Latest Dish News Blackout ???

Ah, the annual Dish scrap-up.

While watching CBS yesterday, a message scrolled across the screen that after some date coming up soon (I don't remember the exact date) Direct TV might not be able to provide CBS anymore.

The FCC or Congress could stop these retransmission disputes from using the viewers as hostages by allowing the service providers to use out of market stations during blackouts.

jcpainter wrote:
While watching CBS yesterday, a message scrolled across the screen that after some date coming up soon (I don't remember the exact date) Direct TV might not be able to provide CBS anymore.

I just read where direct is loosing 60 channels on monday

newman fulltimer wrote:

jcpainter wrote:
While watching CBS yesterday, a message scrolled across the screen that after some date coming up soon (I don't remember the exact date) Direct TV might not be able to provide CBS anymore.

I just read where direct is loosing 60 channels on monday

Looks that way: DIRECTV Could Lose 60 Local Stations Monday

I’m a pawn in this battle of billionaires?

Periodic ritual, it's just business. Frankly, I'm glad to see the content distributors standing up to the content providers. ESPN is the single most expensive content on any cable or satellite system. Last I read they get about $15 a month per customer from the distributors. This emboldens other content providers to think they can command similar prices. The distributors are the ones caught in the middle, end customers want the content, distributors pay up on the extortion demands of providers, distributors then catch hell from end customers because their bill increases.

These businesses aren't charities, but IMHO, the content providers' content doesn't command the price they're asking.

thomasmnile said "These businesses aren't charities, but IMHO, the content providers' content doesn't command the price they're asking".

Good call there and this is very reason I cut the cord and dumped my overpriced cable TV service years ago as I was paying for over 100 live TV programs I did not like or watch. I now see a lot of free TV programs and movies using a variety of streaming services and gadgets. Only a few live TV programs I care to watch. Captain Happy

Both directtv and dish have periods where channels are not available.
Both also permanently loose channels. Local channels are a racket for both parties.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
The FCC or Congress could stop these retransmission disputes from using the viewers as hostages by allowing the service providers to use out of market stations during blackouts.

:R

You do realize that FCC AND Congress ALLOWED this to happen by changing the rules/laws to allow OTA TV stations to DEMAND "payment" to those stations in order for Cable AND Satellite providers to be able to rebroadcast those Stations?

Station owners felt they were being "cheated" out of revenue as Cable and Sat markets grew and lobbied to get a ruling in favor of the TV station owners..

Additionally, you do realize that in most areas of the US you CAN also BYPASS the dish or cable and view the OTA channels DIRECTLY without the middle man?

Just takes a OTA antenna and flipping your TV to OTA channels.. Not impossible and you WILL get a much better pix in full HD (you only get SD OTA channel quality on Dish)..

Not to mention using OTA you get the additional SUBCHANNELS of each OTA broadcast channel.. Dish does not provide those channels and I suspect neither does Direct or most cable systems..