# The Charlie Chat Summary - March 10th, 2008



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

*The Charlie Chat Summary - March 10th, 2008*​Charlie Chat Hosted by
Charlie Ergen - CEO and Chairman
Jim DeFranco - Executive Vice President

*(AMC-14) Launch Friday*
"It takes a couple of months to get the satellite all squared away, and then a few months later we'll have more programming for you."

*Frank Caliendo*
On his career, his show and DISH Network commercials.
DISH Network customer since 2001.

Contest: See Frank Live at Borgota in Atlantic City April 25th.
Q: What was the name of the show Frank Caliendo stared in before he got his own show, Frank TV.

FrankTV returns in October!

*Upgrade Offers*
Dual Tuner DVR-522 $50 (installation $50, if needed)

*DishDVRAdvantage*
Price frozen until February 2009 - Starts at $39.99 per month
America's Top 100,200,250, DishLATINO Dos, Plus or Max
Local Channels
Award Winning DVR
Save up to 14% per month

Upgrade price starts at $100

*HD Programming*
New Channels coming soon!
ABC Family ... AMC ... BET ... Biography ... Bravo
Cartoon Network ... CNN ... CMT ... Disney ... ESPN News
HBO2 ... IFC ... MGMHD ... MTV ... MoreMAX
Nickelodeon ... Sci-Fi ... Smithsonian ... Starz Edge ... Tennis
Toon Disney ... USA Network ... VH1 ... The Weather Channel ... WGN

"Between now and the summer we hope to have most of these channels up there."

"Nobody is going to have more HD channels than we are."
"We have to wait for the channel to launch in HD and we need to get a contract."

*HD Locals*
Staring in April and adding 5-6-7 markets per month
Austin, TX - Baltimore, MD - Burlington-Plattsurgh, VT - Cleveland-Akron (Canton), OH - Columbia, SC - Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI - Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI - Green Bay-Appleton, WI - Greenville-Spartanburg-Ashville-Anderson, SC - Hartford & New Haven, CT - Hutnsville-Decatur (Florence), AL - Jackson, MS - Knoxville, TN - Memphis, TN - Milwaukee, WI - Norfolk-Portsbouth-Newport News, VA - Orlando-Daytona-Beach-Melbourne, FL - Portland-Auburn, ME - Providence-New Bedford, RI - Richmond-Petersburg, VA - Tampa-StPetersburg (Sarasota), FL - West Palm Beach-FtPierce, FL

Up to 100 markets by the end of the year.

Sign up for a notification email at http://www.dishnetwork.com/

*New Packages*
Essentials Package - $10 for up to 28 national HD channels
Ultimate Package - $20 for 19 channels plus Essentials
DishHD STAND-ALONE - $29.99 for more than 40 HD Channels

*Trisha Helfer*
Battlestar Galactica star (Sci-Fi program).

*Digital TV*
February 17th 2009 end of analog broadcasts
Solutions: TR-40, TR-50 or DISH Network service
TR-50 is a DVR for over the air signals.

ClubDISH ... $50 in credits ($5 for 10 months) for referring service
New customer gets gets installation plus free DVR or HD DVR upgrade
Digital Home Advantage 24 - $39.99 credit for three months (1st, 10th and 20th month)

"We believe there will be 4-5 million homes losing their reception."

*Patty Stanger*
Millionaire Matchmaker working with Eric Sahl. 
10PM ET Channel 129 (Bravo)

*Questions*
Q: John - Mountain Network and new programming?
A: Negotiating for three seasons ... unable to reach a deal (4th choice games).
Cox Sports New Orleans started this past Saturday - Hornets fans tune to 421.

Q: Steve - Four tuner limit for leased receivers?
A: Yes ... Looking at additional options. 98% of our customers are not affected.

Q: Ralph - NFL Network removal from AT100 "free preview"?
A: We signed an amendment and paid for exclusive games. Exclusive was broken. We dropped the amendment that allowed us to put it in AT100 (back to original contract).

Q: Benjamin (Caller) - Can Sports be removed to create bandwidth for USA HD or other channels?
A: We have bandwidth to put the channels up. We need a contract that is fair to both sides.
Additional new HD channels before the next Charlie Chat - in the essentials package.

Q: Brian (Caller) - When is the TR-40 and TR-50 being released? SpeedHD?
A: Talking to SpeedHD for a contract. TR-40 limited quantity in June, TR-50 in August.

Q: Bonnie & Clyde - Signal strength lowered?
A: New scale. 50 is a proper scale ... 20 is still good. Consistent numbers across the country.

Q: Rick - PPV Online purchase? Which TV will it show up on?
A: All of them on the account.

Millionaire Matchmaker skit conclusion.

Winner: Kevin Cobb from Salt Lake City, UT. Answer: Mad TV

Next Tech Forum ... May 12th, 2008 - 9pm ET Channel 101
Next Charlie Chat ... June 9th, 2008 - 9pm ET Channel 101


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## rey_1178 (Dec 12, 2007)

thank you james for the recap. good news on hd!


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

Thanks for the recap!!

FINALLY, something for people to talk about w/hope!

3,2,1...I want HARD dates on WHEN new channels will be added (I might as well be the first to complain)


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Very "promising".


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## razorbackfan (Aug 18, 2002)

Great recap. Thank you. But seriously, no World Fishing Channel HD. I'm gone!

Charlie did say "most" of those new HD will be up before the next Charlie Chat.

Does anyone have a screen shot of that local HD map with all the blue dots they put on?


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## DJ Lon (Nov 3, 2005)

Thanque James, as always.


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## simulated (Jun 6, 2006)

thanks for the recap, if I may point out a small typo, it's amc 14. cheers


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

simulated said:


> thanks for the recap, if I may point out a small typo, it's amc 14. cheers


Yep. AMC-15 has been up for a couple of years. Odd launch order ...


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

The TWO BIG "promises" that I picked up on were:

1st........New HD up by next charlie chat, which isn't until JUNE 9th (3 months folks)

2nd......MOST new HD up by end of SUMMER, which is SEPT 21st

On an UP note, my local DMA (kazoo/GR) is slated to get locals in HD next month. So, in addition to my OTA, I can record a total of three different networks in HD.

Direct currently gets:

wwmt (cbs)
wxmi (fox)
wzzm (abc)

NO woodtv(nbc), which happens to be a LIN channel.

So, which channels will we dish customers get here in west michigan? Are there ANY current LIN owned locals anywhere in country dealing with dish network?


