DISH Network Reports Second Quarter 2013 Financial Results

[harshness]

Sees like Q3 would be slow, but Q2 would be Apr to June, still a lot of TV on.

Q3 represents the start of school and the Fall TV season (and the end of many summer activities) for many so the customers start coming out of the woodwork.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I still dont get why you'd lower tv service because you are busy. There is plenty stuff on in Q2, and thats why you have a HDDVR!

One of the main reasons for having two Hoppers is I can record whatever I want, and it does not affect beach days and party nights.

 

[harshness]

Dish has lost its focus on the customer..some people just get sick and tired of a company that drops a channel at the hint of a dispute (yes everybody does it but some just to do it more) Dish just wants to make money..they treat employees like crap (plenty of articles on that) so they have heavy turnover in their call centers forcing customers to deal with poorly trained new reps.

Do you have published statistics to back up your litany of claims or are you just throwing everything you can think of at DISH hoping that some of it sticks?

I'd say that TWC is probably in the lead for the last few years and their recent battles with ABC and CBS drive that home pretty well.

 

[dvrexpander]

My question is just how much of those earnings are from Smart Home Services and selling all this crap they force techs to sell to maintain certain pay levels?

 

[harshness]

I still dont get why you'd lower tv service because you are busy. There is plenty stuff on in Q2, and thats why you have a HDDVR!

I beg to differ. I have AEP and I find that the selection of Premium movies is awfully slim during the Summer months. I find myself watching a whole lot of Barbecue Pitmasters instead of recent movies.

 

[dare2be]

I beg to differ. I have AEP and I find that the selection of Premium movies is awfully slim during the Summer months. I find myself watching a whole lot of Barbecue Pitmasters instead of recent movies.

Of course, the studios want people to go out to the theaters during the summer months and overpay for summer blockbusters.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I beg to differ. I have AEP and I find that the selection of Premium movies is awfully slim during the Summer months. I find myself watching a whole lot of Barbecue Pitmasters instead of recent movies.

You are assuming one has premiums just for movies. I watch all my movies on blu-ray, mostly, I have premiums for original programming. Lately its been Starz (Spartacus, Davinci and Magic City, Showtime (Ray Donovan now and Homeland soon), Max is now back with Strike Back, had Banshee earlier. HBO of course is GoT, True Blood, Newsroom, Hard Knocks, and I like Real Sports. Boardwalk Empire will be on shortly.
It's rare I dont have at least 3 premiums all year around.

 

[KAB]

I beg to differ. I have AEP and I find that the selection of Premium movies is awfully slim during the Summer months. I find myself watching a whole lot of Barbecue Pitmasters instead of recent movies.

Agreed. And not all premium original series are worth the freight.

 

[Bobby]

I actually watch the original series much more than the movies. They are usually first rate, as their Emmy nominations prove.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Which might explain the subscriber losses.

I am sure that higher FEE prices did indeed help to cause subscriber losses. For every FEE that they hike there is someone that will not pay it and they will churn to the competition or cut the cord entirely.

 

[MikeD-C05]

The best equipment in the world,can't compensate for programming price.

AMEN Brother! AMEN!:

 

[mike123abc]

http://allthingsd.com/20130806/cord-cutting-used-to-be-a-myth-it-isnt-anymore/?refcat=news

Chart showing cord cutting taking toll, not just Dish losing subs, but also all cable companies. AT&T and VZ still added subs, but industry wide drop of 360k subs...

 

[DishSubLA]

With Cable offering to buy out people's commitment and MORE cash to switch. I think a lot people not necessarily cord cutting (still a tiny group), but feeling the Dish bill to high--even if they know it is overall the lowest REGULAR rates--people see the grass is greener and switch to get those huge discounts for some relief, however temporary, but then can just move along to the next provider offering discounts to new subscribers. It's just too tempting to pass up.

Listen, Charlie know what is around the corner and this is why he has been trying so hard to get a wireless/cell company. Satellite is a one trick pony (even Charlie said that), and is by far the most vulnerable compared to the great hope the cable cos. and telcos have because they can morph into pure ISP's anytime and still make boat loads of money (like Comcast and now Charter having the $50 rate for 30Mbps as the standard rate, as in nothing at a lower price offered, and it seems to be working. We're not going to pay any less in the long run. It's just that our checks will got to a huge ISP bill and the HIGHER rates of the future for Netflix and Amazon at a minimum, but you can add Hulu Plus for some people. Worse, count on the same media companies we loath because of their high cost BUYING Netflix and Hulu, and Jeff Bezos may just be willing to allow a major media company get at seat on the board at Amazon if it means he can bag exclusive content for his Prime service.

