TKJunkMail
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3 edits |  [DIRECTV] DirecTV drops Versus network after no contract with Co
»mmajunkie.com/news/16040/versus-···vice.mma
DirecTV dropped the signal following a midnight deadline after the broadcast satellite service couldn't reach an agreement with Versus on what it would pay to carry its signal.
Versus, which is also a broadcast home to the NHL, was asking for a fee increase.
The message blamed Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator in the U.S., for the blackout The cable company also owns Versus. Maybe they will have a deal before 1st scheduled NHL games on Oct 1.
"They (Comcast) regularly try to charge us amounts well in excess of what is fair and reasonable to carry the programming they own," the message stated. "Their reason is obvious: They want to stifle competition from DirecTV. Comcast's unfair terms undermines DirecTV's ability to offer our customers the best possible value. If we simply accept these terms, we would have to absorb the unreasonable costs Comcast wants to charge us, and in turn we will be forced to increase the rates our customers pay. We do not want this to happen. In fact, Comcast has forced us to remove Versus because we would not accept the terms they demanded."
DirecTV says Versus is asking for a 20 percent increase in fees. If you have DirecTV and got NHL on Versus channel, no joy for you today. Maybe they will have a deal before 1st scheduled NHL games on Oct 1.
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pandora
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1 edit | Re: [DIRECTV] DirecTV drops Versus network after no contract wit
I hope DirecTV and Comcast can resolve this before the first game. However, if every content provider got a 20% per year increase, our bills would become unaffordable very quickly.
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL | reply to TKJunkMail
comcast dropped tv from direct tv after giving us a shit SD upscale to HD picture for a few days.
Comcast was makeing direct tv pay more then all others for VS and now they want 20% more. |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
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join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA | reply to TKJunkMail
I had never even heard of that network until this post, but then I don't follow Hockey at all.
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dbmaven
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Heres a good read on the subject, from a Hockey Fan's perspective: The HockeyWriter on DirecTV/Versus
Versus has a website up that they're pushing DirecTV subscribers to - it will send an email to DirecTV complaining about the loss of Versus.
What subscribers really need to do is send an email to the 2 following addresses:
feedback@versus.com
We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com
telling them to negotiate in good faith and consistent with what's being charged other delivery systems (think 'cable companies').
Reports say that DirecTV was paying .33 per subscriber, and Comcast wants .40 - a 20% increase. For a channel that ranks in the 60's out of 71 channels available on DirecTV - when much more popular channels charge DirecTV .20 - .25. Pure insanity.
Comcast needs DirecTV - which accounts for about one-third of all Versus subscribers - much more than DirecTV needs Versus....
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The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
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robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Millington, NJ
| reply to TKJunkMail
The real answer here is laws similar to the ones passed in the '50s banning cross ownership of movie studios and movie theaters.
Allowing ownership of distribution channels and content is not good for the consumer. This has been proven over and over again with Comcast in Philly with CSN not available on satellite and in NY with MSG and MSG+ not available on FiOS in HD.
There's too much of a conflict of interest. |
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Hayward
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Key West, FL
4 edits | reply to TKJunkMail
Maybe Direct TV just needs to get some BALLS???
Dish went through this with Vicom several years ago.... spawning ever more kids networks... they wanted on every their DISH said NO, maybe upper teirs but not all.
VIACOM pulled the plug EXCEPT for TVLAND where they ran a crawl of this channel going away so call this 800 number and complain not making it real clear it was DISH. And Viacom does not feed directly to DISH... it feeds to everyone, so Comcat, DTV, TW, and everyone else was calling DISH.... and they were only too happy to tell them well you are next in line when your comapanies contract is due.
And some parents on DISH were upset they actually had to entertain their kids rather than park them in front of NICK (and you bet they bitched at VIACOM too... kids cost MONEY... forget adding to my bill)... but it lasted no more than two weeks before it was over, and Viacom had their tail between their legs... DISH bills did not go up and the added kiddie channels were only on the upper teirs not foisted on everyone.
VS is still on DISH, mybe just difference in contract renewal dates... but they are out of their minds they think they are worth that much.
NHL almost self distructed themselves with the ABSURD full season strike a couple of years back now barely recovered they are pulling this BS??? And likely it is the NHL not VS or the other bergeoning sports themselves.
The rest of the network is just happy beating the crap out of each other in cages for entrance fees, and happy they even have an audience.
NHL has their last resort one of the otherwise lamest sports networks to even carry them... and likely the ones behind this crap... when they barely even have the hockey diehards willing to watch them again.
Oh and one other thing, DISH communicates with their customers.... any one that watched the monthy customer relations Charlie Chat knew the Viacom thing was maybe going to happen at least two months in advance.
