# Dish HD Press Release Does Not Mention Regional Sports Networks



## Hound (Mar 20, 2005)

Dish's big HD press release yesterday failed to address Regional Sports Networks.
Cable and Directv will win subscribers from Dish, if Dish does not provide Regional
Sports Networks in HD. There is a certain class of subscriber that will not sign up
with Dish, unless Regional Sports Networks are provided by Dish in HD.

Dish is well aware of the importance of Regional Sports Networks. Dish filed a complaint with the FCC a few years ago against Comcast for withholding Sportsnet
Philadelphia. The FCC decided in favor of Comcast on the land line transmission exception. Dish went ahead and appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC and lost. As a subscriber, I commend Dish for taking this action. Both Dish and Directv have currently filed comments with the FCC regarding the purchase of Adelphia assets by Comcast and Time Warner asking for complete access to Regional Sports Networks as a condition of the purchase, regardless of
how transmitted. Again, I commend Dish for taking this action. I also commend
Dish for taking its stance on OLN. Comcast is abusing its market power as a
vertically integrated company when it comes to sports. Comcast because of its vertical integration and position as the largest multichannel video provider with about 30 million subscribers, cannot lose when it acquires exclusive programming to broadcast sports. Comcast adjusts its own subscribers basic packages by
showing less channels (so less fees are paid to non Comcast television producers)
and raises its own fees to make a profit on the sports programming. Comcast
then turns around and tells other multichannel video providers that the sports
channel has to be placed in one of your basic packages so that it can maximize its
profit. Some multi channel video providers balk at Comcast's terms, so many
sports fans are shut off from their favorite sports programming, because they
do not live in a community that has Comcast cable. Comcast' s terms of putting
the sports channels in basic packages, has many millions of subscribers, not interested in sports programming, subsidizing multimillion dollar salaries for athletes, enormous profits for some sports teams and Comcast's bottom line.

Dish is very committed to providing sports to subscribers. The Dish sports packages are very good. The sports packages are the only reason that I am still with Dish not HD. Dish does not have Directv's exclusive NFL package, but Dish has everything else. The Directv NFL package is primarily attractive to out of market
football fans. If I was an out of market football fan, I would be with Directv not
Dish. But I am an in market fan. I generally can get all Eagles, Jets and Giants games in HD, plus Sunday night and Monday night football in HD. That is enough
football for me. A friend of mine in my community has Directv sunday package in HD. But he is an Eagles fan and most of his football viewing is still the Eagles. 

Directv is offering YES HD in my community. I would prefer to have Philadelphia
Comcast Sportsnet HD, but that is not available on satellite or cable to me.
However, I do watch MSG and Fox Sports NY. Those channels are available in
HD on cable. Dish provides them in SD.

It is very disappointing that the Dish website still says NBATV HD is available on
channel 9466. Not one game has be shown in HD this season. I emailed Dish
and the response was it is not currently available. No explanation.
INHD, which I have on cable, is broadcasting all NBATV HD games and all OLN
hockey games in HD. INHD also broadcasts three MLB games a week in HD, including games from Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. So I cannot give up cable. If I had to make a decision between Dish and cable, I would have to choose cable because of the sports content in HD. Right now I can afford two providers, but eventually one will be dropped. Most people cannot afford two providers. I saw
a survey that three percent of multi video channel subscribers have both cable
and satellite.

With the MLB EI package last season, Directv was generally offering two games a day in HD. Dish was offering one. I would hope that with MPEG4, Dish begins offering at least two games a day in HD on MLB EI, NHL center ice and NBA league pass. Most of these games are already in HD on regional sports networks.


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## Rob O (Dec 19, 2005)

Hound said:


> Dish's big HD press release yesterday failed to address Regional Sports Networks.
> Cable and Directv will win subscribers from Dish, if Dish does not provide Regional
> Sports Networks in HD. There is a certain class of subscriber that will not sign up
> with Dish, unless Regional Sports Networks are provided by Dish in HD.


Finally someone who feels the same way I do. All I want is for Dish to at least acknowledge in some form their position on getting the regionals in HD. If they said that they were negotiating terms or at least planning on it I would be encouraged. Saying nothing would lead me to believe people will be jumping ship for cable or directTV. Such as I am leaning.

None of the Voom programming interests me, I'm one of those who really wants to see my teams in HD. I'm in the Boston market and all I would get with DishHD is football on CBS. Baseball, hockey and basketball are all on my regional networks NESN and FSN NE.

I have been with Dish for over a year and have been very happy with service, equipment, etc. Right now I am ready to go HD and have been waiting for Charlie to make his announcements. So if I am going to pay, I want HD programming I will actually watch. For me that translates to mostly sports, my teams, and not just any game in HD for the heck of it. I don't really want to go back to Comcast, but that might be my best option unless I hear otherwise from Dish, in which case I could wait a bit longer.


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## muck9raker (Jan 10, 2006)

You guys are right on point. I have all the HD Dish has to offer and I'm disappointed that Sun Network, which carries many games in HD via cable, is transmitted in standard def on Dish. Dish claims that it has to do with current Federal regulations that prohibit them from carrying the regional sports networks in HD. Can anyone enlighten me on that score?


