Post by Skaggs on Jan 6, 2005 15:51:29 GMT -5
EchoStar to Raise Rates on Dish Packages
January 05, 2005, at www.mediainfocenter.org
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Dish Network subscribers will begin paying $2 to $4 a month more for satellite television service next month, the company's parent company said, citing higher programming costs.
The increase will represent about 4.3 percent of the roughly $56 a month that a typical customer spends on service. It is the fifth increase imposed in the past five years by Dish Network parent EchoStar Communications Corp.
"Our programming costs have gone up ... about 7 percent over the last year," EchoStar spokesman Steve Caulk said Tuesday. "That represents a big part of our expenses."
The nation's No. 2 satellite television provider did not impose rate hikes between 1996 and 2001 but, like competitors, has raised fees more frequently in subsequent years.
Analysts believe satellite TV customers should be prepared for the trend to continue.
"I think you're going to see this for awhile, at least until we see another form of competition come in," said Bill Jacobs, a telecommunications analyst with Harris & Associates in Chicago. "This is how it's going to be for the next five years."
Echo Star Communications Corp.’s Dish Network is raising the price of its programming packages by $2-$4 per month as of Feb. 1, citing rising programming costs and other expenses.
Customers will be notified in letters going out starting this week, company spokesman Steve Caulk said Tuesday. But customers checking their account information on the Dish Web site (www.dishnetwork.com) can apparently read about the increases now, along with a letter explaining the factors behind the rise.
Echo Star’s most-advertised entry price -- $29.99 per month for the “America’s Top 60” package plus local broadcast channels -- is rising to $31.99 Feb. 1, about a 6.7% increase.
“America’s Top 120” is raising $3, to $42.99 from $39.99, up 7.5%. “America’s Top 180” is going up $3, to $52.99 from $49.99, and “America’s Everything Pak” is rising $4, to $86.99 from $82.99, a 4.8% rise.
Basic prices for similar packages that don’t include local channels -- and, thus, start at about $5 per month less -- are also going up $2-$4 Feb. 1. For example, the America’s Top 60 basic package is rising to $26.99 from a currently advertised $24.99, an 8% increase.
In addition to rising costs for programming services, EchoStar faces an estimated $100 million expense to transition some customers receiving local channels on separate dishes over to a single dish that receives all local broadcasters Dish offers in a market, Caulk said.
“The good news is that we’re still the lowest-cost, all-digital provider in the pay TV industry,” he added.
Dish has been especially aggressive in attacking cable operators over annual rate increases. In November, Dish invited reporters to call when writing stories about cable-rate increases, promising to offer up local customers who’ve switched to Dish from cable.
EchoStar last raised the prices of Dish packages in February 2004.
January 05, 2005, at www.mediainfocenter.org
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Dish Network subscribers will begin paying $2 to $4 a month more for satellite television service next month, the company's parent company said, citing higher programming costs.
The increase will represent about 4.3 percent of the roughly $56 a month that a typical customer spends on service. It is the fifth increase imposed in the past five years by Dish Network parent EchoStar Communications Corp.
"Our programming costs have gone up ... about 7 percent over the last year," EchoStar spokesman Steve Caulk said Tuesday. "That represents a big part of our expenses."
The nation's No. 2 satellite television provider did not impose rate hikes between 1996 and 2001 but, like competitors, has raised fees more frequently in subsequent years.
Analysts believe satellite TV customers should be prepared for the trend to continue.
"I think you're going to see this for awhile, at least until we see another form of competition come in," said Bill Jacobs, a telecommunications analyst with Harris & Associates in Chicago. "This is how it's going to be for the next five years."
Echo Star Communications Corp.’s Dish Network is raising the price of its programming packages by $2-$4 per month as of Feb. 1, citing rising programming costs and other expenses.
Customers will be notified in letters going out starting this week, company spokesman Steve Caulk said Tuesday. But customers checking their account information on the Dish Web site (www.dishnetwork.com) can apparently read about the increases now, along with a letter explaining the factors behind the rise.
Echo Star’s most-advertised entry price -- $29.99 per month for the “America’s Top 60” package plus local broadcast channels -- is rising to $31.99 Feb. 1, about a 6.7% increase.
“America’s Top 120” is raising $3, to $42.99 from $39.99, up 7.5%. “America’s Top 180” is going up $3, to $52.99 from $49.99, and “America’s Everything Pak” is rising $4, to $86.99 from $82.99, a 4.8% rise.
Basic prices for similar packages that don’t include local channels -- and, thus, start at about $5 per month less -- are also going up $2-$4 Feb. 1. For example, the America’s Top 60 basic package is rising to $26.99 from a currently advertised $24.99, an 8% increase.
In addition to rising costs for programming services, EchoStar faces an estimated $100 million expense to transition some customers receiving local channels on separate dishes over to a single dish that receives all local broadcasters Dish offers in a market, Caulk said.
“The good news is that we’re still the lowest-cost, all-digital provider in the pay TV industry,” he added.
Dish has been especially aggressive in attacking cable operators over annual rate increases. In November, Dish invited reporters to call when writing stories about cable-rate increases, promising to offer up local customers who’ve switched to Dish from cable.
EchoStar last raised the prices of Dish packages in February 2004.