The only channels that I am now doing without , that I used to watch is BBC AMERICA and Mtv . Now I watch three shows on that network. Dr. Who, Orphan Black and Grahm Norton show. On Mtv we watched Scream the series and Teen Wolf for my son. I can watch both Dr. Who and Orpan Black on Amazon Prime if I buy the full seasons. So Grahm Norton show is the only thing I will not see any more. I bought the season of Scream and will do the same for Teen Wolf when it comes back.
But All the regular cable channels that I really watch are in the Flex pack. Add Variety pack and you get Freeform for my wife and a few other channels. The news pack gives me the political fix I love and the locals pack is a must have with Primetime anytime and the Hopper. I also have Hbo for $10.00 and the DISH movie pack for $5.00 for the summer. Having no sports and cutting out the extra channels , mostly filler channels has saved me around $45.00 a month over top 250 +HBo+Dish movie pack. This flex pack is perfect for me and my family and what we watch. But if you need the cd music channels or the Sirius Xm channels or all the sports channels , then the Flex pack is not for you. I have been wanting this very idea of small packs like variety, news, heartland, and the flex pack for a number of years ,since I saw the Candian sat systems and how they did business.
This is DISH's first real foray into ala cart. Will it save the day DISH and turn around the high churn that they have been experiencing? Who knows, but it is a good first start. I still say that reducing their many FEES that they have created would help them a lot, in conjunction with the Flex pack . But to attack DISH for doing something positive, like the Flex pack is just stupid. They have at least started the very thing that many subs have been asking for for years. It took a while to come to market, due to the many negotiations with channel provider to allow it in the first place. I think that DISH is a victim of the current collapsing cable /sat model. Their idea of SLING TV sounds good ,but a dvr function is a necessity . No one watches live tv now days unless it is sports or current news on one of the news channels, especially the Millennials that DISH is aiming for with this service.
Now for the attacks on people who own their own receivers and ask for promo credits every 6 months or so. I have ALWAYS owned my receivers and when DISH originally started that was how you came on board. I also own my two cars and have never leased anything. I don't believe in leasing ,because to me it is just a fancy way to pay more. But I have asked for credits because their FEES are to damn high. They along with the ever increasing programming costs have made my bill go north of the $100.00 limit I set for tv years ago. Being able to obtain the credits helped me to keep my bills reasonable. Now with the Flex pack and other packs you add, my bill will still be low under $100.00. So I won't need to keep asking for credits every 6 months. I don't make any apologies for trying to keep my bills at a reasonable level. I do this with all companies I do business with. It's called being smart and business savvy. Charlie sure believes in this principle since he is fighting many battles over this very thing with Tribune , Nfl channel etc.
