Ramey Designs: Fisher and DISH Network, the Clash of the Egos

I was shocked to see that we no longer got channel 2 KATU, our local ABC affiliate, when I woke up today. Apparently their contract is up and Fisher Communications who owns KATU wants DISH to pay more than they are willing. This has affected the entire northwest. Dish is stating that KATU was demanding an 80% increase in payment for the new contract. While Rob Dunlop, Fisher's Senior Vice President of Operations states"Our signal remains available over the public airwaves and through other service providers such as cable or DIRECTV. We regret any inconvenience DISH Network viewers may experience as they look for other options in order to watch our stations."

So this morning our whole routine was thrown off. KATU is our favorite news channel since they cover our town the best. We hear lots about Portland and the Metro area but on channel 2, they also talk about our little city too. I was hoping to see some info about our snow storm and instead I got a recorded feed from DISH talking about the failed negotiations.

Also, Fisher announced that it has filed a $1 million breach of contract lawsuit over DISH's failure to comply with the terms of the prior carriage agreement. The lawsuit was filed earlier today in federal district court in Oregon.

So who is to blame? 80% is a HUGE increase. It sure seems there is some bad history between Fisher and DISH. But I don't like the idea of VP of Fisher just telling me to move to another provider. It's a pain...one more thing to get done during this busy holiday season. I don't know, will they come to an agreement soon? It seems to me that Fisher will receive less advertising money since they have limited their audience. So maybe Fisher should be more willing to bend?

I sure hope they make a deal before Lost's season premiere on January 21st. Seems like the two companies should compromise and not take the consumers and advertisers for granted. This disagreement is a back-eye for both companies.

Let me know your take on this!

3 Comments:

Anonymous said...: I want to thank DISH Network for showing me that I can save roughly $30.00 per month by switching to Direct TV, yahoo! I was so angry this morning when I woke up to watch the weather on channel 2, only to view some scruffy DISH spokesman say how terrible it was that KATU would not negotiate with them. I do not believe that KATU is to blame, but solely put the blame on the shoulders of DISH.

If DISH would have increased my price a little to get local programming, I would have paid as to not have the hassle of having to call around for comparable service. But, because they dropped my local programs without even giving me an option as to whether we wanted to stay with them or choose another provider, they forced me to shop around.

Direct TV was able to not only give me my local channels for no extra charge, but gave me much more programming for $30.00 a month less! No installation fees, and as an added bonus, I get HD on all 4 TVs, free Showtime for a year (which I didn't have before)and more.

SO.....THANK YOU DISH Network! And TA TA!

Sincerely,

Happy in Portland; December 18, 2008 7:39 PM

Jessica Ramey Designs said...: Gosh, that sounds like an incredible deal. I should check into that.

One other thought, does Fisher have any connection (investments) with DirectTV? The thing I worry about… say we all leave DISH. Right now we have limited competition, but if we all switch to DirectTV they will be the only game. Then we'll be even more vulnerable to scams like this. So I'm not sure where I stand just yet.

I do agree with you Happy in Portland that they should give you, the customer the choice of raising the rates or telling us this contract was up. I love that you voted with your dollar. I'll fill you in where I spend my dollar as soon as I pick a side.

Keep the comments coming!; December 18, 2008 9:44 PM

Anonymous said...: I wrote to dishnetwork about the removal of katu, here is both the response i got and the letter I wrote them.

Dear DISH Network Customers,
Effective December 17, 2008, DISH Network’s contract with your ABC affiliate, KATU, expired and has not been renewed due to the unreasonable contract terms and a request for an 82% rate increase from KATU’s ownership, Fisher Communications, Inc. DISH Network has offered KATU a fair and reasonable increase which it has refused. In the last few years, DISH Network has negotiated for retransmission consent with nearly 1,000 other local TV stations and has reached a fair agreement with all of them. DISH Network will continue to work toward an agreement to restore your ABC programming as soon as possible. A credit of $1.00 to your account will be automatically added for the loss of this local channel.

DISH Network remains committed to providing the best programming at the lowest price. The fees DISH Network pays for programming directly impact the price our customers pay, and we are unwilling to subject you to increased costs resulting from excessive and unnecessary license fee demands. We apologize for any inconvenience and will continue to make every effort to reach an agreement with KATU. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit HYPERLINK "http://www.abc.com" www.abc.com to watch full-length episodes of your favorite shows.

We encourage you to contact KATU’s General Manager directly and let him know what you think:
KATU General Manager John Tamerlano: 503.231.4200

The retransmission of Local ABC affiliates is strictly controlled by the FCC; DISH Network is only authorized to retransmit the KATU ABC feed in your area, the transmission of any other Local ABC feed is prohibited.

For security reasons, we cannot disconnect account via email. However, we have forwarded your request to our disconnection department. A representative will contact you shortly to confirm your disconnection. You also have the option to call 1-800-333-3474 to disconnect through a customer service representative, who will go over disconnection options and final disclosures with you.

We continually strive to control costs on behalf of our customers and are hopeful that this dispute will be resolved quickly. We realize that in today’s competitive world you have a choice in services. We thank you for your continued business and support while DISH Network continues to work through these difficult but important negotiations with Fisher Communications, Inc.

Sincerely,

DISH Network E-Care

** Please include all previous correspondence when replying. *

Your message:

Dear Sir;

I am extremely disappointed in the continuing conflict between Dish Network and Fisher Communication which broadcast KATU Television (the ABC affiliate) in Portland, Oregon. I have written numerous letters about other channels and have been told "they are not available". These channels are Sprout (a very good PBS type cannel for children), America One, and Voom HD (both to add some variety) I have also asked about the ability to receive the Eugene stations due to the fact that I live 90+ miles from Portland and 35 miles from Eugene (but which I cannot receive due to the terrain).

On what is now channel 2 from your person he states "80%" increase in fees, instead of saying the percentage of fees why not give me a number. An 80% increase could be presently charging $100.00 per month and they now want $180.00. This small of an increase divided by the total number of subscribers in Washington and Oregon would not affect the cost of your service. But instead we get from you we don't want to discuss the specific price but only to say it is milliions.

It has come to my attention that this is not the first nor do I presume will it be the last time that your company has done this service to your customers, I would implore you to remember the two rules: 1. The customer is always right. 2. When in doubt refer to rule #1.

I would like to know, what the local telephone companies with whom you are partnered to provide services think on this matter?

I am further wondering why KUNP, a Fisher company is still being broadcasted while the other companies are not even though their contract has also expired?

This latest disruption has in my opinion broken our agreement for your services and I will be investigating moving my service to a different provider.

I guess my investigating moving my services was deem to cancel my service. If the price for this station is what has been done with other stations around the country that dish has bumped off the increase has been from approximately .6 of a cent per day to 1 penny per day. This is incredible that dish cares so little about themselves, their partners or their customers.; January 13, 2009 3:32 PM

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Fisher and DISH Network, the Clash of the Egos

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