Court Orders Dish to Drop ALL Distant Networks

[rdinkel]

Anyone have any updates on when/if full court will hear case?

 

[BobMurdoch]

Hopefully it takes a few more years..... By then we'll all jump to Fios and it won't affect us anymore....

 

[JP Threw]

Anyone have any updates on when/if full court will hear case?

I haven't heard anything!

 

[hobojoe]

i bet dish is thinking. if they can cover as much of these areas as possible before pulling the plug. then they will retain as many customers as possible. but i think its going to happen its just when. i think its so unfair that directv has not also been effected.

 

[Greg Bimson]

i bet dish is thinking. if they can cover as much of these areas as possible before pulling the plug. then they will retain as many customers as possible. but i think its going to happen its just when. i think its so unfair that directv has not also been effected.

DirecTV was affected. They were sued and the judgment was issued in 1999. Echostar stalled it out in the courts all these years, so the process has taken much longer.

 

[JohnH]

Ironies in all this:

Before SHVIA I had 13 Distant Network Cites(all there was at the time) at the same time via DiSH Network. I now have zero via DiSH Network. This is somewhat my own fault.

On Saturday, I likely will be watching the Dodgers from Los Angeles, The Yankees from New York and the Phillies from Philadelphia via DIRECTV.

 

[TNGTony]

From today's Dish Channel Chart
(For those that don't know, I am the author of this page so I give myself permission to copy it. )

Test channel 45 added to channel 240 tp 13 at 119° with mirrors not in the system on channel 8199 and 8399. Not available to subscribers (ANON)

Test channel 46 added to channel 250 tp 16 at 119° with mirrors not in the system on channel 8259 and 8669. Not available to subscribers (ANON)

Test channel 47 added to channel 253 tp 17 at 119° with mirrors not in the system on channel 8339 and 9393. Not available to subscribers. (ANON)

These test channel are most probably nothing to get excited about, and, for those with distant network channels, probably the harbingers of REALLY bad news. The placement of these channels are such that if activated they will be the next channel up or down on any Distant Network channel. These channels are most likely slates with information about the removal of distant network channels. For those unaware, Dish Network lost BIG a few months ago in an appeals court decision which sent the case back to the lower court with a strong recommendation (order) to force Dish to remove ALLLLLLLLL distant network channels from EVERYBODY no matter what! Period. No exceptions. No not even your waiver. No not even if you qualify under the SHVIA. No not even if you have a signed letter from the president of the NAB saying its okay. NO NOT FOR ANY REASON. No distant networks for ANYONE. YES EVEN YOU! This is being done as a punitive measure since Dish has been found to flagrantly disregard the rules and regulations of who qualifies for distant network signal.

Dish has been fighting this for a couple of months and trying to work a deal with the NAB and the networks (which brought the suit in the first place). The final determination is expected very soon.

Satelliteguys.US members may have received an e-mail to visit http://www.SaveMyChannels.com.

Letter from Charlie Ergen CEO Echostar (Dish Network) posted at Satelliteguys.us by Scott G


I think I just heard the other shoe falling.

See ya
Tony

 

[hobojoe]

i heard dish network was talking to the networks to see about a out of court settlement and new agreements. could it be true could they override the courts order or suspend the sentence? i know dish will say its not fair i know the rural comunity will be out raged. isn't there some rule they must reach every customer in order to offer local channels? does this mean locals are gone also? god this looks bad for us.

 

[Derwin0]

i heard dish network was talking to the networks to see about a out of court settlement and new agreements. could it be true could they override the courts order or suspend the sentence? i know dish will say its not fair i know the rural comunity will be out raged. isn't there some rule they must reach every customer in order to offer local channels? does this mean locals are gone also? god this looks bad for us.

If there was an out of court settlement, the only thing the NAB would accept is something akin to Directv where the only ones who now get DNS are those where locals are not available. So if you have LiL available to you, say goodbye forever to DNS.

 

[waltinvt]

Dish already has LiLs for something like 95% of the country.

Basically most who currently has DNS, don't (can't) sub to LiLs.

Customer looses DNS, so then purchases LiLs.

Dish looses $1.50 for each DNS channel ($4.50 total for most subs) but picks up what - $6 for LiLs?

Sounds to me like Dish could even make money on this.

Then there's the issue of whether or not HD DNS is or isn't included in this judication. Maybe Tony and Greg will indulge us one more time .