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## 0pusX (Jan 11, 2008)

no news on 24 hr NOGGIN?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

lionsrule said:


> The TWO BIG "promises" that I picked up on were:
> 
> 1st........New HD up by next charlie chat, which isn't until JUNE 9th (3 months folks)


_"It takes a couple of months to get the satellite all squared away, and then a few months later we'll have more programming for you."_



> 2nd......MOST new HD up by end of SUMMER, which is SEPT 21st


Most of 25 channels is ... 13?



> On an UP note, my local DMA (kazoo/GR) is slated to get locals in HD next month.


I believe you misunderstood. DISH will _begin_ uplinking the markets in that list in April. There is no guarantee that Grand Rapids will be uplinked next month. 22 local markets adding "5-6-7" markets per month. You could be waiting three to four months.

Especially if LIN is messing things up and making other markets more appealing to add. KZO isn't exactly a saint in these matters. The bottom line is the contract. Your entire HD market may be in the hands of LIN and KZO.


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

I know what I heard and charles said there would BE NEW HD BY THE NEXT CHARLIE CHAT. Now, he can certainly not meet his own deadline, not the end of the world.


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## alebowgm (Jun 12, 2004)

No new SD DMAs being added... intersting...


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

Well, according to your list, charles says SEVEN/mo and I counted your typed up list and MY dma is 7th on your list, so that GUARANTEES my dma in APRIL. I'm calling dishnetwork and telling them if you are wrong


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

Excellent report, James. Good work, as usual.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Thanks James, nice recap.


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## CoriBright (May 30, 2002)

Still no Vegas HD locals....  but pleased about the new forthcoming HD channels, and will try to wait patiently.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

lionsrule said:


> Well, according to your list, charles says SEVEN/mo and I counted your typed up list and MY dma is 7th on your list, so that GUARANTEES my dma in APRIL. I'm calling dishnetwork and telling them if you are wrong


The list is obviously alphabetical not chronological.


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## PTown (Aug 18, 2007)

Why are they "testing" WFN and MOJO if they don't plan to launch them? Strange.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

They probably are further away on contracts for them. InHD (Mojo) was uplinked before and it went as far as a "program access complaint" with the FCC before DISH pulled the test channel and went on with life.


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

John you missed the important part of the chat---Charlie said his chats are boring and you can use your DVR to by pass the snooze section of his chat. 

This was one of the better chat now we know the reason for the delays at last. Charlie was honest and no bull marketing pitch. He even allowed difficult question through well done Charlie you even admitted that you are boring well done:grin:


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## fredp (Jun 2, 2007)

Someone point me to the exact screen at Dish's site for signing up of an e-mail notification when HD locals are available in my market. I only see the screen for whats available now, but not something that says notify me when HD locals are coming...


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

fredp said:


> Someone point me to the exact screen at Dish's site for signing up of an e-mail notification when HD locals are available in my market. I only see the screen for whats available now, but not something that says notify me when HD locals are coming...


They started here ...
https://customersupport.dishnetwork.com/customernetqual/prepAddress.do

But they didn't demonstrate beyond that and I don't see the option (even when using an address that is in a market that was listed Monday night).

Odd.


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

Seems like they are lighting up locals on 61.5 spotbeams only.


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## peak_reception (Feb 10, 2008)

Anyone else note Charlie's dig at engineers after one of his engineers in the studio chipped in on a submitted question? paraphrasing... 'if an engineer tells you July or August then it'll be August.' So we're not the only ones a bit put out over how slowly things are coming along [esp.HD].

Glad to see my local market on the April/May/June/July/ or... August, HD timetable.

Also sounds like a decent batch of HD nationals should be available before the end of Summer! Assuming nothing goes amiss with AMC-14.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

James Long said:


> *HD Programming*
> New Channels coming soon!
> ABC Family ... AMC ... BET ... Biography ... Bravo
> Cartoon Network ... CNN ... CMT ... Disney ... ESPN News
> ...


 Thanks, James, for your careful wording. This summary has to be hard to do. At least they used the wording "we hope."

So they had Trisha Helfer, Number Six from "Battlestar Galactica". From that I'm going to assume that I'll have SciFi HD by the season premier of BG on April 4. I'll quit writing rants about the lack of HD unless on April 3.... No, I won't say it.


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## John W (Dec 20, 2005)

peak_reception said:


> Anyone else note Charlie's dig at engineers after one of his engineers in the studio chipped in on a submitted question? paraphrasing... 'if an engineer tells you July or August then it'll be August.' So we're not the only ones a bit put out over how slowly things are coming along [esp.HD].


Also interesting was the discussion of the signal strength issue. Sounds like Charlie wanted the engineers to set the nationwide max at 100 and they had a better idea.


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## bills (Nov 7, 2002)

peak_reception said:


> Anyone else note Charlie's dig at engineers after one of his engineers in the studio chipped in on a submitted question? paraphrasing... 'if an engineer tells you July or August then it'll be August.' So we're not the only ones a bit put out over how slowly things are coming along [esp.HD].
> 
> Glad to see my local market on the April/May/June/July/ or... August, HD timetable.
> 
> Also sounds like a decent batch of HD nationals should be available before the end of Summer! Assuming nothing goes amiss with AMC-14.


wow,if it blew up on launch pad what would we do? oh what a thought:nono2:


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## rey_1178 (Dec 12, 2007)

how much is it to make one of these satellites? $


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I always like the times during the chat where Jim is talking and Charlie is giving him that "Did you say what I think you said" look...


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## pilot305 (Oct 10, 2005)

I am so glad that i went ahead and jumped the gun and switched over to Direct TV last week. I mean, i'm glad that Charlie actually named some HD channels and a timeline (vague of course) for the Dish customers who are going insane to get some new channels (like i was). Congratulations to those customers, but i'll tell ya, i love the D* HD channels they have now and by the time the satellite(s) are up and running, D* will be adding even more channels as Dish adds the ones D* has currently. I don't see Charlie overtaking D* at all this year. If he does, i'll eat crow but i feel very confident that it won't happen.


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## booger (Nov 1, 2005)

HD Locals
Greenville-Spartanburg-Ashville-Anderson, SC

Dish will keep me as a customer!! I am very happy about this.


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## booger (Nov 1, 2005)

razorbackfan said:


> Great recap. Thank you. But seriously, no World Fishing Channel HD. I'm gone!
> 
> Charlie did say "most" of those new HD will be up before the next Charlie Chat.
> 
> Does anyone have a screen shot of that local HD map with all the blue dots they put on?


