DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?

On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 16:49:27 GMT, JimK wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 18:18:39 -0500, Mark Lloyd
wrote:


Is there is a list of HD channels (HBO, Showtime, etc..) available
somewhere (NOT just what a particular provider carries)?

ESPN-HD
ESPN2-HD
DiscoveryHD
UniversalHD
TNT-HD
NatGeo-HD
HDNet
HDNetMovies
INHD
INHD2
MTV-HD
FoodNet-HD .
HGTV-HD
WealthTV
NFL-HD
NFL:ST-HD
OLN-HD
OutDoor2-HD
-

Rush-HD
Rave-HD
HD-News
Ultra-HD
Equator-HD
Gallery-HD
Monsters-HD
Animania-HD
FilmFest-HD
KungFu-HD
WldSport-HD
WldCinma-HD
Family-HD
Treasure-HD
GamePlay-HD
-
Premium Movie Channels *
-
HBO-HD
SHO-HD
CMa-HD
StrZ-HD
TMC-HD

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=419472

Thanks for the list.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:46:23 -0400, "Mike T." wrote:

There is no local PBS station, and DirecTV says (at least on the
website, customer service is so bad I don't care to get into that
mess) they're not allowed to carry one (since there's no local
station). That must not be true, considering that Dish does, and so
does EVERY nearby cable system I know about.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

Well it's not that simple. Your PBS might not be local, but still available
OTA, supposedly.

It is, with a big expensive antenna. That's how the cable company here
gets it.

It works like this, there are A grade and B grade (I think
that's the right term) signals. If you are in an A-grade signal area for
PBS, then dbs companies are not allowed to deliver PBS to you, as you are
expected to get PBS using rabbit ears. That much makes sense.

What makes NO FRICKING SENSE WHATSOEVER is that there is a B-grade signal
area for PBS. In the B-grade signal area, you might be able to get PBS if
you erect a 4,000 foot tall antenna beside your house. Even then, PBS will
be barely visible with a very snowy distorted picture and practically
inaudible sound. But you can still get it, if you go to extremes to get it.
So, if you are in the B-grade signal area, your dbs provider can't deliver
PBS to you.


Although this doesn't explain the difference between Dish (does carry
it) and DirecTV (doesn't). Interestingly, they already have the signal
on their sat and it is physically receivable here, just not allowed by
their (DTVs) restrictions.

It there really a difference between cable and satellite, according to
this law?

In practice, the B-grade rating means that PBS would rather you not watch
PBS at all, regardless of how you try to watch it. -Dave

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

In article , Jack Ak
wrote:

So explain why Rupert M. is supporting the re-election of Senator Clinton.


Are you serious? He's supporting Clinton for Senate because she's a
lock to win re-election. Ideology has nothing to do with it.

Get back to us if Murdoch supports her for president before New
Hampshire.

"Dr. Personality" wrote in message ...
In article , Jack Ak
wrote:

So explain why Rupert M. is supporting the re-election of Senator Clinton.


Are you serious? He's supporting Clinton for Senate because she's a
lock to win re-election. Ideology has nothing to do with it.

Get back to us if Murdoch supports her for president before New
Hampshire.

If Clinton is a sure bet for re-election, there is no need for fund raising
with the help of R. Murdoch.

In y.com "Jack Ak"
wrote:

If Clinton is a sure bet for re-election, there is no need for fund
raising with the help of R. Murdoch.


Could you possibly be unaware of the politics of pull?

Someone on record as a financial backer can expect favorable treatment
after the election.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

In article , Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 11:19:19 -0400, "Mike T." wrote:


"Gary H" wrote in message
y.com...
"Bill R" wrote in message
...
EchoStar buyout weighed -- DirecTV merger seen
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4063441

How do you DISH Network and DirecTV subscribers feel about this?
--

Don't really care since I don't know what it would mean.

OK, I'll simplify it. The average dbs bill would increase from ~50 to ~100
per month.

