DISH Hardball: Lifetime Movie Network Replaced by Oxygen

[dampier]

EchoStar announced it is permanently replacing Lifetime Movie Network on its "America's Top 120" tier with Oxygen. "EchoStar currently has no further interest in carrying the Lifetime Movie Network," according to EchoStar spokesman Marc Lumpkin.

EchoStar's spokesman indicated the service has now discontinued negotiations with Lifetime to restore the primary Lifetime service to the lineup, considering the discussions at an impasse.

EchoStar claims it is still interested in talking to Lifetime, but that it is difficult to keep "a relationship with a programmer who uses politics instead of economics to reach a fair agreement."

Oxygen is a new addition to EchoStar's lineup. The company said subscribers seem to be satisfied with the replacement, adding that Oxygen was the most requested channel addition to the lineup.





EchoStar announced Monday that it has reached a long-term carriage deal with Oxygen, which will take Lifetime Movie Network’s place on Dish Network’s “America’s Top 120” tier.

Dish dropped Lifetime Television and spinoff LMN New Year’s Day when both sides couldn’t come to terms on a renewal for a contract that expired Dec. 31. The fight is over the license-fee increase Lifetime is seeking.

Dish previously had not offered Oxygen which, like Lifetime, targets women.

 

[Charles]

Yippie! I can now watch Dr. Sue. Just what I wanted, too: a woman who looks remarkably like my late grandmother talking about sex.

 

[JeeperOne]

Hi everyone:

> EchoStar claims it is still interested in talking to
> Lifetime, but that it is difficult to keep "a relationship
> with a programmer who uses politics instead of economics to
> reach a fair agreement."

Yeah....EchoStar should know ALL ABOUT using POLITICS, huh? Heck...Didn't they and Comcast WRITE THE BOOK on the subject?

Nice to see a cable or satellite operator get a taste of their own medicine every once in awhile (and for a change.

WAY TO GO LIFETIME!!!

> Oxygen is a new addition to EchoStar's lineup. The company
> said subscribers seem to be satisfied with the replacement,
> adding that Oxygen was the most requested channel addition
> to the lineup.

They could've put Oxygen on some other channel. They didn't need to replace one channel with another.

> EchoStar announced Monday that it has reached a long-term
> carriage deal with Oxygen, which will take Lifetime Movie
> Network’s place on Dish Network’s “America’s Top 120” tier.

Apparently DISH Network is missing ch. 121 ??

> Dish dropped Lifetime Television and spinoff LMN New Year’s
> Day when both sides couldn’t come to terms on a renewal for
> a contract that expired Dec. 31. The fight is over the
> license-fee increase Lifetime is seeking.

See my rant at the top.

> Dish previously had not offered Oxygen which, like Lifetime,
> targets women.

I'm not a woman, but I sometimes watch LMN. Good thing I'm not a DISH Network subscriber.

Just my opinion

Cheers for now

Pat
<P ID="signature">______________

http://patspodcast.blogspot.com/
Radio? Uhh.....What's THAT?? </P>

 

[EricStein]

> I'm not a woman, but I sometimes watch LMN. Good thing I'm
> not a DISH Network subscriber.

And yet, an analyst upgraded DISH's stock and downgraded DirecTV today. The reason: in the analyst's opinion, DISH has an "enhanced" HDTV offering.

HDTV is still a work in progress. If DISH can't offer popular networks because of disputes with programmers, that's a cause for a downgrade on DISH stock.

 

[network]

It Helps To Research First!

> Yeah....EchoStar should know ALL ABOUT using POLITICS, huh?
> Heck...Didn't they and Comcast WRITE THE BOOK on the
> subject?
>
> Nice to see a cable or satellite operator get a taste of
> their own medicine every once in awhile (and for a change.
>
>
> WAY TO GO LIFETIME!!!

Your response right there shows why people should really know what the hell they're talking about prior to posting.

If you even bothered to pay attention (or read-up), you would've noticed that Lifetime and various WOMEN'S GROUPS that are coming to the networks defense are playing the discrimination card. Instead of addressing the real issue (Lifetime's 76-78% increase over 3 years), they are making it a "DISH Hates Women" issue.

Nothing completely defeats your purpose quicker than making it a "I'm A woman scorned" issue.