So when it did, those at least were all over Viacom... not DISH. Which again I think really blind sided Viacom, as well as their STUPIDITY of leaving TV land but national feed so ALL cable and sat viewers thought it was going away, and making them the aware of the BS they were pulling.
DTV doesn't do that... it was just surprise everyone... and also just channel gone no we are fighting for your bottom line you should call VS and bitch about this.... just GONE... no explainantion no whats going on, now here is how you can help.
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
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np23
join:2005-10-28
united state
| said by Hayward  : DTV doesn't do that... it was just surprise everyone... and also just channel gone no we are fighting for your bottom line you should call VS and bitch about this.... just GONE... no explainantion no whats going on, now here is how you can help. Hayward...yet again, you're wrong! Directv clearly communicated that Versus was possibly being dropped. Scrolls ran across the screen from Directv & Versus. Their were messages on Directv's website, too. |
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Pauldo
join:2009-08-24
Buffalo, NY | reply to TKJunkMail
Re: [DIRECTV] DirecTV drops Versus network after no contract wit
You are not really missing anything with Versus being dropped. It's a want to be ESPN without the programming! |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16
| Living in Buffalo, how can you say that? There are 7 Sabres games on Versus this year. Wouldn't it be something if the Sabres made it all the way and the self proclaimed sports leader didn't carry Quest For the Cup 2010 in one of the most passionate hockey markets in the US. |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16
| reply to Hayward
Re: Maybe Direct TV just needs to get some BALLS???
And while I can't make much sense of Hayward's post and I'm still trying to figure out what 'bergeoning' means or is supposed to mean, how can you be so quick to defend Cheap Charlie? He is the scum of the earth, he's the spawn of Satan, or perhaps he's even Satan himself. He's an ole' miser who makes Ebenezer Scrooge look like philanthropist of the millennium. I have no problem with companies making money and as much of it as possible, that's what America is all about. What I have a problem with is how el Cheapo uses his customers as pawns in his game and then airs all his dirty laundry with programming providers on Fr. Charlie's Gospel Hour the second Monday of every month (aka the Charlie Chat). When I had Dish Network, it was a very long five year period after I learned how Charlie operated. Every month I'd fear my favorite channels would be dropped because el Cheapo was too greedy to pay but then come on channel 100 the following month and tell us how he's 'doing it for us'.
With Dish Network I always wondered which channel was next on the chopping block.
Leaving Dish Network and not supporting the likes of that evil greedy old man was things I could have done
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Hayward
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Key West, FL
1 edit | said by Steve Mehs :And while I can't make much sense of Hayward's post and I'm still trying to figure out what 'bergeoning' means or is supposed to mean, how can you be so quick to defend Cheap Charlie? Sorry spell check didn't catch it or maybe you just need to look it up your self.
As to Cheap Charlie in the 8 years I have had it... NO CHANNEL has gone away I cared about and they absolutely won the VIACOM BS thing.
CHEAP CHARLIE.... so you don't care at all what your are raped for TV service just pass it all along... guess you are a Comcast subscriber, or DTV NFL Sunday Tic doesn't matter what it costs person..
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
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robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Millington, NJ
| said by Hayward :As to Cheap Charlie in the 8 years I have had it... NO CHANNEL has gone away I cared about and they absolutely won the VIACOM BS thing. No channel YOU care about. If there was no NHL on Vs, I'd be able to say the same thing of any of the carriers I've had be it cable, telco or satellite.
Being a hockey fan, I have an interest in seeing these two giant corporations make a deal and stop using us as pawns. |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16
| reply to Hayward
quote:
As to Cheap Charlie in the 8 years I have had it... NO CHANNEL has gone away I cared about and they absolutely won the VIACOM BS thing.
Oh good, no channel YOU cared about ever was removed. I'm glad you disregard the programming wants and needs of the other 13,609,999 Dish Network subscribers.
quote:
CHEAP CHARLIE.... so you don't care at all what your are raped for TV service just pass it all along... guess you are a Comcast subscriber, or DTV NFL Sunday Tic doesn't matter what it costs person..
No, price is not my main concern, channels offered, picture quality, service reliability and customer service rank way above cost. I'd rather pay more and get more. I have Time Warner, reliability has been top notch, no rain or snow outages, no outages period other then two because of my own fault. the few times I've needed support the techs, on the phone and field techs have been top notch, I never cared for Dish Networks washed out picture, over all they have very poor color saturation compared to DirecTV and various digital cable providers I've seen.
And as for price, don't get me started. I used to keep package and price comparisons of Dish and DirecTV. While their package structures differ a little, generally, they're within a few bucks of each other. It's not like there is a ten dollar price differential for equal or as close to equal as possible offerings.
