DirecTV Suing Dish for Ads Saying it's Cheaper

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According to reports, DirectTV is suing Dish Network for claiming that its rates are cheaper than its rival.

DirecTV's lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New York, accuses Dish of "blatantly false and misleading advertising." DirecTV said the subscription plan used in the commercial offers more than 140 channels while Dish Network's cheaper plan has fewer than 100 channels. Dish said it stands by its claim. Dish launched its "Why Pay More" ad campaign last summer and since has been reversing a decline in subscribers
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You get what you pay for. Dish receivers are horrendous. DirecTV's aren't exactly state-of-the-art, but they at least work properly and have enough horsepower to get things moving.

DirecTV needs to take the "Yeah, Dish is cheaper, but watch this video of their boxes taking five minutes to populate the program guide" route in their next campaign.
 
I've had both. I have Dish DVR now, and it works great. Maybe their old receivers were crap, but my newer (ish) one works as advertised. I haven't noticed any sluggishness at all.
 
It's getting to the point where I don't care about apples-to-apples comparisons. Out of those 140 DirecTV channels (and out of those 100 Dish channels), there's only about 12 that I'll ever watch on a regular basis. I just want to pay $30-$40 a month for some subset of channels, but with Comcast I can either pay $12 a month for basically nothing or $60 a month for a lot of crap I don't need, with absolutely nothing in between. (Satellite dishes aren't an option, thanks to a neighbor's tree.)
 
[KFKAS]Death-Speak;1035318375 said:
I've had both. I have Dish DVR now, and it works great. Maybe their old receivers were crap, but my newer (ish) one works as advertised. I haven't noticed any sluggishness at all.
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I gave Dish another chance about four months ago. It was the most miserable TV experience I've ever had, thanks to their supposedly top-of-the-line box. Back to DirecTV now and all is well again!

PunditGuy said:
Satellite dishes aren't an option, thanks to a neighbor's tree.
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Sounds like we should have ourselves a late night chainsaw party.
 
They are comparing apples to oranges... so it might not be fair.


We switched to Directv when Dish decided to cancel goaltv at midnight WITHOUT TELLING OR WARNING ANYBODY !!!


Direct was more expensive for the channels we wanted though.
 
My experiences with dish havent been so great, nor my experiences with time warner's "digital cable". I however absolutely love directv, good service, great pricing, etc.
 
Both companies have ads that stretch things a bit.

re: receivers, Dish wins hands down...sorry.

We had Dish for several years, almost went to Direct before Dish agreed to give in and let us have the ViP 722 for free without renewing the contract. We ended up canceling Dish a few months later after they still didn't have several HD channels that Direct had and since then we've had Direct. (Of course less than a month later, Dish also had those channels...FX HD, Spike HD, Speed HD to name a few.)

Until 2 months ago, the HR-22 was the worst piece of crap receiver we'd ever had. It was god awful slow. Finally with the last software update, it now works a lot better. It still has intermittent slowness, but for the most part it's not bad.

Dish we preferred their guide and info better, a lot better. Direct has free On Demand if you hook it up through ethernet. (not just movies) Feature wise I say Direct is better; receiver wise, Dish hands down.

We have another year on our Direct contract, once that is up we'll be getting U-Verse. I'd cancel the Direct now and get it since U-Verse is finally available in my area, but I don't feel like paying $240 in ETF (early termination fees).
 
[KFKAS]Death-Speak;1035318375 said:
I've had both. I have Dish DVR now, and it works great. Maybe their old receivers were crap, but my newer (ish) one works as advertised. I haven't noticed any sluggishness at all.
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12? Damn, you watch a lot of TV :p

I probably only watch 3 or 4 channels, seriously. Too bad 2-3 of them only come with the more expensive package :(
 
My parents have DirecTV and, while god-awful expensive, it does come with reasonable customer service. I remember once when the HD picture would go in and out during the day at seemingly random times; it turns out one of the cables going to the dish had rusted. When fixing the problem, the techs wanted to "make sure we didn't have any more trouble," and they swapped out everything - new dish, new dish mount (on the roof instead of on a pole), four new receivers, new K-band converters - they even threw in a new multi-switch just for kicks, even though the "old" one was the latest model. :O

So yeah, they got a completely new system for free thanks to some rusted cables. Not sure how DirecTV makes money doing that, but hey, sounds good to me!
 
tomiboy59 said:
What is U-Verse?
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From AT&T Web site:

What Is U-verse?