Also, DISH has been very open about correspondence and communications with Lifetime. Meanwhile, while Lifetime is busy sitting back screaming DISH/Echostar isn't being fair, they have YET to even release any FACTS to back-up their claims (including the actual rate increase). They (Lifetime) were even invited to appear on DISH's "Charlie Chat" on January 9th to clear the air and talk about the issue. They either never responded or declined their invite. Things that make you go hmmm.

Lifetime also has been using the upcoming rate increase by DISH as a way to win their fight.

Bzzt. Thanks for playing, but have a seat Lifetime.

DISH is only raising their rates $2/month (for most packages). This is their first rate increase in a few years. Unlike cable that seems to increase their rates when they feel like it.

I wonder how the advertisers on Lifetime feel about this? I am sure the sales staff boasts how many households they reach. They better update their selling points and remove over 12 MILLION households from that number.

There are many people who are in DISH's corner with this. DISH has no problem releasing documents, etc on what's going on. Meanwhile, Lifetime has been hush all along.

 

[clichemoth]

Re: It Helps To Research First!

> > Yeah....EchoStar should know ALL ABOUT using POLITICS,
> huh?
> > Heck...Didn't they and Comcast WRITE THE BOOK on the
> > subject?
> >
> > Nice to see a cable or satellite operator get a taste of
> > their own medicine every once in awhile (and for a change.
>
> >
> >
> > WAY TO GO LIFETIME!!!
>
> Your response right there shows why people should really
> know what the hell they're talking about prior to posting.
>
> If you even bothered to pay attention (or read-up), you
> would've noticed that Lifetime and various WOMEN'S GROUPS
> that are coming to the networks defense are playing the
> discrimination card. Instead of addressing the real issue
> (Lifetime's 76-78% increase over 3 years), they are making
> it a "DISH Hates Women" issue.

Which seems dumb because that clearly isn't the case as Dish has replaced the channels with very similar programming. Oxygen, IMO, is a better network than LMN's 24/7 bad tearjerker fiesta, and being on the Dish lineup will give them the leverage they need to get more cable coverage, which has been difficult for them even with Oprah's presence.

 

[KERCAlum]

> EchoStar announced it is permanently replacing Lifetime
> Movie Network on its "America's Top 120" tier with Oxygen.
> "EchoStar currently has no further interest in carrying the
> Lifetime Movie Network," according to EchoStar spokesman
> Marc Lumpkin.
>
> EchoStar's spokesman indicated the service has now
> discontinued negotiations with Lifetime to restore the
> primary Lifetime service to the lineup, considering the
> discussions at an impasse.
>
> EchoStar claims it is still interested in talking to
> Lifetime, but that it is difficult to keep "a relationship
> with a programmer who uses politics instead of economics to
> reach a fair agreement."
>
> Oxygen is a new addition to EchoStar's lineup. The company
> said subscribers seem to be satisfied with the replacement,
> adding that Oxygen was the most requested channel addition
> to the lineup.
>
>
>
>
>
> EchoStar announced Monday that it has reached a long-term
> carriage deal with Oxygen, which will take Lifetime Movie
> Network’s place on Dish Network’s “America’s Top 120” tier.
>
> Dish dropped Lifetime Television and spinoff LMN New Year’s
> Day when both sides couldn’t come to terms on a renewal for
> a contract that expired Dec. 31. The fight is over the
> license-fee increase Lifetime is seeking.
>
> Dish previously had not offered Oxygen which, like Lifetime,
> targets women.
>

I'm a Dish subscriber, and my wife and I never watch Lifetime (well, she did once, but was ashamed to admit it) or LMN. Doubtful we'll ever watch Oxygen, either. However, when I noticed that both Lifetime and LMN had been removed from the lineup, the Dish explanation was that Lifetime wanted over a 70% increase in what it charges to carry its programming, and Dish was unwilling to pass along that large an increase to its customers.

