Don't be too quick to believe what Dish is telling
you about them raising their rates. We just had
the same thing happen with ATT U-Verse. First
they dropped the Hallmark Channel, using the
excuse that Hallmark wanted too much money.
Then, one morning we woke up and no more
HGTV, Food Network, DIY (and the other two
Schripps Network programs). Yep, 5 channels
just gone, with no warning. First I called ATT,
and was told it was because Schripps Network
wanted too much money. Then I called the Schripps
Network and spoke with someone who had been
there 11 years. She said that they HAD reached
an agreement with ATT to keep their shows on the
air, but that there was a sticking point over copyrighted
shows that HGTV and Food Network air. She said
they had offered to give ATT until January, at no
cost to them, so the programming could stay on
the air and give them time to work out the copyright
issues. However, ATT just janked the shows without
Schripps Networks knowledge and decided to tell
their customers it was Schripps who wouldn't bend.
Basically ATT was lying to their customers. There was
such an uproar (this all happened on a Friday), that
by Monday ATT put HGTV, Food Network, and the
other 3 networks back on the air. When I called
ATT initially, I asked them if they were trying to
loose customers. They gave me $50.00 off my
next bill and asked me to give them a week to
work it out, but because of the uproar, they had
the shows on air in 3 days.
I think all the satellite and cable companies are trying
to get more money, so they are threatening to drop
networks and channels so they can up their rates,
thinking that no one will complain. I agree with others
who have said that the next time something like this
happens, I will just drop cable (or satellite) altogether.
If enough people would do the same, they would have
to stop lying to us and yanking good programming.