# Obama Channel??? (073-00)



## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

Channel 73?? Obama channel??? 
Maybe time for DTV.


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## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

check out 73.... with limited bandwidth i really wonder why this is up there....


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

cliburn said:


> check out 73.... with limited bandwidth i really wonder why this is up there....


It's an sd channel, not using that much bandwidth.


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## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

Thats not the point.
I have waited for years for more bandwidth... I dont know if it a paid channel or not. Dish would not tell me... they only asked "did it replace your favorite channel"... sorry I dont want to support Obama... and right now it seems like paying my dish network bill might be doing that ... and i asked them directly before i posted this.... i am gone... hello DTV


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## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

I am sure he is paying for the space, I doubt they are giving the space for free.


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## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

Well I asked that question, and they could not answer it. Their anser was
"You will be not charge extra"

I would rather see programing -- we have lost enough (VOOM, etc)....


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## Mr-Rick (Dec 1, 2004)

cliburn said:


> Thats not the point.
> I have waited for years for more bandwidth... I dont know if it a paid channel or not. Dish would not tell me... they only asked "did it replace your favorite channel"... sorry I dont want to support Obama... and right now it seems like paying my dish network bill might be doing that ... and i asked them directly before i posted this.... i am gone... hello DTV


bye.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Dish Network/Echostar corporations I'm sure is being paid for the space.

And it is on 5890 in the test channel range and probably mapped down, so I doubt anyone has lost any bandwidth that would have been assigned elsewhere.

It's all over the internet with amusing levels of disparaging remarks and conspiracy theories. The fact is, assuming it is being paid for it enriches the corporations' coffers which could, but probably won't, help keep our rates low.

And while I must disclose that I'm a reluctant Obama supporter, I have to ask: "Who on Earth would watch the Obama channel? Or a McCain channel?" I can't find enough time to watch what I record!


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## sattec (May 28, 2004)

bye. thats over the top, way over.


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## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

sattec said:


> bye. thats over the top, way over.


you probably wouldnt think it was way over the top if it were a mccain channel.
Bye.


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## dlt (Feb 21, 2007)

I agree, I am calling direct tv on monday and seeing what offers I can get, hopefully it will be a non bios tv provider, I dont subscribe to Dish to have them tell me who they think I should vote for. It is a known fact that Charlie supports the democrats and Obama, I am ok by that, but dont put his views without putting the views of Mcaine on my channel line up. DISH is suppose to distibute the news chanels, not create there own bios channel in favor of Obama. BYE BYE DISH after 7 years it is sad to see you go.


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## puckwithahalo (Sep 3, 2007)

Obama is paying for the channel, and if any other candidate wished to purchase a channel they would be allowed to, but he is the only one who has done so so far. They just forgot to tell the CSR's about it before it came out.


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## dlt (Feb 21, 2007)

puckwithahalo said:


> Obama is paying for the channel, and if any other candidate wished to purchase a channel they would be allowed to, but he is the only one who has done so so far. They just forgot to tell the CSR's about it before it came out.


How do you know? If this is true, I will stay with DISH if it is a paid channel by Obama, if not, bye bye


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I've heard of leaving for bazaar reasons, but seriously... :hurah: :hurah: :hurah:


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## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

Well everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Dish CEO just email me this...
"This channel is available to customers subscribing to all packages and is broadcast from the 110° orbital location and will be broadcast though the conclusion of the elections. At this time it is not available to customers on the eastern arc. Please inform customers who inquire that this is paid advertising by the Obama campaign and is not an endorsement of Senator Obama by DISH Network. This space has been purchased similar to any other channel we broadcast, and any other candidate who wishes to purchase a channel through DISH Network will be given the same opportunity. At this time, no other candidates have showed interest in purchasing a channel."

I really dont care and think if it a paid advertisement it should be obvioulsy dislcosed. I have subcribed to dish for over 10 years.... I am voting with my feet on this one. You can call it silly... but its my money.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

and that is exactly what I am calling it!

S I L L Y ! ! ! !


