Portland's KATU no longer available through Dish Network
Saturday, December 20, 2008 8:51 PM PST
By The Associated Press
Printable version
E-mail this articleRegional television station owner Fisher Communications Inc. said Thursday its broadcasts were cut off to Dish Network satellite customers in seven markets in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California after the companies could not reach a deal on carriage rates.
Among the dropped channels is KATU in Portland.
The Seattle-based company also said it sued Dish Network Corp. in federal district court in Oregon on Thursday for $1 million for failure to pay for broadcasts from stations that Fisher acquired in the last few years.
The others stations no longer available to Dish subscribers are KOMO and KUNS in Seattle, KIMA and KUNW in Yakima, KVAL in Eugene, KBCI in Boise, Idaho, KIDK in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and KBAK and KBFX in Bakersfield, Calif.
Im_not_saying wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:04 AM:
" Fisher wanted greater than 80% more from Dish - I can live without ABC for awhile... "
Diesel wrote on Dec 19, 2008 1:34 AM:
" You would think that in this slow economic time that Fischer would want customers instead of driving them away. Maybe the CEO needs anoth 100 million to make it through the coming year. An 80% increase it totally stupid during this recession. They really need to get a grip. I refuse to even look at their web page. "
Rastor wrote on Dec 19, 2008 5:37 AM:
" Dish has done this their entire existence! Turn off channels, getting sued by their own vendors for non payment or for stealing software without paying for it! DirecTV pays the same rates as Dish per subscriber for these same channels and doesn't seem to have problems providing what they promised. "
Roudyruss wrote on Dec 19, 2008 6:04 AM:
" Why is it all bout money now? To hell with costumers, screw employee's, if the CEO's can make more money then it seems they care about no one but themselves. What ever happened to "thow shall not steal"? "
Snoopy wrote on Dec 19, 2008 6:48 AM:
" We pay too much to dish Network for this ever to have happened! That's why we switched to DIRECTV yesterday. "
kellman wrote on Dec 19, 2008 7:13 AM:
" I am glad that there are companies that are willing to take a stand to keep the rates lower for us subscribers, I also get KATU over the air so this isn't of much concern to me as far as loss of the channel. "
Beer&Skittles wrote on Dec 19, 2008 7:31 AM:
" So, welcome to Directv...a better service by the way... "
kalama river resident wrote on Dec 19, 2008 7:32 AM:
" This is ridiculous, KATU broadcasts for free over the airwaves, but wants to charge satellite companies to make them available to their customers, What a farce, KATU generates most of their revenue through advertising, you think they would be happy having Dish network showing their commercials increasing their audience size and their profits for free. KATU and Fisher broadcasting are GREEDY, I hope they lose advertising revenue from this stunt!!! "
Seriously? wrote on Dec 19, 2008 7:48 AM:
" I have to say at first I was pretty miffed, but now that I actually watched the infomercial, I too can live without it. I can watch my shows online the next day at ABC.com. But I think the funniest part, is that Dish is posting the name and phone number to the head guy of KATU. His phone must be blowing up. "
Mr. Bastinado wrote on Dec 19, 2008 8:45 AM:
" An 80% raise?? Holy moly, who do these station execs think they are??, City of Longview employees???? "
Rural Citizen wrote on Dec 19, 2008 8:58 AM:
" The way that Fisher cuts into ABC programming for local snow reports and basketball games, it seems to me that there won't be much to miss.
However, if you want, this station is absolutely FREE with a digital antenna and converter. "
However, if you want, this station is absolutely FREE with a digital antenna and converter. "
golfer wrote on Dec 19, 2008 9:17 AM:
" Just wait until Direct TV has to negotiate their price when their contract is up. The exact same thing will probably happen, unless Dish negotiates a contract earlier.
Rastor....How do you know that Dish is stealing software & getting sued for non-payment? Are you a Directv exec, promoting your product? "
Rastor....How do you know that Dish is stealing software & getting sued for non-payment? Are you a Directv exec, promoting your product? "
forgetmenot wrote on Dec 19, 2008 9:35 AM:
" Rastor. DirecTV may pay the same rates but they turn around and pawn that cost off on to their customers. I was a DirecTV customer for years and found out that I could get a very comparable package from Dish for about $15.00 less a month. That may seem like pocket change but in these times, anytime, that is a little bit of extra food in the cupboard. Plus DirecTV pays celebs like Beyonce to do their advertising, that can't be cheap. Thats the same reason I don't shop at Macy's. I.E. Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Maria Carey, etc. Get it. I am not going to pay for these companies to advertise with big celebs. Dish cares anout being affordable for their customers and is proving it by standing up to Fisher Communications. "
US CITIZEN wrote on Dec 19, 2008 9:55 AM:
" i was in a bad car wreck five years ago multiple injurys including a broken back called dish and asked for an extension on my payment they told me no and that i had to crawl up on my roof and take the dish down and send it back.been with direct tv for five years and no problems. plus the dish installers drilled through a single celled roof.by the way your dp-50 is still up there if you want it back. "
Kelsomommy wrote on Dec 19, 2008 10:01 AM:
" Dish Network is not cheaper, and they have the worst reception ever. I never lose my signal with Direct TV, but I did ALL the time with Dish Network!! "
wazzu coug wrote on Dec 19, 2008 10:13 AM:
" The reason Fisher wants more money is because it lost its shorts in the Mariners broadcast deal six years ago.
It's selling property at fire sale prices trying to stay afloat. "
It's selling property at fire sale prices trying to stay afloat. "
Chimo wrote on Dec 19, 2008 10:32 AM:
" From what I can tell there seems to be two sides to the story. I wonder what KATU side says. I do know thst Dish rates go up every year. Why is that. Maybe Dish is getting greedy. Not sure if I believe the 80% rate hike or not.
