viewer.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
I hold Dish primarily responsible for killing my ability to get Fox News. After all, they have recently done the same thing to CNN and CBS. So claiming some nefarious scheme on Fox’s part is pure spin. Fox, too, is spinning, and they may be asking more for their package, but that doesn’t change the fact that Dish has been systematically canceling their providers at contract time.
Direct TV is calling me...but I get tired of changing back and forth.
They both suck
Yep, but why hurt your customer?
That seems a counter intuitive, anti-business thing to do.
“We can’t decide, so we’re going to make the customer pay.”
Dump Colmes and Beckel and Bring Back Laurie Dhue!! (HIC)
I saw Dhue doing anchor duties on The Blaze network. I wonder if she’s a regular for them?
Sometimes these TV channels are ridiculous. Fox News is screwing themselves. It is immensely popular and can charge what they want for advertising. If they were smart Fox News and Fox Business should be standard fare, and could probably piggyback on their local affiliates as a secondary channel. Just imagine the revenue stream from commercials. There may be an FCC rule against it but adding extra channels to bump the cost is group think.
They are still the only network with center to right of center programming. The give a voice to Cruz, Lee, West, Palin, Gohmert, Sessions, etc. And they seem content to do so.
Back when I had DISH (4 Vendors ago!) they required the most expensive package to get FOX NEWS. This is just plain discrimination, as FOX NEWS pays its own way with advertising.
“Premium Channels” that don’t carry advertising are paid for with fees.
Normal channels that DO carry advertising are already paid for and should not be considered “Premium Channels”.
Therefore, any channel that pays its own way with advertising should be included in “BASIC”.
I agree about the commercials.
The one that drives me nuts is PBS.
They just came off a 3 week beagathon, they gat taxpayer money, they get grants AND they air commercials.
Fox has declined with their endless re-runs of the same shows over and over.
I fired all my providers(finally) and Dish was the worst of them all; I had to call them to cancel, so they could read their scripts to talk me into staying with them: hope management listens to the call, but they probably are too arrogant to bother.
Over the air (from time to time), and Internet are gaining ground as noted by the growth of ‘cut the cord’ sites.
EP
Sure you can have your Fox News back if you want Dish to bend over and pass a large rate hike right on to you!
Fox is trying to get a large rate hike but using their other channels as leverage.
We’re dropping TV full stop. May get an HD antenna and Amazon Prime.
yes. They most INDEED have commercials.
they don’t even disguise them as “Thank Yous” any more.
Even though I have my “issues” with this company, at least I have Comcast.
If Dish doesn’t have Fox by the 12th, I’m switching. Can’t take the chance of missing the Tide go all the way. Of course if they lose on the first, Direct TV here I come. I really miss Fox and loathe having to check news on CNN.
Congrats!
Aren’t the college playoff games on ESPN?
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/college-football-playoff-schedule.php
I’ve not been able to go to CNN or any of the others. Occasionally, I’ll listen to some of Beck’s program, but sometimes Glenn just gets in the weeds and bores me to death.
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