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Charlie Ergen Lying Again?

landtuna

landtuna

I've noticed a new DirecTV ad airing the past few days. It's a pitch by Charlie Ergen touting DirecTV's "numerous" packages. In the ad he makes the statement:

"In our business it isn't legal to offer individual channels."

I am not aware of any such regulation or restriction and think this is just another Ergen lie. Am I mistaken?
 
Ergen is CEO of Dish Network! Not DirecTV. Anyways, I wouldn't be surprised if something misleading (to say it nicely) on channel counts, availability, packaging, etc. was stated by him.
 
Having been a Dish Network Dealer in the early days, I can honestly say that Charlie Lies, Cheats, Steals, and does whatever is necessary to conduct business.
 
In Dish's early years they offered a sort of ala carte package where you could pick 10 channels out of what was at that time their Top 40 package. They did it in the past, and there's no excuse why they can't do it now, other than greed. Ergen is definitely lying, but so are DirecTV and the cable systems. They won't offer ala carte packages until they're forced to by law, but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen any time soon.
 
I can't even stand to listen to the "Charlie Chats" on Echostar 7* any more. Just a lot of hot air and false promises.

(Is he even doing that any more? I haven't tuned in anything off that bird since they started scrambling the Muzak feeds a couple years ago.)
 
"Illegal"?.....Or, just "Inconvenient"?
I used to subscribe to just one single channel from them.

As I understand it, most packages are set up with a common encryption key, and that's why it's hard to break them up by channel. Certain channels, like the one International (optional) channel I had, have their own individual keys.

I don't personally recall any law against offering separate channels.
 
It's because channel providers say "if you want channel Y, you must also take channels Z, X, A, B, and W". Like the ESPNs for example...want one? Carry them all.
 
LowPayDJ said:
Having been a Dish Network Dealer in the early days, I can honestly say that Charlie Lies, Cheats, Steals, and does whatever is necessary to conduct business.
Click to expand...

Wow.....combining your experience and mine with Comcast, maybe we'd all be better off
just buying our TV service direct from the Mafia....
 
anotherguy said:
In Dish's early years they offered a sort of ala carte package where you could pick 10 channels out of what was at that time their Top 40 package. They did it in the past, and there's no excuse why they can't do it now, other than greed. Ergen is definitely lying, but so are DirecTV and the cable systems. They won't offer ala carte packages until they're forced to by law, but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen any time soon.
Click to expand...

It's not JUST the cable companies, but also the programming providers. The providers, like Fox, are forcing these channels into the packages. You want to carry Fox? Fine, then you must carry Fox News, FX, and Fox Sports in your basic package too. Don't agree? Fine, you can't have Fox then.
 
FreddyE1977 said:
Wow.....combining your experience and mine with Comcast, maybe we'd all be better off
just buying our TV service direct from the Mafia....
Click to expand...
...what makes you think you aren't already? ;D ...
 
kenglish said:
"Illegal"?.....Or, just "Inconvenient"?
I used to subscribe to just one single channel from them.

As I understand it, most packages are set up with a common encryption key, and that's why it's hard to break them up by channel. Certain channels, like the one International (optional) channel I had, have their own individual keys.

I don't personally recall any law against offering separate channels.
Click to expand...

When I had the C/Ku Band B.U.D., I bought single channels here and there as I saw fit. There's no law against it - that's pure Barbra Streisand (BS).
 
I guess they COULD offer you some smaller, provider-based packages...for instance, all the ABC channels, all the Fox channels, or all the NBC/Comcast owned channels.
That would be sort of like the European system, where you buy directly from the programmers, but get it from a single transmission provider.
 
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