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.

to my knowledge here in Arizona the cable companies havent tried that. But I know our power companies are trying their best to get a 60% increase, which in todays times would do some folks in. I agree this is absurd...maybe if we had a president who cared about our country above other countries we would be in better shape. Its as though no one cares about us "working people". The harder we work the more they take. RIDICULOUS!!!!

I am also in Arizona. I think our President is doing the best he can to fix the mess from the previous eight years, but it is going to take more than the actions of the President to cure the current philosophy of corporate greed.

What happened to the good old days of tv antenas on the roofs of houses! tv was free back then, and now it is impossible to get it that way with all the shows being digital or hd or whatever the new wording is this week! How on earth did we ever let them get this much power we should at least still have the option of having an antenna if we wanted to have free tv but the large companies have taken that option away from us also!

DagNabit! I swore I would NEVER pay for TV and then they decided that digital was the way to go, so I had to buy the boxes that would draw the signal so we could continue seeing our local CBS,NBC, ABC channels and we even got the 2.1, 2.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 etc, for about two weeks then started getting the box on screen saying the signal was too weak, we needed to buy a different antennae. Then the antennae had to be pointed in a certain direction and for best reception even mounted to the highest point on the house with the TV positioned against the south wall of the house with the rabbit ears spread apart and horizontal to where the signal was coming from!! UGH! Decided then to do the DISH. How far are they going to take this. I should have bowed out of TV then and there! Now I'm hooked on certain shows!! LOL!!

That must be something happening with the local provider of DishNetwork. We've had DishNetwork for over 8 yrs (for me, longer than that for DH) and they've never taken HGTV off!!!! Yeah, I'd be in an uproar, too, if they did that! So far, the provider here has been very up front.....so we'll see if anything happens. Meanwhile, we'll get ABC from way back east and down south..... Just so I can see Castle...LOL

Also, all those channels, and nothing good to watch! I would like a package with just Fox, CNN, financial channels, Discovery, Science, History, HGTV. Dish won't do that. Most of the movies aired today are downright embarrassing. My pastime is quilting, sewing, or painting - after I get through with cleaning, laundry and cooking!

Who has time for TV? What with this board & making quilts...well, you know.

we just got the digital box and antenae works great for us here. We get the shows we watch . I refuse to pay cable just to channel surf. I think if I have to pay so much every month they could at least give me some service which they didn't. They were so rude I told them to stop our service. Funny they kept calling for us to get it again and even offered a way lower bill when I said no thank you they were rude all over again, I won't pay for that. If I want to really watch something I just do it on the computer on my own time. I prefer the computer service bill that I can do a lot more on than just tv. Also I thought the idea used to be if you pay for cable there would be less commercials??

[/quote] That must be something happening with the local provider of DishNetwork. We've had DishNetwork for over 8 yrs (for me, longer than that for DH) and they've never taken HGTV off!!!! Yeah, I'd be in an uproar, too, if they did that! So far, the provider here has been very up front.....so we'll see if anything happens. Meanwhile, we'll get ABC from way back east and down south..... Just so I can see Castle...LOL[/quote]

It wasn't Dish, but ATT Uverse. One this I want to add
to my comment is that if you think about it, why would
a channel, like ABC or a network, like the Schripps Network
that has 5 very popular channels including HGTV and Food
Network, raise their rates to such an absurd amount that
cable and satellite companies would drop them? The only
way a channel or network can survive is if they have a large
viewership, so it is in their best interest to be on as many
providers as possible. I firmly believe it is the cable and
satellite providers that are doing this, not the channels and
networks, who want to be seen by as many as possible.
Marcia