For Top end packages (all core programming, all premium movie channels, and all HD channels, NOT including in optional HD Premium Tiers), taking non promotional rates, Dish Network is $117.98 (America's Everything Pak - $102.98, Local Channels - $5.00, HD Fee - $10.00), DirecTV is $119.00 (Premier - $109.99, HD Access Fee - $10.00). With Time Warner in my area its $115.55 (Digipic 1000 - $65.50, HBO - $13.95, Cinemax - $9.95, Showtime - $9.95, Starz - $9.95, Encore - $3.00, Sports Tier - $3.25).
Keeping an apples to apples comparison, DirecTV offers no equivalent to Classic Bronze 100, I see the price is $39.99 a month. Back when I had Dish Network, the package was called America's Top 40 and it was $19.99 a month. Looking at the current lineup, not many channels have been added to that package over the past few years. Did it really need to go up $20? Classic Silver 200 is $52.99 a month, DirecTVs Choice is $55.99 a month. Time Warner in my area offers no equivalent, but Digipic 100 which is like Classic Gold 250 and Choice Xtra is $65.50 slightly more than satellite, but if you have HD, TW is cheaper as they don't make you pay twice for the same programming.
These prices are programming only, since that's what the topic of all this is. MSOs caving in to content provider price increases. Additional IRD fees, DVR fees and cable franchise fee's are not included since they have nothing to do with the cost of programming to the MSO. If cheap Charlie is 'Fighting for consumers' and 'keeping prices low' then why are Dish Networks prices on par with the competition?
You need to lay off the Charlie love. The guys doesn't give a rats ass about you, all he cares about is his pocket book and he runs the company on a shoe stong budget. Why are channel offerings pretty equal among providers, but Dish is not significantly cheaper then anyone else, and yet manages to get into hissy fits over every little contract. And incase you didn't notice, Dish Network and DirecTV price increases every spring are always in line with each other. Usually an increase of $2-$3 a month depending on the package.
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Don't Blame Me, I Voted For McCain
Welcome to The SSA, The Socialist States of Amerika, Lead By Your Dictator, Hussein Obama
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, B. Hussein Obama
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL
| said by Steve Mehs : quote:
As to Cheap Charlie in the 8 years I have had it... NO CHANNEL has gone away I cared about and they absolutely won the VIACOM BS thing.
Keeping an apples to apples comparison, DirecTV offers no equivalent to Classic Bronze 100, I see the price is $39.99 a month. Back when I had Dish Network, the package was called America's Top 40 and it was $19.99 a month. Looking at the current lineup, not many channels have been added to that package over the past few years. Did it really need to go up $20? Classic Silver 200 is $52.99 a month, DirecTVs Choice is $55.99 a month. Time Warner in my area offers no equivalent, but Digipic 100 which is like Classic Gold 250 and Choice Xtra is $65.50 slightly more than satellite, but if you have HD, TW is cheaper as they don't make you pay twice for the same programming. but they do make you pay $6 up to $20 /m per box on cable. |
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Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
| reply to robjlevin
said by robjlevin :said by Hayward :As to Cheap Charlie in the 8 years I have had it... NO CHANNEL has gone away I cared about and they absolutely won the VIACOM BS thing. No channel YOU care about. If there was no NHL on Vs, I'd be able to say the same thing of any of the carriers I've had be it cable, telco or satellite. Being a hockey fan, I have an interest in seeing these two giant corporations make a deal and stop using us as pawns. Point is a very much doubt it is the other minor sports on VS mandating the cost increase.... more than the barely even recover NHL once again.
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
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robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Millington, NJ | Was that supposed to make any sense at all? |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16
| reply to Joe12345678
quote:
but they do make you pay $6 up to $20 /m per box on cable.
I guess you can't read, so let me reiterate. "These prices are programming only, since that's what the topic of all this is. MSOs caving in to content provider price increases. Additional IRD fees, DVR fees and cable franchise fee's are not included since they have nothing to do with the cost of programming to the MSO."
The cost of renting an STB has nothing to do with what a provider pays Versus, ESPN or anyone else for carriage agreements.
And with Time Warner here, the cost of the first digital terminal is included in the price, just like satellite, additional terminals are $7.45 each, two and a half bucks more then satellite, but there are no upfront costs
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Don't Blame Me, I Voted For McCain
Welcome to The SSA, The Socialist States of Amerika, Lead By Your Dictator, Hussein Obama
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, B. Hussein Obama
Obama = Terrorist |
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Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
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Key West, FL
| reply to robjlevin
said by robjlevin :Was that supposed to make any sense at all? Well maybe if you had quoted something so I'd have a clue of what you are talking about.... I could answer with out doing research I have no interest in doing.
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
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robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Millington, NJ | reply to TKJunkMail
Re: [DIRECTV] DirecTV drops Versus network after no contract wit
Apparently the NHL has chosen to back Versus:
»www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=57131 |
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