Dishnet The Fools Drop All Voom Channels

[O'Shag]

How stupid can they be? The ONLY differentiator between Dishnetwork and DirectTV was Voom. Voom was easily the best programming on Dishnetwork, and indeed the only reason I chose dishnet over DirectTv. I see no reason now to stay with Dishnetwork. If I can get voom in any other way, I'll subscribe to that provider rather than Dishnetwork. This incredibly stupid move will probably lose many of their subscribers - as if they can afford to. All comes from overconfidence.

[pixelthis]

LIKE I SAID on the other voom thread you posted.
Its a recession, other HD sources are available, etc.
These channels were created to fill a need at the time, few HD channels.
Now you can watch househunters in HD, and all channels are HD in creation even if they havent started in HD YET, EVEN THE SHOPPING CHANNELS.
So it looks like you're screwed.
SORRY

[Woochifer]

I guess now the only other way to obtain VOOM's programming is to move to an area served by Cablevision and subscribe to their cable service.

Like I said in that other thread, Dish acquired VOOM primarily for the satellite capacity, while Cablevision picked up VOOM's programming. Personally, I think VOOM was a useful service back when HD programming was limited. Even so, it didn't help them sustain a business model -- I think their subscriber count never exceeded 50,000 (compare this with Dish's 13 million subscribers and Directv's 16 million subscribers).

But, now the rest of the industry is catching up, and services originally started up for HD programming like VOOM and HDNet are less relevant. The most watched channels are the major broadcast networks -- CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, CW -- and satellite/cable channels such as USA, TNT, TBS, FX, ESPN, CNN, A&E, History, Discovery, etc. Most of the popular satellite/cable channels have only gone HD within the past year, and more of the second tier channels are due to go HD soon.

Given Dish's limited satellite capacity compared to Directv, I suspect that the only way that they can add these HD channels and expand their local HD broadcasts is to start dropping other channels (i.e., alternate SD feeds, VOOM, etc.). Unfortunately, VOOM is a relic from the early days of HDTV. Those channels existed solely to provide HD content. Now that HD is becoming more widely available, Dish has to keep up with what Directv and the cable companies are offering -- i.e., the channels that subscribers watch the most like the MTV networks (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon) and ESPNEWS, which have not yet been added to Dish's HD programming. And they have to do so with less bandwidth.

[O'Shag]

You clearly have never watched the Voom programming and your relic comment is totally bs. Why make such an assured statement when you don't know what your talking about in the first place? Also why is the internet already littered with such a lot of Dishnet subscribers that are incredibly pissed off at this move - this only one day after they have withdrawn the programming? What is the motivation for someone to choose dishnet over the other providers now?

[Woochifer]

You clearly have never watched the Voom programming and your relic comment is totally bs. Why make such an assured statement when you don't know what your talking about in the first place? Also why is the internet already littered with such a lot of Dishnet subscribers that are incredibly pissed off at this move - this only one day after they have withdrawn the programming? What is the motivation for someone to choose dishnet over the other providers now?

It's not BS because VOOM's program channels started up solely to provide HD programming at a time when most other channels, including premium movie channels, had not yet gone HD. We're in a different time and a different market right now than the one that VOOM and HDNet entered back in 2004. This has nothing to do with whether you like those channels or not -- it has to do with viewership and the steps that Dish has to take in order to stay competitive with Directv and cable.

I doubt that a lot of people would choose Dish over Directv because of the VOOM channels. For one thing, most people don't know much about them and Dish never marketed the service very well. But, I think more people would be swayed towards Directv if they currently carry HD feeds for MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and ESPNEWS (among others) that Dish Network does not.

Everything I've read indicates that Dish Network has a serious disadvantage with their satellite capacity. And their most recent satellite launch did not reach the desired orbit, and was written off as a total loss. Had that satellite successfully reached orbit, who knows if Dish would have made this move.

I have no idea how much bandwidth they got left or how much of their HD service uses the less efficient MPEG-2 codecs (which is what the VOOM service originally used on its satellite receivers). But, if Dish Network cannot put popular national HD feeds like MTV or Nickelodeon onto their channel grid because the VOOM service occupies that bandwidth, then I think it's a no-brainer what they keep and what they drop. Consider that the satellite Directv launched last month only added about 50 HD channels to their capacity, and you see how valuable that bandwidth is.

BTW, I've been following VOOM since they first went on the air with their HD service. This topic was discussed on this board back then, and the fate of VOOM's channels was discussed when the bankrupted VOOM service got divied up between Dish Network and Cablevision. That extra satellite capacity and those HD channels helped prop Dish's HD offerings up when Directv and the cable companies' HD selection (and the availability of HD programming in general) was more limited. But, that window has passed. In the past year, the programming landscape has shifted dramatically (i.e., most of the major national channels have gone HD or announced plans to do so) and VOOM's importance relative to the other channels that Dish needs to carry in order to stay competitive is waning.

[Mr Peabody]

Which Voom channels did you watch O'Shag? I have Dish HD and I rarely found much to watch on the Voom area. I sometimes watched the HD Music channel that was on 9470. I thought Monster HD sounded like a good concept but I hardly found a movie on there worth watching.

Dish is doing what Wooch thought, they have recently added 22 new HD feeds of existing channels like Biography, Hallmark, ABC Family, Sci Fi was listed, Disney and Toon Disney, MGM HD "385", I'm interested to see what's on that, they also added two other Cinemax but I need to turn on my TV to see if that is in the HD pack or you have to be a Cinemax subscriber, which I might become because that makes 3 of their channels HD. The movie channels are the only ones that have decent surround sound. I don't know if it's compression or programming but much of the channels supposedly in 5.1 just sound like 2 channel or Pro Logic though my processor shows it's receiving a 5.1 signal.

www.dishnetwork.com/hdupdate

I think from now until 1st quarter of next year it's going to be all about who can say they have the most HD channels. I know it's a blow when you lose a channel you really like. I don't think Dish would have made this move if the satelite would have made it to the correct orbit. Keeping Voom in addition to the other channels would have given them a clear lead in the race to quantity.

[pixelthis]

www.dishnetwork.com/hdupdate

I think from now until 1st quarter of next year it's going to be all about who can say they have the most HD channels. I know it's a blow when you lose a channel you really like. I don't think Dish would have made this move if the satelite would have made it to the correct orbit. Keeping Voom in addition to the other channels would have given them a clear lead in the race to quantity.[/QUOTE]


Not for long, this is an intereim period.
Soon EVERYTHING will be HD, they will have no choice.
DISH peobably thought Voom was underusing their capacity.
There are always some who hate a decision like this, but in context , while they might be as much as a million, that isn't really that much in TV world

[dean_martin]

Gallery is gone! I was going to watch our buddy Troy's feature.

KungFu - gone.
Monster - gone.

Oh well, I guess I can watch Bubba catch a bass in hd.

I think we still have the HDnet channels. The music channels have some good programming. Don't tell me they're dropping the HDnet channels next.

[Mr Peabody]

The one I liked was 9470, it was showing a Dish announcement over and over last I checked. I really wonder why they did take those channels off because all the new ones are on a different number.

[pixelthis]

Gallery is gone! I was going to watch our buddy Troy's feature.

KungFu - gone.
Monster - gone.

Oh well, I guess I can watch Bubba catch a bass in hd.

I think we still have the HDnet channels. The music channels have some good programming. Don't tell me they're dropping the HDnet channels next.

YEAH, my fav is MHD, a great HD music channel with high q pic and sound.
As long as they have that...