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

*Mod Hat On*
Remember that DBSTalk is not a political forum ... so stay away from the politics.

*/Mod Hat On*
Just another shopping channel. Want to buy a president?

BTW: DISH isn't that limited on bandwidth ... check around and you will see HD channels that are not enabled burning up space. A single SD channel doesn't take up that much.

Legal Issue: Equal time under the same terms are available to other candidates.


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## cliburn (May 4, 2003)

I really wasnt trying to talk politics... i just surprised they put this channel up there the way they did... sorry if it dosnt fit DBStalk... when i first posted I had first directly asked dishnetowrk if it was a paid or or not and they did not answer me. they asked if it replaced my favorite channel. when they did answer me i posted the answer. bandwidth limitations has been an excuse dish has given me before for not offering channels i wanted fwiw......


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## puckwithahalo (Sep 3, 2007)

> How do you know? If this is true, I will stay with DISH if it is a paid channel by Obama, if not, bye bye


The information I was given says it is a paid for channel by the Obama campaign.

The postings on this site are my own and don't represent Dish Network's positions, strategies or opinions.


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## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

Well, one has to admit is is a creative. If the DNC and RNC can do it, why not? It is a test channel anyway; no harm, no foul. It is no different than the shopping channels or the Business only channels in the 9900 range.


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## Adam Richey (Mar 25, 2002)

People switching providers over this one channel? Enjoy the headache of switching, and even if you like your new provider more, the process of getting there has NOT been good for me. Not worth the headache. I, for one, would still think it's over the top if it were a McCain channel. I like Obama more, but that doesn't mean I don't think every candidate has the right to use the media to it's fullest. Can we fault Obama for doing that as a presidential candidate much more than candidates of recent memory?


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

cliburn said:


> I really wasnt trying to talk politics... i just surprised they put this channel up there the way they did... sorry if it dosnt fit DBStalk... when i first posted I had first directly asked dishnetowrk if it was a paid or or not and they did not answer me. they asked if it replaced my favorite channel. when they did answer me i posted the answer. bandwidth limitations has been an excuse dish has given me before for not offering channels i wanted fwiw......


 The better information to know is how much it cost.

Not long ago the New York Times "sold" a prominent full page ad to MoveOn.org (the infamous "General Betray Us" ad) for MUCH less than their normal commercial rate. They gave the steeply discounted rate because they approve of MoveOn. A "paid" ad, yes, but also a sweetheart deal for political bedfellows. It only blew up in their (NYT) face, and the facts come out about what was paid etc., because the ad was so repulsive to so many people both for and against the war.

What does that have to do with the Obama Channel? Just because some money changed hands doesn't tell anyone if it reflects DISH leadership approval (aka bias) of the Obama candidacy or not. And I'm not sure that DISH is obligated to tell anyone either. The McCain campaign could demand a McCain Channel but how would they know if they were being charged the same amount the Obama campaign paid? They wouldn't.

p.s. Tomorrow night is the Biden v. Palin debate. Discussion to follow here on DBSTalk. (just kidding)


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

dlt said:


> How do you know? If this is true, I will stay with DISH if it is a paid channel by Obama, if not, bye bye


I believe it would be illegal for Dish to provide the space for free. That would be considered a HUGE (not Hugh) donation, probably above the limits. Then again, I don't know what corporate limits are these days.


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## Alex03 (Oct 2, 2008)

What happened to the Oct 1st press release for this new channel? A new (and only) paid political channel doesn't get free advertising?


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Alex03 said:


> What happened to the Oct 1st press release for this new channel? A new (and only) paid political channel doesn't get free advertising?


That's really a good point. If no one had mentioned it on the internet, I wouldn't have known it was there as I don't channel surf. And believe me, I wouldn't watch either candidate rattle on and on. We don't watch the shopping channels nor the "paid programming" that runs on other channels at 2 am. I pay good money to be able to skip commercials. Good grief, how could anyone get upset at what I consider to be a waste of campaign money.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

cliburn said:


> \i am gone... hello DTV





sattec said:


> bye. thats over the top, way over.