The last I heard, WFN was still being tested.


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## jrb531 (May 29, 2004)

pilot305 said:


> I am so glad that i went ahead and jumped the gun and switched over to Direct TV last week. I mean, i'm glad that Charlie actually named some HD channels and a timeline (vague of course) for the Dish customers who are going insane to get some new channels (like i was). Congratulations to those customers, but i'll tell ya, i love the D* HD channels they have now and by the time the satellite(s) are up and running, D* will be adding even more channels as Dish adds the ones D* has currently. I don't see Charlie overtaking D* at all this year. If he does, i'll eat crow but i feel very confident that it won't happen.


Now I'm the first one to yell at Dish but isn't this a typical "I switched so I need to justify why I switched" post?

I'm glad you are happy at D* but the simple fact is that once Dish gets their birds up there will be more or less equal HD on both services as it was for years with SD.

Saying "Yeah Dish will soon add what D* already has but then D* will then add even more HD channels to beat Dish" is just silly. The fact is that there is not enough content for the channels D* already has. Sure we all want everything to be HD and we want it now but turning on channels and showing 95% SD content on them is not HD.... it's a marketing tool that some use to fool gullible people into thinking they have something that they do not.

I myself am tempted to switch to D* but not for the HD programming but the fact that I want a second HD DVR box.... D* will give it to me for no extra montly cost... just $5 to rent it.... Dish wants an extra $13 per month ($7 rental + $6 DVR fee)

So the way I figure it I could either save $8 a month or take that $8 and add extra programming with D*.

But please.... D* will not "always" have more HD. Come summer both D* and E* will have about the same programming lineup IMHO.

-JB


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## fredp (Jun 2, 2007)

booger said:


> HD Locals
> Greenville-Spartanburg-Ashville-Anderson, SC
> 
> Dish will keep me as a customer!! I am very happy about this.


Even though the list is alphabetical, my market Burlington-Plattsburgh showed as a yellow dot! Sooner then later! Guess we will have to wait a bit more for Speed tho... Damn $$ issues


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Thanks James for the Recap.. Nice to see a little more details on the HD front.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

fredp said:


> Even though the list is alphabetical, my market Burlington-Plattsburgh showed as a yellow dot! Sooner then later! Guess we will have to wait a bit more for Speed tho... Damn $$ issues


All 23 yellow dots should be the markets listed with the blue dots representing the unnamed rest of the HD locals coming by the end of the year. (I wouldn't get too excited about the order of the dots either.)

The good news is that they are coming!


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

jrb531 said:


> The fact is that there is not enough content for the channels D* already has. Sure we all want everything to be HD and we want it now but turning on channels and showing 95% SD content on them is not HD.... it's a marketing tool that some use to fool gullible people into thinking they have something that they do not.


Sure is a lot nicer picture, though.


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## grooves12 (Oct 27, 2005)

Aren't most (all?) of the channels listed as coming soon in HD, Viacom channels?


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## theoak (Nov 5, 2007)

fredp said:


> Even though the list is alphabetical, my market Burlington-Plattsburgh showed as a yellow dot! Sooner then later! Guess we will have to wait a bit more for Speed tho... Damn $$ issues


My area got a blue dot, no biggie though, I get great OTA reception as it is. Granted, with the 722, I can only record one OTA at a time; thus far however, has not been an issue.

I signed up for dishHD in January and get it free for the next 3 months. By the time I actually have to start paying, Dish should have most of things straightened out.

I might even move down to dishHD Essential for $10 ... Torchwood on HDNet though is real nice and may keep me on the Ultimate until the season is over ... they are only like 2 episodes behind too.


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## fredp (Jun 2, 2007)

James Long said:


> All 23 yellow dots should be the markets listed with the blue dots representing the unnamed rest of the HD locals coming by the end of the year. (I wouldn't get too excited about the order of the dots either.)


Oh I realize that. How do they prioritize that? Sliding $$$--->$, current market penetration, general population, spotbeam capacity for an area or ??


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

pilot305 said:


> I am so glad that i went ahead and jumped the gun and switched over to Direct TV last week. I mean, i'm glad that Charlie actually named some HD channels and a timeline (vague of course) for the Dish customers who are going insane to get some new channels (like i was). Congratulations to those customers, but i'll tell ya, i love the D* HD channels they have now and by the time the satellite(s) are up and running, D* will be adding even more channels as Dish adds the ones D* has currently. I don't see Charlie overtaking D* at all this year. If he does, i'll eat crow but i feel very confident that it won't happen.


Meh... Dish had the lead over DirecTV for something like 1.5 years or so in HD programming... and somehow DirecTV didn't go out of business! It has been less than 6 months since Dish fell behind in HD, and again miraculously Dish hasn't gone out of business either!


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## klegg (Oct 31, 2006)

HDMe said:


> Meh... Dish had the lead over DirecTV for something like 1.5 years or so in HD programming... and somehow DirecTV didn't go out of business! It has been less than 6 months since Dish fell behind in HD, and again miraculously Dish hasn't gone out of business either!


:righton:, but don't try to confuse a dolt with facts...


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

grooves12 said:


> Aren't most (all?) of the channels listed as coming soon in HD, Viacom channels?


 No. If my records are up to date:

Viacom: BET, CMT, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1
Disney Group: ABC Family, Disney, Toon Disney, ESPN News
NBCU Group: Bravo, USA Network, SciFi
Rainbow Group: AMC, IFC
A&E Group: Biography
Time Warner: Cartoon Network, CNN, HBO2, MoreMAX
Other: MGMHD, Smithsonian, Starz Edge, The Tennis Channel, The Weather Channel, WGN


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

DirectTV ownership notwithstanding, what is conspicuous about the list is that no News Corporation channels are listed including the general audience favorite Fx and Speed discussed here. Sounds like contract problems. News Corporation is, of course, totally into squeezing the last dollar out of the masses. It's a mantra and consistent with its social philosophy.


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## wweguy (Aug 28, 2007)

phrelin said:


> DirectTV ownership notwithstanding, what is conspicuous about the list is that no News Corporation channels are listed including the general audience favorite Fx and Speed discussed here. Sounds like contract problems. News Corporation is, of course, totally into squeezing the last dollar out of the masses. It's a mantra and consistent with its social philosophy.


Newscorp no longer owns DirecTV.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

True ... but there is still a memory there and Newscorp certainly would not want to change their practices thus _proving_ that they were negotiating unfairly for the years they owned DirecTV.

