Soccer On TV

Here is more information on the new Dish DVR receiver www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=50711

 

I just love watching Soccer on tv. Especially if it is the world cup qualifyers. They are all pretty cool when it comes to seeing the match. At least you get to view it from the comforts of home.

 

Wow... the Dish JUST added locals HD? That's insane! It's been on cable for years now!

 

Rep mate. I'm converting to HD with the Dish Network and you just saved me a bunch of $$. Thanks.

 

More information about Dish HD http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/dishhd/receivers/index.shtml

Aaron

 

TSN/RDS - Channel ??? on Nimiq 1 (91 orbital slot)

Rogers SportsNet - Channel ??? on Nimiq 1 (91 orbital slot)



TSN = CHANNEL 26

ROGERS SPORTSNET = 72

 

I work for Comcast and posed this question to management. They said that sports specific packages will not come through anytime in the near future. Tiering right now is based more on groups of channels owned by the same company. i.e.- to get fox soccer channel you have to get fox college sports atlantic, pacific, and central. ESPN wont split rights to be grouped with fox etc... Satellite probably stands a better chance with this but still would be a tough one to pull in the states. The best thing I can tell anyone is to call your provider and nag them to add channels or lineups. Be it satellite or cable, if enough people demand it(it may take up to a year)it does work.

 

I got a nice deal from Comcast to jump from satellite to cable where I save $25 a month for 16months and I did that 9 months ago...still, I wanted to switch from Comcast to Dish to watch all WC games in HD and catch GolTV but the $300 just to lease the HD DVR is idiotic...
With the nicer HD lineup, Dish could gobble up comcast's HD subscribers now that they've added HD locals, if it were not for $300...stupid management, if you ask me...

 

You can buy the Dish HD DVR now for $499, which includes shipping (no taxes). The lease alternative is still $299 + $6 per month for 18 months.

Even though the lease alternative still costs less, with purchase you are not locked into 18 months AND you can sell your HD DVR on eBay (or otherwise) when you want something else, quite possibly making it a better deal than leasing.

If you can do without the DVR part, the purchase price of the 211 HD box also went down (lease price is still $49 + $6 per month for 18 months).

Now we have to see if Dish drops the lease price in a couple weeks or so, to correspond to the drop in the purchase price.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong with my understanding of this, but:

With lease + 18 month commitment, you also get the protection plan free for the length of the commitment. So, if something goes wrong with this high-tech device, DISH would pay for shipping it back, plus replacement at their cost. And at the end of the commitment/lease period, if a newer and better model is out on the market, you simply ask DISH to pick the current one out of your house.

With purchasing yourself, you're on your own OR need to buy your own extended warranty to deal with any problems with the box. Also, you're hedging a bet by locking up money in it, assuming it will be worth good money whenever you sell it on eBay. It maybe a good bet, but essentially it's locked up money.

As long as you have the discipline to cancel after the 18 month commitment period, and re-negotiate with DISH for whatever latest/greatest deal maybe at that time, lease will come out cheaper - even with the monthly lease fees.

Am I correct in some of the statements above, specifically the protection plan?

 

That's basically correct, however I would amplify by saying a couple of more things:

(1) $499 appears to be the best purchase price on the 'street' right now, but the MSRP officially comes down to $499 on May 13, I believe, so you may see 'street' purchase prices come down a bit from that (although I believe the retailers' margins will be getting pretty narrow as they head downwards from $499). Bottom line, we may be able to get it in the $425 to $475 range (shipped, no sales tax) relatively soon. (In time for the World Cup? Your guess as good as mine.) Then you are getting very close to the total lease cost factoring in the monthly lease payment.

(2) I believe when you lease directly from Dish, you pay sales tax (depending on your state) on the lease price. If so, factor in that 6% or more.

(3) I think you can pay for the protection plan from Dish, which covers equipment you purchase the same as if you leased it, on a monthly basis. I am not sure of the cost. (If you make an 18 month committment to Dish programming, you get $10 per month off your bill for ? months and you get the protection plan free for the 18 months.)

(4) However, Dish may drop the lease price (or lessen the lease down payment in favor of higher monthly payments) at some point in the next month or two to correspond to lower puchase prices. Again, no way to predict (without inside info) as to whether there will be a lower priced or differently priced lease in time for the World Cup.

(5) With the lease, you must commit to HD Bronze or above. With purchase, you can always go for the HD only + monthly access option, which is less than HD Bronze but excludes most of the standard def channels that are part of that package. I think this is correct but you'd have to check.