Hypothetically if digital channels are not included in the ruling (personally I don't know how they could be since they didn't even exist when this all originally went to court), then what if Dish had deals in the works for the remaining 3 HD DNS and are just waiting to launch when the analog DNS go dark?

That could mean everyone that qualified for SD DNS (even though they lost them under this ruling) would (per FCC) still qualify for digital DNS and if Dish puts the HD DNS on MPEG4, it would insure they'd have to upgrade receivers if they haven't already plus upgrades to HD programming. Hmmmmmm

 

[MikeD-C05]

Why not just finish the rest of the country's 40 dmas and then this whole thing wouldn't matter? OF course there is no rules on digital /hd distants right? They could start this whole thing over again with the digital distants.

 

[osu1991]

This does matter for those that don't have all the networks in their DMA to begin with. No ABC FOX WB UPN or PBS in the ADA/Sherman DMA we get distant feeds for those networks in addition to the 2 locals that dish carries but Directv does not. It will just cause me to drop one account and use my primary address and receivers at both houses.

 

[lilsaxon]

networks

can the local networks for Boston be recieved in southern Nova Scotia?

 

[BobMurdoch]

This is gonna suck. I got waivers so I could record extra shows off the west coast feeds, and dodge my affiliate when they break away from network programming (during the New York subway strike last year, which I could NOT care less about being in NJ) they kept preempting the MNF game to tell viewers what donuts the stalemated union leaders were ordering.

Plus when programmers decide to play chicken and put their best shows all in the same time slot, it was easy to avoid the problem with multiple network feeds. Having access to other cities' football games didn't suck either. It ain't Sunday Ticket, but it is the best I can get....

 

[nh_dish]

OK... the email that I just received from SatelliteGuys is the first I have heard of this mess. So please forgive my ignorance. But, just how much is this going to affect me? Am I going to luck out because I'm on the East coast (as some early posts implied)? Or am I screwed again?

I live only 60 minutes from Boston. I'm only 30 minutes, in any direction, from other major towns in NH and MA. But because I live in the "woods", the business world shuns me. DSL won't install any gear in my town. Dial-up sucks because of ridiculously old copper. Cable provider won't offer ANY services because "there aren't enough customers on my road". I can receive only 1 or 2 air-broadcast signals, because I live at the base of a mountain. Even those couple are barely viewable. Satellite TV was the only decent service I enjoyed. Now I'm going to lose half of the channels??

And could someone please explain to me WHAT the broadcasters are GAINING from this?? Do they think they will gain viewing by limiting our selection? I for one, will not watch ANY channel if the shows I enjoy are not on. If I miss my favorite show on the local channel, and can't view it via Distant Network, then <click> off goes the TV.

 

[AdamGott]

Maybe it is finally time to get rid of the SHVA! This may finally give us the impetus necessary to do so. Think of the possible benefits - Dish (and Direct TV) can drop ALL local HD network broadcasts and show one (or one in each time zone maybe) feed from each network in true HD.

Good riddance to my crappy locals - NO HD FOX or CBS, ABC and NBC are HD but not always (some kind of nonsense about not being able to timeshift because a HD recorder is too expensive).

 

[Greg Bimson]

Maybe it is finally time to get rid of the SHVA! This may finally give us the impetus necessary to do so. Think of the possible benefits - Dish (and Direct TV) can drop ALL local HD network broadcasts and show one (or one in each time zone maybe) feed from each network in true HD.

You have it backwards. The laws governing satellite delivery of networks are only exemptions to copyright law. Remove the exemptions, and copyright law governs, which means Dish Network and DirecTV would have drop all OTA stations.

Until a suitable contract was drawn up to carry these stations.

 

[affox14]

I know this has been asked before, but I do not recall, Has the full 11th Circuit decided whether it is going to take the case or not? Is there any idea when that might happen? Perhaps, they will hear it, and the case could drag on longer. I also emailed my two Senators and Congressman when I received the email yesterday.

 

[waltinvt]

You have it backwards. The laws governing satellite delivery of networks are only exemptions to copyright law. Remove the exemptions, and copyright law governs, which means Dish Network and DirecTV would have drop all OTA stations.

Until a suitable contract was drawn up to carry these stations.

Greg, Just think if you had a dollar for every time you've had to repeat that explaination.

 

[Greg Bimson]

Sure. I could buy all the networks, Congress, and then Dish Network.