This morning, I heard a radio ad for Lifetime urging listeners to dump Dish and sign up with someone who carries Lifetime (like DirecTV, Comcast, or Charter Cable here in Fort Worth). They said nothing in the ad about their proposed rate increase, nor did they adequately explain why Dish was no longer carrying them (and they didn't have to, since they paid for the ad time). However, it was an indication that negotiations have indeed turned nasty, and if I were DirecTV or any of the cable systems that carry Lifetime, I'd be watching my back and marking my calendar for the expiration of their contract, because I'm afraid Lifetime is going to ask for the same increase and pull the same tactics. If they're not careful, they'll wind up begging for viewers because they'll be kicked off most of those systems. Strong-arm tactics never work, and compromise is always the best option if you can't get what you want.<P ID="signature">______________
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." - Robert Heinlein

dan</P>

 

[Garrett]

As someone who used to have DISH network, I commend them for their tactics. I DISH is head and shoulders cheaper than Cox cable and other providers because they play hard ball with their network providers. They get it.

I realize that means that DISH viewers lose out on certain channels when this happens, bt ultimately, it is the networks that lose out, because they lose viewers. When companies like Viacom and Fox try to rack up the price for programming that should otherwise be free or have lower rates, someone needs to step up to them, and I'm glad that someone like Echostar stands up to them. If only more companies had a backbone. When I had DISH, I always felt like they care about me as a customer more than Cox did.

Just my 2 Cents on the subject...

> EchoStar announced it is permanently replacing Lifetime
> Movie Network on its "America's Top 120" tier with Oxygen.
> "EchoStar currently has no further interest in carrying the
> Lifetime Movie Network," according to EchoStar spokesman
> Marc Lumpkin.
>
> EchoStar's spokesman indicated the service has now
> discontinued negotiations with Lifetime to restore the
> primary Lifetime service to the lineup, considering the
> discussions at an impasse.
>
> EchoStar claims it is still interested in talking to
> Lifetime, but that it is difficult to keep "a relationship
> with a programmer who uses politics instead of economics to
> reach a fair agreement."
>
> Oxygen is a new addition to EchoStar's lineup. The company
> said subscribers seem to be satisfied with the replacement,
> adding that Oxygen was the most requested channel addition
> to the lineup.
>
>
>
>
>
> EchoStar announced Monday that it has reached a long-term
> carriage deal with Oxygen, which will take Lifetime Movie
> Network’s place on Dish Network’s “America’s Top 120” tier.
>
> Dish dropped Lifetime Television and spinoff LMN New Year’s
> Day when both sides couldn’t come to terms on a renewal for
> a contract that expired Dec. 31. The fight is over the
> license-fee increase Lifetime is seeking.
>
> Dish previously had not offered Oxygen which, like Lifetime,
> targets women.
>

 

[TonySantiago]

> EchoStar announced it is permanently replacing Lifetime
> Movie Network on its "America's Top 120" tier with Oxygen.
> "EchoStar currently has no further interest in carrying the
> Lifetime Movie Network," according to EchoStar spokesman
> Marc Lumpkin.
>
> EchoStar's spokesman indicated the service has now
> discontinued negotiations with Lifetime to restore the
> primary Lifetime service to the lineup, considering the
> discussions at an impasse.
>
> EchoStar claims it is still interested in talking to
> Lifetime, but that it is difficult to keep "a relationship
> with a programmer who uses politics instead of economics to
> reach a fair agreement."
>
> Oxygen is a new addition to EchoStar's lineup. The company
> said subscribers seem to be satisfied with the replacement,
> adding that Oxygen was the most requested channel addition
> to the lineup.
>
>
>
>
>
> EchoStar announced Monday that it has reached a long-term
> carriage deal with Oxygen, which will take Lifetime Movie
> Network’s place on Dish Network’s “America’s Top 120” tier.
>
> Dish dropped Lifetime Television and spinoff LMN New Year’s
> Day when both sides couldn’t come to terms on a renewal for
> a contract that expired Dec. 31. The fight is over the
> license-fee increase Lifetime is seeking.
>
> Dish previously had not offered Oxygen which, like Lifetime,
> targets women.
>

I cannot say much, as an employee of Lifetime, on this. However, prior to this, the network and Dish has always had a good relationship.

Yes, things are getting ugly as of late with things. Yet regardless of the many women networks out there as of late, Lifetime STILL maintains a number one standing and Lifetime Movie Network continues to climb with subscribers. Obviously the biggest losers in this isn't Lifetime OR the Dish, but the subscribers who are being blocked out due to this dispute. Hopefully this can get settled in a peaceful manner.