We're getting off track ... let's get back to the topic.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

James Long said:


> True ... but there is still a memory there and Newscorp certainly would not want to change their practices thus _proving_ that they were negotiating unfairly for the years they owned DirecTV.


:lol:


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## derwin0 (Jan 31, 2005)

theoak said:


> I might even move down to dishHD Essential for $10 ... Torchwood on HDNet though is real nice and may keep me on the Ultimate until the season is over ... they are only like 2 episodes behind too.


HD Essential includes HDNet. I made sure of that (because of Torchwood) before dropping down from Ultimate.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

phrelin said:


> Thanks, James, for your careful wording. This summary has to be hard to do. At least they used the wording "we hope."
> 
> So they had Trisha Helfer, Number Six from "Battlestar Galactica". From that I'm going to assume that I'll have SciFi HD by the season premier of BG on April 4. I'll quit writing rants about the lack of HD unless on April 3.... No, I won't say it.


MAN! My exact thoughts...If they had her on there i would think they would have Sci fi HD by the premier.

Thank you very much James..im glad to see some more HD premiums and MGM coming too! *crap...now i need to buy another hard drive


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

Did everyone miss the most important part of the chat---it is what I call Mort Saul or dork man went on a date. He even wore that dorky Dish uniforum. 

To me that is what the chat was all about!!!:sure:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The same as the "dorky Dish uniform" that Carl Edwards wore two weeks in a row when winning Sprint Cup races?

The silly bits allow me to catch up with the chat summary. There have been a couple that were posted during the final credits.


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## theoak (Nov 5, 2007)

derwin0 said:


> HD Essential includes HDNet. I made sure of that (because of Torchwood) before dropping down from Ultimate.


I just double checked myself! :biggthump

So in other words, once SciFi goes HD, there is no reason why I would need Universal HD.

While I've got it free however, I may as well enjoy old episodes of BSG in HD in the mean time ...


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

CoriBright said:


> Still no Vegas HD locals....


Nope, not feeling the love here in the Allied States of America or that can't-pick-a-side Texas.

(translation for the millions and millions not watching Jericho): all the markets listed are in the eastern half of the country.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

BobaBird said:


> Nope, not feeling the love here in the Allied States of America or that can't-pick-a-side Texas.
> 
> (translation for the millions and millions not watching Jericho): all the markets listed are in the eastern half of the country.


Probably this has something to do with the upcoming satellite launch and the final position of the satellite. James?


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

phrelin said:


> Rainbow Group: AMC, IFC


These are interesting to me... since the same group (Rainbow) owns Voom... so IF they had these movies in HD, they'd already be airing them on one of their HD channels. Also worth noting, as I've brought up before... AMC and IFC have similar repetitive-nature patterns to programming that Voom does... so AMC and IFC going HD may or may not represent a big deal, especially to those who regularly are on record as not being fans of Voom.

Similarly... I often wonder on the value of UniversalHD now that they have commercial interruptions during movies, once SciFiHD and USAHD and ultimately BravoHD comes on board... it seems like UniversalHD will not be a valuable channel at that point.


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## lamp525 (Nov 3, 2006)

phrelin said:


> Probably this has something to do with the upcoming satellite launch and the final position of the satellite. James?


Q: Brian (Caller) - When is the TR-40 and TR-50 being released? SpeedHD?
A: Talking to SpeedHD for a contract. TR-40 limited quantity in June, TR-50 in August..What is this??


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## theoak (Nov 5, 2007)

HDMe said:


> ...
> once SciFiHD and USAHD and ultimately BravoHD comes on board... it seems like UniversalHD will not be a valuable channel at that point.


My thoughts exactly. Once my 6 months of free Ultimate HD end (got 3 months left), I really do not see anything holding me back to going to the Essential package.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

James Long said:


> Very "promising".


I suppose MGMHD will be in AT 250, or will it be with VOOM?


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

tomcrown1 said:


> John you missed the important part of the chat---Charlie said his chats are boring and you can use your DVR to by pass the snooze section of his chat.
> 
> This was one of the better chat now we know the reason for the delays at last. Charlie was honest and no bull marketing pitch. He even allowed difficult question through well done Charlie you even admitted that you are boring well done:grin:


DANG! I the best Charlie Chats ever! Where is there a list of repeats?


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

Paul Secic said:


> DANG! I the best Charlie Chats ever! Where is there a list of repeats?


Here.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Great job James!


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

HDMe said:


> These are interesting to me... since the same group (Rainbow) owns Voom... so IF they had these movies in HD, they'd already be airing them on one of their HD channels. Also worth noting, as I've brought up before... AMC and IFC have similar repetitive-nature patterns to programming that Voom does... so AMC and IFC going HD may or may not represent a big deal, especially to those who regularly are on record as not being fans of Voom.
> 
> Similarly... I often wonder on the value of UniversalHD now that they have commercial interruptions during movies, once SciFiHD and USAHD and ultimately BravoHD comes on board... it seems like UniversalHD will not be a valuable channel at that point.


IMHO, yes and no. AMC and IFC have original prime time programming (ie the critically acclaimed "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" on AMC) and some specialty stuff. UHD does show past seasons of several shows - I'm trying to get caught up on "Friday Night Lights" and am watching the great NBC cancelled show "Kidnapped" during the writers strike dead zone, for instance. On the other hand, it and the Voom channels won't be worth $10.

In fact, I'm going to have to rethink the whole package soon.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

phrelin said:


> Probably this has something to do with the upcoming satellite launch and the final position of the satellite. James?


Yep. E-12 and AMC-14 paired up at 61.5° is the likely home for those cities. Unfortunately that means a different line of sight for some people. The blue dots later in the year are more westerly and filling the gaps. Looks like they will actually get to Indianapolis in the blue dot round. 



lamp525 said:


> Q: Brian (Caller) - When is the TR-40 and TR-50 being released? SpeedHD?
> A: Talking to SpeedHD for a contract. TR-40 limited quantity in June, TR-50 in August..What is this??


The TR-40 and TR-50 are over the air tuners ... no satellite capabilities. The TR-40 was designed to meet the standards of the government $40 coupon program (no frills OTA reception, as required by law). The TR-50 is a step up, does NOT qualify under the coupon program, but is a basic DVR for OTA digital (and potentially more functional than that). The TR-50 is basically a stand alone DVR.



Paul Secic said:


> I suppose MGMHD will be in AT 250, or will it be with VOOM?


I expect it will be in Ultimate as that is where DirecTV has placed it (the $4.99 extra pack) and there is no SD equivalent.