I used to be a Dish customer. I'm currently a DirecTV customer. Neither
service is better or worse, so choose based on who offers the best deal on
the programming you want to watch. Right NOW, it's possible to get dbs
service for a reasonable price. After the merger, dbs prices would rise
considerably. Right now, the dbs services are competing against each other
and cable. If they weren't competing against each other, there would be no
incentive to keep prices low, as most cable prices are considerably higher,
for similar programming. That is, after the merger, they would still be
"competitive", even if the basic package prices increased almost 100%. And
you can bet that they will. -Dave


That (price increases) may be the only significant effect on
customers.
Wasnt the previous buyout/merger talk stopped dead in its tracks a few years
ago by the FTC?

Doubtful on the price increase.

If they're stupid, they would do it, but cable is the alternative and people
would switch IN DROVES. Their 20M or so combined subs are probably 2/3 or
more from places where cable is an alternative. If they make themselves a
less attractive alternative to cable, then away we all go. Then the combined
company is a shadow of what it once was.

I do doubt that it would pass anti-trust muster though, although it would be
good for the DBS industry to become that big and have as much bargaining
power as a comcast with the content providers. Not only that, the sharing
of satellite bandwidth would be able to provide significant new and better
services to all of us. (is there REALLY a good reason for broadcasting two
of everything!)




On 7/18/06 11:19 AM, in article

OK, I'll simplify it. The average dbs bill would increase from ~50 to ~100
per month.

I used to be a Dish customer. I'm currently a DirecTV customer. Neither
service is better or worse, so choose based on who offers the best deal on
the programming you want to watch. Right NOW, it's possible to get dbs
service for a reasonable price. After the merger, dbs prices would rise
considerably. Right now, the dbs services are competing against each other
and cable. If they weren't competing against each other, there would be no
incentive to keep prices low, as most cable prices are considerably higher,
for similar programming. That is, after the merger, they would still be
"competitive", even if the basic package prices increased almost 100%. And
you can bet that they will. -Dave

Charlie owns a significant portion of Echostar, more than half of it if I
remember correctly.

The 2002 gig was a bad move by the gov't as well. If I remember right, the
shareholders of GMH got about one third of what Charlie offered when the
government took the only competitive bid off the table by taking Echostar
out of the game. Then Murdoch came in and took DTV for a song. (I think
Ergen had offered $30B or so, NewsCorp got it for under $10)





On 7/18/06 1:25 PM, in article
, "Jack Ak"
wrote:

"George Max" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 10:48:32 -0400, Bill R
wrote:

EchoStar buyout weighed -- DirecTV merger seen
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4063441

How do you DISH Network and DirecTV subscribers feel about this?

Didn't DISH try to buy DirectTV a couple of years ago and was shot
down as being anticompetitive? I certainly expect to see the same
ruling the other way too.


Did you read the article? The event proposed in 2002 was a MERGER,
not a purchase. Note that News Corp now owns 38% of DirecTV.

From the Denver Post article...
"In 2002, Ergen attempted a merger with DirecTV, then controlled by Hughes
Electronics.
That attempt faltered after it failed to pass antitrust review by the Federal
Communications Commission.
Murdoch's News Corp. eventually acquired control of DirecTV."

I don't know what percent of EchoStar is owned by Charlie Ergen,
perhaps this ownership share is what is being offered to DirecTV.

"Newps" wrote in message
. ..


Mike T. wrote:



OK, I'll simplify it. The average dbs bill would increase from ~50 to
~100 per month.

Bull**** scare tactics. The average bill wouldn't be anywhere near $100.
Those people will just go to cable. Here a similar cable package is
within $5 of what I pay now.

With me a combo pack of DIRECTV, Phone (1 full,1 limited for fax), Broadband
internet, and two cell phones saved about $129.00 a month.
That is compared to any cable or Dishnet combo.

Bill Jackson wrote:

Charlie owns a significant portion of Echostar, more than half of it if I
remember correctly.

The 2002 gig was a bad move by the gov't as well. If I remember right, the
shareholders of GMH got about one third of what Charlie offered when the
government took the only competitive bid off the table by taking Echostar
out of the game. Then Murdoch came in and took DTV for a song. (I think
Ergen had offered $30B or so, NewsCorp got it for under $10)



It is not the amount of stock that he owns, it is the amount of voting
shares ("A" shares) that is important. From the news story: "Any
decision to sell the company would rest solely with Ergen, who controls
more than 90 percent of the company's voting-share power."
--
Bill R.

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