This leads to the inevitable: a Hail Mary for a merger. Both Mike White and Charlie haven't been coy and flirtatious about a merger that past few years for nothing. I have no real evidence other than their musings about a merger not out of the question and the current state of flux for MVPD's, but to believe that Mike and Charlie are ACTIVELY talking to each other about NOW and are lining up their ducks in a row to really get the best chance of approval. With Rupert Murdoch no longer having an interest in stopping a merger this time around, it just might get approved. The after the merger and cost savings, they just might by Netflix. I really wouldn't be surprised to start seeing rumors in the press around the Q1 2014, then confirmation and announcement of an attempted merger. Charlie tried to got it alone, but it aint jelling. And nobody but DirecTV wants Dish. It's a natural. Who knows?

 

[TheKrell]

Well... A hypothetical merged Dish/DirecTV is still a "one trick pony". So how does that help save satellite TV down the road?

 

[dare2be]

Wow, it finally happened. Goodbye Claude, much luck in your business/endeavors.

 

[Rey]

let's get back on topic now . thank you everyone.

 

[Tampa8]

Well... A hypothetical merged Dish/DirecTV is still a "one trick pony". So how does that help save satellite TV down the road?

Perhaps shear numbers of subscribers? I see Charter and Cox cable are rumored to be talking merger very much for that reason. I didn't realize how small each is, combined would still have less than DISH, and of course DIRECT. The numbers game - larger clout when dealing with contracts, perhaps cost of manufacturing receivers goes down, etc....

Problem is, do we see DIRECT and DISH as each the main competitor to the other, or do we see DISH and DIRECT in competition with Cable and maybe Internet offerings? Would one Satellite company become complacent, or would it make it bolder to compete with Cable?

When Sirius and XM merged that was the question. There are some who feel their product was diluted after the merger. But I am with the vast majority that very much like Sirius/XM and feel one or both may well have failed without the merger.

 

[lparsons21]

If a Dish/Direct merger happened it only delays the changes in the offing. Satellite TV is still a one trick pony no matter how many riders you have on that pony. How long does it last? Who knows, but the numbers are in and it seems most pay TV from Sat/Cable is seeing declining subscribers.

While I watch lots of TV, when I visit my family in the KC area, I noted that most of the youngsters are not like we were. They are not spending much time in front of the tube, preferring to watch on their phones or tablets and even then mostly just short bursts of viewing.
?

 

[MikeD-C05]

I think the only thing that will help save any of these video providers is ala cart. It is the way people are consume content on the internet and it will be the way people will do it on the tv screen in the future. IF not the present sat/cable model will die by a thousand cuts (cord cutters) and or the present generation dieing out literally. The younger generation has moved to mobile cell video /internet viewing. And every time these greedy content providers like CBS and ESPN /DISNEY try to extort more and more money from video providers like Dish or Time Warner Cable etc, it makes the idea of cord cutting even more attractive to many. We might see a Back to the Future moment where everyone goes back to just ota and internet for All their entertainment needs. Physical stores like Blockbuster are closing day by day, and small town video stores are almost a thing of the past now.

The future is internet streaming and Netflix is the model that most consumers will want. Large content to be viewed, if and when they want ,at a small monthly price under $10.00. Netflix could be improved with better content , more up to date movies ,etc, but the model is right. What we need now is a whole house system like DISH has with the hopper /joeys except it would work with ota and internet shows for recording and streaming. IF DISH would look into creating an internet delivered company that would allow ala cart viewing I could see them surviving . IF they just merge with Directv , they are only re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic . Eventually the present day model of cable /satellite tv will die out. The continuing price hikes in both content and ever increasing FEES by the sat and cable companies will ensure that this happens.

 

[harshness]

I actually watch the original series much more than the movies. They are usually first rate, as their Emmy nominations prove.

That you have to subscribe to 24 channels to get a half dozen shows isn't a great deal. Kind of like begging for AMC just to get their three original series a year.

I don't have the energy to invest in watching most dramas (except for The Newsroom). I just want simple entertainment after a long day at work.

I mostly reject the notion that the movie owners choose what the movie channels show during the summer.