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

Ok, so now that we have a tentative time frame for new NATIONAL and LOCAL HD's, let's talk about dish requirements and sat locations.

Currently I have a dish 1000, and I can SEE 110,119,129. I am slated to get MORE nationals and my local dma is getting HD's. I can NOT believe that dish is going back to a two dish solution to get locals in hd (61.5). Isn't it the case that all new national HD's and new local HD's will be viewabe by a dish 1000?


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Where is the chart of red and blue dot city's that everyone is talking about be found?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

lionsrule said:


> sn't it the case that all new national HD's and new local HD's will be viewabe by a dish 1000?


Maybe.

The space is available at 61.5° ... there is the thought that DISH may create a service based off of 61.5° that would provide more than just "extra HD channels". Right now it seems to be mostly wishful thinking - no announcement - so for now yes, I expect you will need two dishes (just like everyone with 61.5° locals now).


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Chris Freeland said:


> Where is the chart of red and blue dot city's that everyone is talking about be found?


The list of "yellow" dot cities is in the first post of this thread. The blue dot cities would require a screen capture.


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## zlensman (Jan 15, 2006)

Here's my takeaway. Satellite launch, yes! Sure hope the booster doesn't explode like last time. New HD nationals, sweet! New HD locals, awesome! Austin has been at the top of this list since 2003, so _we_ should be first in line. 

Engineers can't keep their dates? I resemble that remark. I think Charlie was making a Dilbert-esque joke, like this:

Engineer: "Here's the date. Good, fast, cheap: pick any two."
PH Boss: "I want all three and I'm holding you to the same date"​We engineers make fun of the pointy-haired boss, too. It's a little back-and-forth playful insult. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Also, I liked the exchange during the signal level discussion that went something like this:

Charlie: "If you went to Engineering school, it would make perfect sense."
Jim: "I did go to Engineering school."
Charlie: "Really?!? You could have fooled me."​
[Michael Kelso voice] "Burn!" Good one, Charlie.


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## hildred (Aug 19, 2003)

yes will there cw in hdtv i saw it on dish network 03/17/2008 is this right


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

WGN-HD looks good...get to catch my Cubbies game in HD on both ends of the contract...(along with CSNC-HD)


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## max1 (Aug 12, 2005)

Thanks for the recap forgot it was on. On the WGN Hd is that for Chicago only will everyone be able to get it. I am disappointed that Omaha isn't included in the local hd-however I do get them for free on my hd indoor antenna. Max.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

In this case, WGN HD refers to the "superstation" - not the local CW station.


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## EVAC41 (Jun 27, 2006)

So now to get all the HD channels I would now have to be paying $30.00 a month more then what i pay now right? UMMMMMMM  

Maybe I think its time to think about switching to D* to in which i can get all their HD channels for only $9.99 a month.

Will I even be able to see these new HD channels since Echo 11 goes up. Does anyone know where it's going to be stationed? cause right now i point to the 129 Satellite for HD.

Thanks,
Shawn


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

DISH HD Essentials is $10 and similar to DirecTV's offering gives you the HD equivalents of the SD channels you subscribe to. (Limited to the HD channels actually on each service.)

DISH HD Ultimate is $20 and _includes_ Essentials ... no you don't need to pay $30 on top of your regular subscription ... just $20 if you want the additional 19 channels in Essentials. (Which is similar to the way DirecTV sells their "Extras" ... except D* charges $4.99 for 5 channels instead of $10 more for 19 channels.)

Note: The value of those extra channels has been debated in other threads. No need to rehash. 

E-11 is going to 110° to replace E-8 and give much stronger ConUS signals (nationwide coverage including better coverage of Alaska and Hawaii). You should be receiving E-8 now and won't have any problem receiving E-11. The satellite you are waiting for at 129° should go up near the end of the year and is Ceil-2.


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## shadowman413 (Jan 29, 2006)

New Markets HD locals, while the only DMA in New england in which E* does not carry locals (Read: Springfield-Holyoke, MA) does not have an assigned date on when will they be available (if ever).

No mentioning of anyone asking Charlie why did they remove TV chile from dish latino, and what are they going to replace Telemundo Puerto Rico in order to keep the remaining Puerto Rican subscribers (read: carriage disputes with WAPA America) on their side rather than going to D* or cable. And to make it worse, no mentioning of YES Network as a RSN for the NYC DMA.

<sarcasm> Very Interesting chat, indeed! </sarcasm>


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

No mention of anyone asking Charlie because no one asked Charlie on the chat. 
Give up on YES ... most reasonable people have.

HD markets are too close ... I doubt DISH will add any more SD markets now that will just have to be upgraded or potentially dropped next year depending on FCC carriage decisions.


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## shadowman413 (Jan 29, 2006)

About YES, that would be my brother the one disappointed. AFAIK, almost every DMA in New England was uplinked in successsion (except for Boston which was one of the original major markets uplinked by either sattlelite provider), however Springfield-Holyoke was "skipped" by E*. I can guess they might have problems with a station owned by LIN (WWLP), and the other formerly owned by Sinclair (WGGB). We all know the stories between Dish Network and LIN Television.


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## makers78 (Jan 23, 2007)

Has there been any indication the price of the HD-only package will increase from $30/month with the addition of these national channels? Once they add Bravo, SciFi, and USA in HD the HD-only package with locals will be all we really need...


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

makers78 said:


> Has there been any indication the price of the HD-only package will increase from $30/month with the addition of these national channels? Once they add Bravo, SciFi, and USA in HD the HD-only package with locals will be all we really need...


A followup hypothetical question for those with experience:

Based upon the early HD packages (such as having Voom optional), is it reasonable to think that the $30/mo HD-only package may disappear next February except for those who have it at that time?


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## derwin0 (Jan 31, 2005)

Chris Freeland said:


> Where is the chart of red and blue dot city's that everyone is talking about be found?


Satelliteguys.us has screen captures, showing the dots, in their Chat Summary.


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## dublus (Sep 15, 2005)

James Long said:


> *Questions*
> Q: John - Mountain Network and new programming?
> A: Negotiating for three seasons ... unable to reach a deal (4th choice games).


I'm not sure what his answer means, especially the "4th choice games" part.

What does his answer mean ?

There are literally thousands of E* subscribers that will switch to D* based on the availability of this one channel (that D* will have) come this September.

I plan to record a rebroadcast of the chat to see his answer for myself but if you have any insights it would be appreciated.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

DISH considers the games that will be on that channel to be unimportant. The more important games will be picked up by providers that have first, second or third pick leaving this network with "4th pick" at the schedule.

