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Dish Network recently reported a loss of subscribers over Q2 2008.
Apparently some are jealous of the happy ending for Sirius and XM.
DirecTV and Dish Network could be the next to work on what would probably be a long, painful merger.
Apparently, Dish is the one making the moves. Engadget HD says the company lost about 25,000 subscribers in Q2. To who, we don’t know. Now the company says they need to make a “a major strategic shift.” The rumor is that shift would be a merger between the two satellite companies.
It’s not the first time the idea has come up; the two have had some discussions in recent months. There were also rumblings of a merger back in 2001 until regulators blew that idea off the boardroom table. Dish CEO Charlie Ergen thinks the idea might be more appealing a second time around. Why? Analysts from Barron’s don’t think seem to think anything would be different this time around. That seems about right. If there’s any movement at all, expect a bumpy ride. The Sirius/XM deal was a long 18 months.
So as a subscriber, you probably have a lot of time to think about what this means to you—if anything. Sirius/XM subscribers are being offered a la carte channel packages, lower sub prices, and options to mix services. Of course, to take advantage of the latter, you’ll need to upgrade your equipment.
I had problems with Dish initially because of a poorly aligned dish installation. Dish resolved that issue and I’ve been very happy with the reception since. I was upset they dropped VOOM, a big selling point originally. I considered switching to DTV, but the heart of my system is the DVR service. Dish’s DVRs have a much better reputation than DTV’s, so I stuck with Dish and added a 722. A combined company opens the door to rising prices. I assume Dish and DTV would agree to terms similar to Sirius and XM. One thing’s for sure, our local cable company is Comcast—that’s a non-option as far as I’m concerned.
OMG this is the worst thing that can happen, DISH Network is one of the worst pieces of crap I have ever had to use. I was in DTV and switched to DISH, nothing but hardware issue, satellite issues loosing signals and all the time it was not there problem! Right back to DTV and not a single issue. If this happens I’ll use cable before ever using DISH Network again. They are CRAP
The reason they lost subscribers is they removed the VOOM content - most of which was not missed - except for the VOOM Rave channel, which most people would pay extra for and without they would have no reason to keep Dish. Not only was it a bad move on their part, but had they used that channel as a marketing ploy, they would have gained subscribers.
I would find this very interesting indeed. I’ve been a long time Dish subscriber but I’ve always been frustrated that I can’t participate in the NFL Ticket program. If there wasn’t all the overlap between the two services, it might open up great possibilities to offer true expansion of HD coverage without over compression.
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I have had both and currently have Dish.No problems what so ever.I have no idea what David is talking about (maybe user error).I do believe they will raise prices.