TONY SANTIAGO

 

[Newshawk]

Re: It Helps To Research First!

> Lifetime also has been using the upcoming rate increase by
> DISH as a way to win their fight.
>
> Bzzt. Thanks for playing, but have a seat Lifetime.
>
> DISH is only raising their rates $2/month (for most
> packages). This is their first rate increase in a few
> years. Unlike cable that seems to increase their rates when
> they feel like it.
>
Bzzzzt! Sorry, Rich, but that is an incorrect answer, and was not put in the form of a question. The correct answer is "What satellite provider is raising their rates for the third year in a row?" Thanks for playing, however. We have some lovely parting gifts. Don, tell him what he'll get...<P ID="signature">______________
"Radio is like musical chairs. When the music stops, I sit down and say something."</P>

 

[network]

WRONG!!!

> Bzzzzt! Sorry, Rich, but that is an incorrect answer, and
> was not put in the form of a question. The correct answer is
> "What satellite provider is raising their rates for the
> third year in a row?" Thanks for playing, however. We have
> some lovely parting gifts. Don, tell him what he'll get...

Again people...pull your heads out of your backsides. DISH has not raised their rates "3 years in a row" (as far as I was/am concerned). I have been a DISH customer since 2001 and have had ONE rate increase of like 1 or 2 dollars since then (not including the one coming up in Feb).

 

[KMRichards]

Devil's Advocate

> Obviously the biggest losers in this isn't Lifetime OR the
> Dish, but the subscribers who are being blocked out due to
> this dispute. Hopefully this can get settled in a peaceful
> manner.

The question is: How many Dish subscribers are vocally objecting to this, and if it is only a relative handful of their subscribers, what does this say about your argument?

I know one Dish subscriber who is thrilled about all this, because she wasn't a regular viewer of either of the Lifetime channels but had missed Oxygen since she switched to Dish from cable.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[arklatexradioguy]

Re: Devil's Advocate

Lifetime has lost 12 million viewers which no doubt will make a dent in advertising revenue's Dish might lose a handful of sub's bad move on Lifetime's part as I see it



> > Obviously the biggest losers in this isn't Lifetime OR the
>
> > Dish, but the subscribers who are being blocked out due to
>
> > this dispute. Hopefully this can get settled in a
> peaceful
> > manner.
>
> The question is: How many Dish subscribers are vocally
> objecting to this, and if it is only a relative handful of
> their subscribers, what does this say about your argument?
>
> I know one Dish subscriber who is thrilled about all this,
> because she wasn't a regular viewer of either of the
> Lifetime channels but had missed Oxygen since she switched
> to Dish from cable.
>

 

[Les]

In anticipation

> Again people...pull your heads out of your backsides. DISH
> has not raised their rates "3 years in a row" (as far as I
> was/am concerned). I have been a DISH customer since 2001
> and have had ONE rate increase of like 1 or 2 dollars since
> then (not including the one coming up in Feb).

In anticipation of the forthcoming DISH rate increase I've begun
keeping my own "viewing log". I get decent off-air reception of
ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN, PBS and am making careful note of how
much I actually use DISH channels that are not available off-air.
So far, after only a week, I find I'm watching the off-air
available channels about 80% of the time the TV is turned on.

Some years ago the local cable provider raised rates to the point
where I no longer felt there was value, so went to DISH. Now it
may be that DISH is no longer providing value commensurate with
the programming I'm actually using that I couldn't get for free.
Chances of getting any better viewing choices from DISH (unless
one really thrives on hope shopping) don't seem very bright.

OK, so I watch my pennies a little more closely than most people
but I gotta believe that there are SOME folks who may be motivated
to drop out when the rates his some level....
<P ID="signature">______________
"environmentalism is collectivism in drag."
--George Will (or won't)</P>

 

[HomerJay]

Re: WRONG!!!

"As far as I was/am concerned" does not a fact make. The fact is Dish has raised rates on various packages for at least five years. Perhaps not your package, but that doesn't mean someone else is wrong for pointing out tehe facts.


>
> Again people...pull your heads out of your backsides. DISH
> has not raised their rates "3 years in a row" (as far as I
> was/am concerned). I have been a DISH customer since 2001
> and have had ONE rate increase of like 1 or 2 dollars since
> then (not including the one coming up in Feb).
>