I assume both of you will stop watching your local TV station if they take money from the Obama campaign to run campaign ads.

I know as a Democrat I will never again watch my local NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox stations because they have the audacity to take John McCain's money to run ads on their stations.  

Same difference.


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## kucharsk (Sep 20, 2006)

All I know is I'm not happy about it and fired off a letter to [email protected] to let them know.


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## Leprechuan (Apr 18, 2007)

If I'm not mistaken, Section 315 covers equal access to politicians.

This link might help.

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/E/htmlE/equaltimeru/equaltimeru.htm

For those who wish to leave Dish Network over this, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I'm Leprechuan and I approve this message.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

again I will use that five letter word...

S-I-L-L-Y!


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## TheChef (Oct 2, 2008)

Hi,

Perhaps I can shed a little light.

I'm currently a TSR for Dish Network. Which means I'm a glorified customer service representative that mostly handles technical problems.

The Obama channel is not an endorsement by Dish. Anyone with any business sense, or a clear mind to think for 10 seconds would realize an industry with 13 million customers is not going to take a touchy subject like politics and endorse any particular candidate, knowing that at least half the subscriber base probably prefers the other.

The channel is paid for in full by Obama + supporters. The funds are not being taken from any customer payments. Our customers are not SUPPORTING this channel being there at all. All candidates have an equal opportunity to buy the same, and have been approached about doing so. At this time, only Obama + crew have chosen to do so.

Anyone who would cancel their service over this issue is naive. In our society, public media is the chosen way to broadcast any message, especially political. If you support a different candidate, rather than calling up people like me and complaining about a channel, when I and others are supposed to be there to help you with problems, why not spend that time contacting a representative for McCain or your chosen candidate and ask them why they haven't chosen to take the same route to have their message heard?


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## capegator (Sep 14, 2007)

I thought MSNBC was the Obama station.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

I'd recommend Dish get as much money from Obama as they can. In 2000, I earned over $1,000 from the DNC for electronics they rented from me. I was only sorry I couldn't get the RNC to rent the same stuff, too.


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## ercjncprdtv (Feb 11, 2008)

dlt said:


> I agree, I am calling direct tv on monday and seeing what offers I can get, hopefully it will be a non bios tv provider, I dont subscribe to Dish to have them tell me who they think I should vote for. It is a known fact that Charlie supports the democrats and Obama, I am ok by that, but dont put his views without putting the views of Mcaine on my channel line up. DISH is suppose to distibute the news chanels, not create there own bios channel in favor of Obama. BYE BYE DISH after 7 years it is sad to see you go.


Oh you McCain people! No wonder you are losing right now!:nono:


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/The_Obama_channel.html
The Obama channel

ChanNenel 73 on the Dish Network is now The Obama Channel.



> Obama's media buying strategy has been marked by a willingness to work the angles, and to try to pick up a few votes at the margins. The decision to go to everything from extensive radio buys to odd-hour infomercials reflects the fact that the campaign media buyers spend a lot of time thinking about how much persuasion any given dollar can buy, and given a very cheap format -- late night cable channels that need filler, for instance -- will settle for a thimblefull of persuasion.


More


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## justlgi (Apr 11, 2008)

DirecTV has Current which is basically a front for Al Gore's Anti "ManBearPig" network.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/16/al-gore-wins-emmy-for-current-tv/


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## Dish-Direc (May 13, 2006)

Go Obama....love It.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

Carl Spock said:


> I assume both of you will stop watching your local TV station if they take money from the Obama campaign to run campaign ads.
> 
> I know as a Democrat I will never again watch my local NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox stations because they have the audacity to take John McCain's money to run ads on their stations.
> 
> Same difference.


I agree w/ you Spock! For those of you who have a problem w/ this "channel" look at it this way, they've done you a huge favor! How? Well by telling you exactly what the channel is it makes it real easy to avoid it! It's not so easy dodging all the political adds everywhere else because you never know when or where they'll pop up, even w/ a DVR it's hard to skip over them all there's so many these days!


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Sorry folks. This thread is going where is really shouldn't go. Closing.


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