Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

[Mountain Panther]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

Now that the two games on btn featuring UNI are over I could care less about watching that network for the rest of the year. If it meant raising my bill 50 cents a month I'm glad Dish held out against it. This is just one of the ways that all of us, fans or not, are paying the $4 million dollar coaches salaries and other insane expenses of the BCS league schools.

I can't blame DISH entirely for this dispute. BTN is asking too much. The B1G is not "back" as they say, and very few people care about watching the games outside of the Midwest. Yet B1G Network insists on DISH broadcasting it nationwide.

[Newsbreaker]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

I can't blame DISH entirely for this dispute. BTN is asking too much. The B1G is not "back" as they say, and very few people care about watching the games outside of the Midwest. Yet B1G Network insists on DISH broadcasting it nationwide.

Very few are about watching anything, comparatively speaking.

BTN is a popular channel, and a market rate has been established. DISH is positioning themselves as the budget alternative to cable and DTV, and it's going to mean poorer content on that service.

Everybody is "wrong" in a certain sense, but compared to other providers, it's DISH that is being unreasonable.

[Silent Earl]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

Someday some provider is going to offer a menu of channels with pricing disclosed for each one and every subscriber can pick and pay for just the 25 channels they actually want and not hundreds of channels they don't want. I realize most of those channels are thrown in for "free" by the networks in a package deal, but nothing is really free. The technology to do this is certainly there, has been for a while. If subscribers knew just how much they were paying for each channel, and all the associated channels they don't want if that model were continued, they would be free to make an informed choice.

[TH1974]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

Someday some provider is going to offer a menu of channels with pricing disclosed for each one and every subscriber can pick and pay for just the 25 channels they actually want and not hundreds of channels they don't want. I realize most of those channels are thrown in for "free" by the networks in a package deal, but nothing is really free. The technology to do this is certainly there, has been for a while. If subscribers knew just how much they were paying for each channel, and all the associated channels they don't want if that model were continued, they would be free to make an informed choice.

And no one is going to save any money. You'll be paying nearly the same amount for 1/4 the channels. Ala Carte is a pipe dream.

[JayJ79]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

Someday some provider is going to offer a menu of channels with pricing disclosed for each one and every subscriber can pick and pay for just the 25 channels they actually want and not hundreds of channels they don't want. I realize most of those channels are thrown in for "free" by the networks in a package deal, but nothing is really free. The technology to do this is certainly there, has been for a while. If subscribers knew just how much they were paying for each channel, and all the associated channels they don't want if that model were continued, they would be free to make an informed choice.

The technology is there. But I'm guessing the networks/statioins have no interest in allowing that to happen. They make money off of being included in the standard package. Hence why BTN doesn't want to allow providers to relegate them to a sports package.

[ubuntuCAT]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

And no one is going to save any money. You'll be paying nearly the same amount for 1/4 the channels. Ala Carte is a pipe dream.

I get what your saying but "nearly the same" sounds like "less than I'm paying now" and if it's the 1/4 of the channels I actually watch, who cares?

[TH1974]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

Not you, apparently. Either way, it won't happen.

[9YRPLAN]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

the big ten should be paying people to put their dog**** conference on tv this year.

[Kyle]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

the big ten should be paying people to put their dog**** conference on tv this year.

06panther has a new quote to add to his signature.

[Newsbreaker]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

You will pay more for ala carte pricing and get much less. It only sounds better if you don't understand the economics.

[jnutt]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

You will pay more for ala carte pricing and get much less. It only sounds better if you don't understand the economics.

^this is 100% accurate. Your most expensive channels are sports

[ubuntuCAT]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

^this is 100% accurate. Your most expensive channels are sports

So if you didn't want sports channels you would likely pay less?

[jnutt]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

So if you didn't want sports channels you would likely pay less?

yes, but then again it's owned by Disney so they may make you buy it if you want ABC or the Disney channel. They are sneaky bastards

[Barnstormer]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

Ala Carte won't work. I'm going to oversimplify it, but lets say there are 200 channels out there. Well, that's nice, but those 200 channels are actually owned by about 5 companies.

So you're Mediacom, or Dish, or whatever and you want ESPN? Well that's owned by Disney and they are also going to make you to offer 30 other crap channels that your customers may or may not want. Until that changes, I don't see much movement on ala carte.

[Silent Earl]

Re: Dish Network/ Big Ten Network dispute

So basically there's no competition. It's all controlled by legalized organized crime and your choices as a consumer are 1) Take the 200 channel $150 a month "basic" package or 2) Get a set of rabbit ears and try to pick up your local stations.

You know, you kids probably won't believe this, but there was a time when there were actual laws against monopolies in this country.

Ala carte is the answer and it will come about someday, it's just a question of when. You would need a return to enforcement of anti-trust rules, and we are still moving in the opposite direction from that, but this too shall pass.