Perhaps by September DISH will add the channel ... not really an issue now (except for those making two year programming commitments). I heard the answer as more of a negotiation answer: "we will carry it if we get a good deal but we will not overpay for 4th pick content".


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

James Long said:


> Yep. E-12 and AMC-14 paired up at 61.5° is the likely home for those cities. Unfortunately that means a different line of sight for some people. The blue dots later in the year are more westerly and filling the gaps. Looks like they will actually get to Indianapolis in the blue dot round.
> 
> The TR-40 and TR-50 are over the air tuners ... no satellite capabilities. The TR-40 was designed to meet the standards of the government $40 coupon program (no frills OTA reception, as required by law). The TR-50 is a step up, does NOT qualify under the coupon program, but is a basic DVR for OTA digital (and potentially more functional than that). The TR-50 is basically a stand alone DVR.
> 
> I expect it will be in Ultimate as that is where DirecTV has placed it (the $4.99 extra pack) and there is no SD equivalent.


So I'll keep Ultimate because Haydee is hooked on Ultra HD.


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## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

HARTFORD HD LOCALS--------- YESSSSSSSSSSS!!

Finally - uggh it's annoying that we've been without HD locals for such a LOOONG time. Granted, we're not a huge market but we're not small either. I have OTA, but there are a couple channels that I don't get great reception from (ABC and CW), and although the OTA HD will be better than the sat HD, HD is better than SD any day so I will be thankful


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## dublus (Sep 15, 2005)

James Long said:


> DISH considers the games that will be on that channel to be unimportant. The more important games will be picked up by providers that have first, second or third pick leaving this network with "4th pick" at the schedule.
> 
> Perhaps by September DISH will add the channel ... not really an issue now (except for those making two year programming commitments). I heard the answer as more of a negotiation answer: "we will carry it if we get a good deal but we will not overpay for 4th pick content".


Just to clarify - The Mountain Network has an exclusive contract with the Mountain West Conference... in this case there isn't such a thing as another network getting first, second, or third pick in front of the MTN.  Charlie must not have much involvement with the negotiations (at least this one) or he would know that. He could be making the argument that it's the Mountain West, therefore ALL of the games are fourth tier.

I have been quite satisfied with Dish but not carrying The Mountain (when D* does) would be a deal breaker for me and I know I'm not alone. I don't believe it's an exaggeration to say that there truly are thousands of subscribers that would at least consider switching if there are no other options.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

There are always thousands of subscribers somewhere that threaten to leave. DISH has managed to survive not having the more popular YES channel. I believe they will do OK without Mountain.

_"We cover almost everything on Mountain Conference on ESPN, VS and CSTV ... so we have all of the main games already. The Mountain Network also has some off games that they have as well. We have not been able to reach an economic deal there because they are the sort of off games that are not on ... they are sort of fourth choice games that are not on VS or CSTV. We just have not been able to reach an economic deal that makes sense for our customers. We continue to talk to them and if the present us with something that makes sense we'd look at carrying it."_
Charlie Ergen - CEO​


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## kbuente (Mar 25, 2007)

James Long said:


> In this case, WGN HD refers to the "superstation" - not the local CW station.


So while we won't have access to the CW in HD, we will be able to see the Cubs in HD (at least their home games).

Maybe someday now we'll get PBS in HD....such as WTTW, Ch 11 in Chicago.


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## dublus (Sep 15, 2005)

James Long said:


> There are always thousands of subscribers somewhere that threaten to leave. DISH has managed to survive not having the more popular YES channel. I believe they will do OK without Mountain.
> 
> _"We cover almost everything on Mountain Conference on ESPN, VS and CSTV ... so we have all of the main games already. The Mountain Network also has some off games that they have as well. We have not been able to reach an economic deal there because they are the sort of off games that are not on ... they are sort of fourth choice games that are not on VS or CSTV. We just have not been able to reach an economic deal that makes sense for our customers. We continue to talk to them and if the present us with something that makes sense we'd look at carrying it."_
> Charlie Ergen - CEO​


I hope you didn't think that I was inferring that Dish would go out of business because of not carrying a particular channel. That would be silly. But it is a certainty that Dish will lose hundreds, or, quite possibly, thousands of subscribers who wish to view that channel. The barometer I'm using for making this estimate is admittedly not very scientific, but if my own circle of friends and their extended circle of friends is anywhere close to an accurate indicator, there will be many defectors. I wish there was a way to track such things so we could know exactly what the number is if it comes down to that. But that's the beauty of good old capitalism. I can't tell Charlie how to run his company and he can't tell me which service suits my needs.

For the record, the statement you quoted, if made by Charlie, proves he has no idea what he's talking about as far as which games are shown on which channels. For example, this is the breakdown for this season of televised BYU basketball games; ESPN2 - 1 game, CSTV - 3 games, Versus - 2 games, BYUTV - 6 games, MTN - 15 games. Why does it break down like this? Because, as I said earlier, they have this thing called a contract.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Hundreds or thousands? Even Voom is more popular than that. 

We don't know what deal Mountain wants. They may be trying to price themselves in the range of the Big Ten Network or make demands like YES. He's looking out for 13 million subscribers ... and the overall health of his company. When you start signing every deal that crosses the desk and allow program providers to dictate terms without challenge the next program provider will see how far they can push the envelope. Someone has to pay for that ... and I'd rather not pay more so a few - the "hundreds or thousands" out of the millions of customers - can get a channel. (I don't want to see DISH overpay for BTN or other channels either.)


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## dublus (Sep 15, 2005)

Yeah, but aren't you just a little surprised that his set of "facts" are so far off ?

Out of curiosity, I wonder, does he actually make these decisions himself ? If not, then no big deal but, if so, wow, he ought to get hold of the facts.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

dublus said:


> Yeah, but aren't you just a little surprised that his set of "facts" are so far off ?
> 
> Out of curiosity, I wonder, does he actually make these decisions himself ? If not, then no big deal but, if so, wow, he ought to get hold of the facts.


I think all we've really heard so far is what would be known as "negotiating tactics". So Charlie's versions of the "facts" will be spun towards minimizing the value of said network to try to get the lowest price possible. While of course the networks version of the "facts" will be to exagerate it's importance in hopes of getting the highest price possible. Neither version of these "facts" should really be mistaken for the truth, which will undoubtably really lie somewhere in between.