Also never had any problem getting reception on Dish. Except for weather problems. Would be worth checking out. "
Also never had any problem getting reception on Dish. Except for weather problems. Would be worth checking out. "
cuz wrote on Dec 19, 2008 11:11 AM:
" I've had DirecTV and had nothing but problems, now I've had Dish for four years and two days ago was the first time I've ever lost a signal and that was due to the weather. Dish service is cheaper than Directv, I've been doing my research because I want to upgrade to HD service and Comcast is rediculous. As for KATU, I get the local channels off rabbit ears, in HD, why would I watch any of them off the sat., just another big company looking for more money, screw'em. "
l-town mom wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:02 PM:
" I was soooo irritated when I woke up yesterday morning to check the weather and found NOTHING on channel 2 but Dish's explanation of why it was no longer in service. It is easy to see that they purposely did not notify their consumers so we would have no chance to change our programming. I am incredibly frustrated and am changing my programming to another company. We rely on channel 2 because their news station is so good about including Longview in their news. "
kalama river resident wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:26 PM:
" Does it really matter if you have Direct TV, Comcast, cable, or even steaming feeds on your computer? If KATU gets their way, they will set precedent, then all the providers will be forced to pay for their programing, then the other local broadcasters will be tempted to follow KATU's example, and take advantage of the situation raising their price further. Everybody will see higher costs for their programing!!- This is the time to "knip it in the butt". The best solution for ALL, would be to boycott KATU and also let their advertisers know that KATU's decision will affect your shopping habits. This is only the beginning if KATU gets their way!!!! "
Beer&Skittles wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:44 PM:
" We were Dish customers for about 6 years. Then our system became obsolete. Directv was offering 4 rooms, 4 receivers, etc. for a great deal. I called Dish, who also had a comparable deal, but not for existing customers. I asked them if they were willing to comp a GOOD EXISTING customer. The answer was a resounding NO. I took that request all the way to their President's office. No deal, not even a minor discount. I too, thought Direct would be more expensive, but once I worked it out, it's about 20% cheaper for another 20 or so channels. We frequently were on with tech support for Dish - they were always good to work with by the way - but we've NEVER called Directv for tech support in the last 5 years now. The prices have only been raised pennies, and there are new services added all the time. We've just found it to be a superior service to Dish. My big pet peeve though? THAT WE CAN'T GET SEATTLE CHANNELS IF WE CHOOSE TO!!! How dare congress tell us what "market" we mush have! We can't even get Washington State news!!! "
funnyone wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:48 PM:
" I have had both, Dish is cheeper, I have had less problems with Dish like equipment issues than I ever did with Direct. I like dish. Am I happy about Katu? Heck no, but its not for local news, its for the tv shows aired on ABC. I am going to call and ask if I can have an east coast ABC station added to my package. "
frankenzombie wrote on Dec 19, 2008 2:03 PM:
" I hated Dish Network. I lost signal constantly, certain channels would flicker during shows and I got the worst service EVER when I cancelled my service. I didn't do it, because I was upset with Dish. I was moving in with my parents at the time and they already had Dish Network. Anyhow, I spent over 2 months arguing with them over them ALWAYS shipping the return boxes to the wrong address. I gave them the address at least 5 times, but they always sent it to the wrong one. Then they threatened to charge my credit card for all of the equipment if I didn't return it when I had everything in a box ready to ship for TWO FREAKING MONTHS! Not to mention they socked us with an 18 month contract after telling us it was only a 12 month. Hate them. "
a person wrote on Dec 19, 2008 3:49 PM:
" Everybody keeps saying that KATU is free over there air using rabbit ears...don't you remember that after Feb 19th you won't be able to use those any more?? We called DISH and they said these things usually get resolved within a few days but the bad news is, is that we may have to pay an additional $6 or so a month more just for this channel. I looked up DirectTv yesterday and after the year of good prices, it is more than what we pay with DISH. "
who am I? wrote on Dec 19, 2008 3:56 PM:
" so, are they going to give us a price break for what we pay for the networks until this is resolved? we are paying for all the networks, but now don't get one we pay for. hmmmmmmm. I do hope this is resolved soon. "
grrrowl wrote on Dec 19, 2008 4:01 PM:
" l-town mom - They probably didn't notify the customers because a lot of these things get worked out at the last minute. They probably figured Fischer would budge before the contract expired. "
candy wrote on Dec 19, 2008 8:28 PM:
" I don't think it really matters what company your with, as long as your happy with the service. The issue here, is that the network it gouging dish. I agree with standing firm, and not giving in to the 80% hike. Does anyone remember corporate greed, and what it has done to this country? "
Nunesy wrote on Dec 20, 2008 8:00 AM:
" I'm NOT going without "LOST", thank you very much. See you later, Dish. "
cuz wrote on Dec 20, 2008 10:29 AM:
" a person- I get all the local channels off the rabbit ears in HD. They are turning off the analog signal, but will still be sending out a digital signal and you can pick that up on a regular antenna. I tried to drop my local channels from Dish, but they said my price won't drop because I bought a package deal that came with the local channels. If they start charging me more for one channel, things will change in my programming. "
akampfer wrote on Dec 20, 2008 12:50 PM:
" I had Dish for nine years and switched to DirecTV this month. Much better, THEY carry all the sports Dish was too cheap to carry and from what I heard, Dish is screwing everyone, dealers, nets, everyone. I actually believe what Fisher is says about non-payment. Dish is bleeding subscribers right now, you do the math. "
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