AT&T U-verseSM uses fiber optic1 technology and computer networking to bring you:

* Advanced digital TV
* High speed Internet
* Digital home phone service

AT&T U-verse TV

Along with a crystal-clear picture, choice programming, access to over 120 HD channels, and Video On Demand, U-verse TV offers:

* Exclusive Total Home DVR
* Exciting interactive features like our new award-winning Multiview channel browser
* And so much more

How it works:
U-verse TV is delivered through Internet Protocol Television (IPTV).

* Each TV in your home that you want to use with U-verse service is hooked up to a set-top box (receiver)
* Your high speed Internet connection is plugged into the set-top boxes
* The set-top box assembles transmissions from your phone line into video and audio signals that are broadcast in both standard definition and high definition

AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet

In addition to powerful security features and a wide range of download speeds, U-verse High Speed Internet offers:

* Wireless router and wireless home networking
* Virtually unlimited email storage
* Unlimited access across the nation's largest Wi-Fi network, including Barnes & Noble2

How it works:
U-verse High Speed Internet is built on AT&T's advanced digital network.
AT&T U-verse Voice

U-verse Voice is our digital home phone service. When you add it to your TV and Internet services, you get:

* Over 20 calling features, including traditional favorites like Caller ID, Call Waiting, and Three-Way Calling
* Powerful advanced features like Do Not Disturb, Locate Me, AT&T U-verse MessagingSM
* And lots more

How it works:
AT&T U-verse Voice uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to convert your voice into data.

* Your calls are sent and received over your High Speed Internet connection
* You can keep your phones - they'll work just fine
* Use the phone number you already have or request a new one
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As a few have stated above, out of the 100 to 140 channels, I really will only watch a handful of shows.

I wouldn't mind if companies switched up their packaging. 10 channels costs you X dollars. 25 Channels costs you Y dollars. 50 channels costs you Z dollars. I would absolutely love that!

Spike for UFC and CSI. Comedy Central. HGTV. Ummm, erm. Versus for WEC. And that's about it really.
 
HOCP4ME said:
My parents have DirecTV and, while god-awful expensive, it does come with reasonable customer service. I remember once when the HD picture would go in and out during the day at seemingly random times; it turns out one of the cables going to the dish had rusted. When fixing the problem, the techs wanted to "make sure we didn't have any more trouble," and they swapped out everything - new dish, new dish mount (on the roof instead of on a pole), four new receivers, new K-band converters - they even threw in a new multi-switch just for kicks, even though the "old" one was the latest model. :O

So yeah, they got a completely new system for free thanks to some rusted cables. Not sure how DirecTV makes money doing that, but hey, sounds good to me!
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Better to be in the negative for a couple months from helping a customer than to lose them altogether, I would imagine.

My brother has DirecTV too and the quality difference between my Comcast HD and his DirecTV is day and night. It makes Comcast HD look like standard definition. The only reason I'm staying with Comcast is because of their 50/3 internet :-D

I don't watch much TV anyways to care about it's quality.
 
Kulith said:
I've never used either, but I really want to leave Comcast....
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Why?

I switched to their HD Plus package (bundled) about six months ago and love it. Granted several channels are duplicates (so you don't get as many channels as you think) but I like the On Demand tv and free movies.

Their customer service blows mules though.
 
TWC is my favorite. Free HD and not really that pricey. ATM i pay 106 for 16Mbit internet and Cable
 
We've been using a Dish ViP722 HD DVR for almost two years now, and it's been great; we've had few outages, even during inclement weather.

Our main reason for switching from Charter was the lack of HD channels (namely, Sci Fi...we really wanted our Eureka and BSG in HD!)

Dish offered the best option when we switched from Charter because they were the only ones to offer an HD-only package for a very good rate. We didn't need 100 other channels that we would never watch, and all the channels we watched regularly were in HD.

We've had good experiences with Dish, though I wouldn't put it past them to make questionable marketing claims. Then again, don't they all?
 
Filthy Fernandez said:
Why?

I switched to their HD Plus package (bundled) about six months ago and love it. Granted several channels are duplicates (so you don't get as many channels as you think) but I like the On Demand tv and free movies.
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Because Comcast HD looks like shit compared to DirecTV or DISH.
 
Other biggest complaint I have about Direct (ATM) is the dispute with Comcast over Versus.

If the (NHL) playoffs get here and Versus is still not back, I will not be a happy panda. :mad:
 
wait... what?