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

dublus said:


> ... this is the breakdown for this season of televised BYU basketball games; ESPN2 - 1 game, CSTV - 3 games, Versus - 2 games, BYUTV - 6 games, MTN - 15 games. Why does it break down like this? Because, as I said earlier, they have this thing called a contract.


While I admit that Mountain West football is sometimes good, their basketball is a joke. You'd have an easier time convincing me of the MTN channel's value with a decent slate of football games.


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## kblee (Sep 21, 2007)

kbuente said:


> So while we won't have access to the CW in HD, we will be able to see the Cubs in HD (at least their home games).


Actually - all Cubs games (home & away) are slated for HD this year...enjoy.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

dublus said:


> For the record, the statement you quoted, if made by Charlie, proves he has no idea what he's talking about as far as which games are shown on which channels. For example, this is the breakdown for this season of televised BYU basketball games; ESPN2 - 1 game, CSTV - 3 games, Versus - 2 games, BYUTV - 6 games, MTN - 15 games. Why does it break down like this? Because, as I said earlier, they have this thing called a contract.


Note that I'm not saying I agree with this... but I suspect Charlie's comment was less about the quantity of games and more about the quality of games. Obviously if you are a fan, for instance BYU in your example, then you want those games even if they have a down year... but admittedly on the national scale BYU basketball doesn't have the same following as the "more popular" schools.

We have Big Ten right now, as another example... but I'm in ACC country. I routinely find myself watching crappy SD-quality ACC games instead of HD Big Ten games on that network because frankly I'm more interested in my own conference... so I completely understand if you're in the market how the channel for your league is of more importance to you.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The "hundreds if not thousands" comment puts the entire issue in context. 

Is BYU the only team in the conference or do the other teams get more airplay on ESPN/VS/CBS CS (CSTV)?


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## shadowman413 (Jan 29, 2006)

tsmacro said:


> I think all we've really heard so far is what would be known as "negotiating tactics". So Charlie's versions of the "facts" will be spun towards minimizing the value of said network to try to get the lowest price possible. While of course the networks version of the "facts" will be to exagerate it's importance in hopes of getting the highest price possible. Neither version of these "facts" should really be mistaken for the truth, which will undoubtably really lie somewhere in between.


That's the same thing Charlie has done with networks like YES, Lifetime, Versus, WAPA America, and many others. Charlie likes to use the excuse of "4th tier content" a lot in reguards of adding popular channels, and regional sports networks.


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## dublus (Sep 15, 2005)

James Long said:


> The "hundreds if not thousands" comment puts the entire issue in context.
> 
> Is BYU the only team in the conference or do the other teams get more airplay on ESPN/VS/CBS CS (CSTV)?


The contract is for the entire conference. The games that are NOT on MTN are the exceptions. For example, any teams' home games that are not picked up by MTN can be picked up by another channel. That's why BYUTV has so many BYU games. The one game on ESPN2 was against then #1 North Carolina and the ESPN2 contract was higher on the pecking order. The games on Versus and CSTV are because MTN has another game at the same time and CSTV and Versus can pick up the slack (seems like they're owned by the same company if I remember correctly).

If Charlie is just posturing to get a better contract and by doing so is increasing the potential for actually getting a contract with acceptable financial terms then more power to him and no hard feelings because I would do the same thing. But the rubber will hit the road in September.


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

James Long said:


> _"It takes a couple of months to get the satellite all squared away, and then a few months later we'll have more programming for you."_
> 
> Especially if LIN is messing things up and making other markets more appealing to add. KZO isn't exactly a saint in these matters. The bottom line is the contract. Your entire HD market may be in the hands of LIN and KZO.


LIN, DISH REACH RETRANS DEAL
TVNEWSDAY, Mar. 13, 9:33 AM ET
The agreement covers carriage of both standard- and high-definition dignals for LIN's stations in 17 markets. It also includes a DTV transition education campaign and marketing deal that has LIN encouraging viewers to move to Dish if their cable provider drops the station.
By Staff
LIN TV Corp. and Dish Network Corp. today announced they have entered into an agreement for the retransmission of LIN TV's broadcast stations in both standard and high-definition. The deal covers television stations owned and/or operated by LIN TV in 17 markets.

The retransmission agreement includes: KASA-TV and KRQE-TV (Albuquerque); KXAN-TV and KNVA-TV (Austin); WIVB-TV and WNLO-TV (Buffalo); WWHO-TV (Columbus); WDTN-TV (Dayton); WANE-TV (Ft. Wayne); WOOD-TV and WOTV-TV (Grand Rapids); WLUK-TV (Green Bay); WTNH-TV and WCTX-TV (Hartford-New Haven); WISH-TV and WNDY-TV (Indianapolis); WLFI-TV (Lafayette); WALA-TV and WBPG-TV (Mobile); WAVY-TV and WVBT-TV (Norfolk); WPRI-TV and WNAC-TV (Providence); WWLP-TV (Springfield); WTHI-TV (Terre Haute) and WUPW-TV (Toledo).

In addition, Dish and LIN have reached a new marketing and promotional agreement to encourage consumers to switch to Dish if LIN's local station signal is removed from a cable system. The parties will jointly market LIN's availability on Dish so viewers will have the opportunity to continue watching their favorite local news and programming.

Other details include an agreement to build awareness of the upcoming digital transition. Dish and LIN will work together to educate consumers about the Feb. 17, 2009, switch by providing information about transition requirements and digital-to-analog converter boxes. Dish offers a government coupon-eligible digital-to-analog converter box that retails at $39.99 and is essentially free to consumers with the coupon.

"This multi-faceted agreement with Dish Network confirms our desire to deliver high-quality digital programming to all our viewers and to find creative ways to promote the digital transition. It ensures that our viewers will always have an alternative means of accessing the most important channels on television," said Vincent L. Sadusky, president and chief executive officer of LIN TV Corp. "Our mutually acceptable economic agreement with Dish Network reflects the value of broadcast television on multi-channel television providers."

"We are pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with LIN TV, both to retransmit their signals and to enhance our marketing capabilities," said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of programming for Dish Network. "We are excited to have a local network broadcast partner that we can work with to build awareness about the important upcoming digital transition


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## razorbackfan (Aug 18, 2002)

Here's a screenshot of the map for the HD locals. Green is what they have now, yellow is what's expected in April, and blue is what's expected this year.


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

Hey, that's the same map they had on Jericho!


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

kblee said:


> Actually - all Cubs games (home & away) are slated for HD this year...enjoy.