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## Hound (Mar 20, 2005)

I have never heard of that federal regulation.


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

The sad thing is dish has been using Regional HD feeds for their sports packages MLB EI and NHLCI, but they have the channel set up so only out of market subs that have those packs get to watch the game. Even if it's your RSN who's providing the HD feed you get blacked out. They need to fix it like DirecTV has and also allow in market subs to view the game as well.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

I don't expect Dish to offer RSN in HD when they are available. Apparently, there are a number of games from time to time in my local LA market that are in HD from Fox Sports, but I can't see them (nor can most cable or satellite systems..only a handful of cable operators carry the HD RSN feed when available in my area).

I also don't believe Dish is really into sports fans - I believe they have given the market to DirecTV. I think the only reason why they have RSN package is because they had to carry the RSNs anyway for the regional markets, so they could just pick a CONUS satellite and offer them nationwide with the blackout settings. Now, yes, Dish is into the HD market, but I believe the HD RSN are a very low priority (even lower than LIL HD).

Maybe the new E-10 satellite with its spotbeams will allow LIL HD RSNs more easily.

Rasheed


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Yeah, that drove me nuts last year..... They had a Mets Padres series in HD but they blacked it out for me and I had Extra Innings!

I'm sure they will ultimately add them once the Mpeg4 transition is complete and bandwidth frees up. I don't know if it will make CONUS or side satellites, but it would make sense to find a home on the main birds since the MultiSports Pak will eventually have to include them when they go dark (unless they downrez)


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## Airblair (May 1, 2003)

There are numerous problems with getting RSN feeds in HD onto Dish.

First has been bandwidth, which I assume is being addressed with the new satellites and MPEG4 upgrade.

More important is the web of corporate relationships that lie behind the RSNs. My local RSN is Fox Sports Bay Area, yet despite its name it is actually majority-owned by Cablevision (or Rainbow Media, I'm not sure which; regardless, it is one cog in the Charles Dolan media empire).

So to get HD feeds of the Giants, A's, and Warriors, you'd think Dish Net just has to play ball with CableVision, right? Well, every Giants HD broadcast--and there's a lot of them--begins with the blurb "This broadcast brought to you in High Definition by Comcast"!

And if you should know anything about Comcast, it is this: they have been moving aggressively into sports properties for the sole purpose of locking up exclusive broadcast rights. Look at how OLN (a Comcast subsidiary) pulled their NHL broadcasts off the feed going to Dish, and see how quickly Dish pulled OLN off the air. Look at how Comcast Philadelphia maneuvered to get their local teams' games distributed solely by fiber optic cable, because the law says all broadcasts distributed by satellite have to be offered to all providers. Therefore, no Philly games on D* or E*. (This may be the law that *muck9raker* was referring to.)

So I for one am not holding my breath waiting for FSN-BA HD broadcasts on Dish, and I'm not sure what Dish can do about it.



BFG said:


> The sad thing is dish has been using Regional HD feeds for their sports packages MLB EI and NHLCI, but they have the channel set up so only out of market subs that have those packs get to watch the game. Even if it's your RSN who's providing the HD feed you get blacked out. They need to fix it like DirecTV has and also allow in market subs to view the game as well.


I find sports blackout rules to be as arcane and incomprehensible as tax forms and Cantonese grammar. FWIW.


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## dogday (Dec 6, 2005)

BFG said:


> The sad thing is dish has been using Regional HD feeds for their sports packages MLB EI and NHLCI, but they have the channel set up so only out of market subs that have those packs get to watch the game...


I subscribe to Center Ice because I live out of any NHL market. Only on rare occasions will there be a game in HD and it's on the HD PPV channel. HDNet shows a couple games a week, but when I see all the RSNs advertising their HD broadcasts, it really frustrates me. Especially when I surf through the HD channels and see two that never have anything being broadcast and then the PPV channel running the same 2 or 3 movies over and over for weeks on end.

I would assume in time and after the MPEG-4 transition, the RSNs will come through in all their HD glory. If sports is what is primarily driving people to adopt HD, you'd think it would be in E*'s best interest ($$$)...


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## bbrazil (Jan 20, 2006)

Rob O said:


> None of the Voom programming interests me, I'm one of those who really wants to see my teams in HD. I'm in the Boston market and all I would get with DishHD is football on CBS. Baseball, hockey and basketball are all on my regional networks NESN and FSN NE.


Amen!

My girlfriend is a Red Sox fan, so my pay tv dollar goes to whoever offers me NESN HD. At the moment, that's Cox, which is just plain awful. I'm just hoping Dish will add NESN as part of its MPEG-4 offerings...


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## Fifty Caliber (Jan 4, 2006)

Airblair said:


> I find sports blackout rules to be as arcane and incomprehensible as tax forms and Cantonese grammar. FWIW.


I find tax forms to be fairly easy to figure out. As for the other two, no clue. :lol:


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