Yeah... hopefully all those on CSNC as well. But what I don't get is that these pre-season games that are on CSNC say they're available in HD-WS and yet when you look at the HD feed for CSNC, they're not on. What's the deal there?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

kbuente said:


> James Long said:
> 
> 
> > In this case, WGN HD refers to the "superstation" - not the local CW station.
> ...


A little clarification ...

The WGN shown on Charlie Chat was the "superstation" logo.
Local WGN9 is in this week's uplink report --- 5085 from 61.5°.
(Hopefully it will appear on 129° as well - at least for a transition.)


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## harmil2 (Nov 22, 2003)

Wow! All I need now is pbs and comedy central in HD and I will never have to watch standard definition again.


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## A2736 (Feb 11, 2006)

Did they mention adding CNBC HD in the future?


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## psnarula (Aug 13, 2005)

on which satellite are these new channels going to be located?

somebody mentioned 61.5 spotbeams earlier in this thread but i thought 61.5 was conus (of course, assuming nothing obstructs the low look angle on the west coast).

how does the failure of AMC-14 affect things?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Speculation about AMC-14 is ongoing in the appropriate thread.

DISH did not announce the satellite location of any of the new HD locals ... but many of them are expected to be on E12 (formerly R1) at 61.5° (a spotbeam capable satellite). Some of the new markets are listed in the uplink report as being assigned to E12's spotbeams.

HD nationals would be on 61.5° and 129° ... or 110° with E11's launch.


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## Zero327 (Oct 10, 2006)

Oooohhhh, By Your Command...


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

psnarula said:


> on which satellite are these new channels going to be located?
> 
> somebody mentioned 61.5 spotbeams earlier in this thread but i thought 61.5 was conus (of course, assuming nothing obstructs the low look angle on the west coast).
> 
> how does the failure of AMC-14 affect things?


Forget about it.


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## DirecTV-Sub (Feb 10, 2008)

James Long said:


> Speculation about AMC-14 is ongoing in the appropriate thread.
> 
> DISH did not announce the satellite location of any of the new HD locals ... but many of them are expected to be on E12 (formerly R1) at 61.5° (a spotbeam capable satellite). Some of the new markets are listed in the uplink report as being assigned to E12's spotbeams.
> 
> HD nationals would be on 61.5° and 129° ... or 110° with E11's launch.


I'm wondering how the failure of AMC-14 affects the 5-6-7 new HD local markets they said they will light every month from April on. Any ideas on this?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Please read the message your quoted.


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## lionsrule (Nov 25, 2003)

The HEADLINE of this thread states that dishnetwork made PROMISES regarding new HD programming. However, the same person who started this thread, in the amc14 thread states:

"A verbal "hope to have by summer" isn't a promise"

is it a promise or isn't it?

The recap of last weeks charlie chat says it IS a promise.

I'm so confused.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Well, lionsrule, you're yelling at me. I made the mistake of describing the comments made in the Charlie Chat as a "promise" when I created the homepage announcement shortly after the show ended. That description was wrong and has now been corrected.

I did include in this thread many of the comments about the new HD channel list and new HD local market list that Mr Ergen made during the chat. The most important comment applying to the new channels being:
"Between now and the summer we hope to have most of these channels up there."​
Hope springs eternal ... I hope that AMC-14 ends up at 61.5°. I hope E-11 and Ceil-2 get safely into orbit later this year. But I'm not going to promise it (and not just because it is not my promise to make).


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

harmil2 said:


> Wow! All I need now is pbs and comedy central in HD and I will never have to watch standard definition again.


do you have an OTA? I get PBS HD on mine.



> The HEADLINE of this thread states that dishnetwork made PROMISES regarding new HD programming. However, the same person who started this thread, in the amc14 thread states:
> 
> "A verbal "hope to have by summer" isn't a promise"
> 
> ...


He didn't promise, he said that they should have most of them up between now and summer....he made it sound as if they were optimistic...but no...there wasn't a promise. There was news of what they are planning/trying to do...which is what most of us have been peeved about not getting. Now we have the news, and just have to hope it all pans out...

i see that Disney and Toon Disney are on the list...would that be Disney East and West, and TDis?


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

lionsrule said:


> The HEADLINE of this thread states that dishnetwork made PROMISES regarding new HD programming. However, the same person who started this thread, in the amc14 thread states:
> 
> "A verbal "hope to have by summer" isn't a promise"
> 
> ...


James doesn't need me to defend him, but near the beginning of this thread I commented on his careful wording in the first post which reads as follow:


James Long said:


> *HD Programming*
> New Channels coming soon!
> ABC Family ... AMC ... BET ... Biography ... Bravo
> Cartoon Network ... CNN ... CMT ... Disney ... ESPN News
> ...


And the headline of this thread reads:


> *The Charlie Chat Summary - March 10th, 2008 *


If anything, James has restated "No promise was made" so many times in so many ways to so many people that it is becoming pointless. Maybe he should just repeat his first post every time.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I continue to keep score on: _"Between now and the summer we hope to have most of these channels up there."_

Charlie's hopes will be dashed in ten days on these 10 channels:

_Rainbow Group:_ AMC, IFC
_Viacom Group: _ BET, CMT, HBO2, MTV, MoreMAX, Nickelodeon, VH1
_Other:_ Starz Edge

On the other hand, he gave us these 5 that he didn't include in his promise:

_NBC Universal Group:_ CNBC
_Viacom Group:_ 5-MAX, MAX-W
_Other:_ Hallmark Movies, Travel Channel


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## saltrek (Oct 22, 2005)

How does "Between now and the summer we *hope* to have *most* of these channels up there." suddenly become "Between now and the summer I *promise all *the channels *will* be up there."?


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

saltrek said:


> How does "Between now and the summer we *hope* to have *most* of these channels up there." suddenly become "Between now and the summer I *promise all *the channels *will* be up there."?


It didn't. That's why I said:


> Charlie's *hopes* will be dashed in ten days on these 10 channels


As I noted, he gave us 5 not on the list, so presumably his hopes are "dashed" only net 5 fewer than he discussed if he doesn't add 5 more from the list before the first day of Summer. And I just discovered that Summer arrives Friday, June 20, about 5:00 pm PDT, 8:00 pm EDT.

Just keeping track of our progress. I could keep count on the 100 nationals they also said they wanted to have by the end of the year, but I can't figure out how to count the regional sports channels. And it seems to me that the "locals" that provide national network programming are as logical to count as the regional sports channels. So I leave that interpretation to others.


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