DirecTV = $29.99 for "Choice" package which comes with "150+" channels
Dish = $24.99 for "America's Top 120" which has "over 120" channels

although I don't remember which packages the commercial was talking about.

looks about even to me, in terms of the number of channels :confused:

DirecTV said the subscription plan used in the commercial offers more than 140 channels while Dish Network's cheaper plan has fewer than 100 channels.
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neither one have a package that comes with "fewer than 100 channels." Atleast, not listed anywhere on their websites. So I'm really confused :confused:
 
I've had Comcast or Dish for the past decade and didn't like either. Now I have OTA HD and it's by far the best and costs the least. :cool:
 
$110/mo here for Cox 20mb and Dish Turbohd (grandfathered) w/ HBO & Showtime... I could drop the premium channels and the dish advantage plan (expedited receiver exchange) and save $30 a month, but I'm a cable snob.

When I shopped directv last year their price for roughly the same offering was 25 dollars more per month and they wanted $200 dollars to install my dish and run coax. Dish did it all for free on Mothers Day Sunday, and actually credited me a $50 referral because the install guy was super thankful I offered him lunch and a beverage.

jvz555 said:
TWC is my favorite. Free HD and not really that pricey. ATM i pay 106 for 16Mbit internet and Cable
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ive had dish for over a year, its been pretty damn good overall. the receiver is fine, but of course they need a pci dvb card (fat chance!) as does directv

dish does like hidden charges though, and they like to change your plan without being clear on doing so (when you go to add or remove features from your sub, its not clear what is what anymore until you get your overpriced bill).
 
I loved DirecTV when I had them. Moved houses, and neighbours tree's blocked their satellite, so had to move to Comcrap. The picture was just terrible. Put up with comcrap for several years, until Verizon Fios moved in.

Verizon Fios is just the best TV experience I have ever seen. (And their internet package is awesome too.)
 
I find this funny because after the FCC denied their try at a merger (Dish/Direct) the two companies said they would stop fighting each other and attack the telco/cable providers instead. Of course that was about 8 years ago.
 
I have DirecTV, and it's fine, like all tv providers they show their "low prices" which are bullshit introductory rates, that $29.95 package mentioned above you get that for what 12 months then it jumps to $54.95 or something. And they all charge you extra for HD, even if all you want is HD. And they all charge you extra for the privilege of using a DVR, all those ticky tacky fees typically add another $15 or so onto your monthly bill.

Honestly, I don't get it, DirecTV has an advertisement that says "Just because Dish has cheaper rates.... look at the fine print" (listing all the additions they might charge you for. Seems to me DTV admitted in a commercial Dish was cheaper, now is suing them because Dish said they're cheaper?

FFS. All of you motherfuckers piss off, and show some loyalty towards your customers by lowering their rates over time, rather than only giving new customers cheap rates (and only for 12 months at that!).

That is all
 
Shambler said:
As a few have stated above, out of the 100 to 140 channels, I really will only watch a handful of shows.

I wouldn't mind if companies switched up their packaging. 10 channels costs you X dollars. 25 Channels costs you Y dollars. 50 channels costs you Z dollars. I would absolutely love that!

Spike for UFC and CSI. Comedy Central. HGTV. Ummm, erm. Versus for WEC. And that's about it really.
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Unless your interests were really eclectic you wouldn't save much even in the short term. Most of the money that is spent by the tv providers goes to the handful of good channels; while all the crappy filler channels only get a tiny bit.

Long term the average bill wouldn't go down much even with ala carte pricing. If channel X needs $50m/month to produce it's shows and the number of households paying for it drops from 50m to 5m the amount they'll have to charge per customer will go from $1 to $10/head; that or they slash the amount of money they spend on creating new programming.
 
actually, dish network does have hd-only packages. i have been on the $30 for most of the time. you get about 30 channels, and that includes history, discovery, espn's, spike, comedy central, syfy and tlc. its a pretty good deal, especially because you DONT get mtv.

but right now im on the mid-level hd package because you have to have it just to get the regional sports package (which is total bullshit)
 
heh, i just saw the commercial. dish flat out claims between two similar plans, theirs is $20 cheaper per month. even i know thats not true...
 
I think it's all in the wording. "Similar" doesn't necessarily need to mean the same number of channels, "similar" could very easily mean "lowest priced plans" which some Googling shows DIsh $39.99 vs DTV $55.99, which while not $20 cheaper per month, it still is cheaper. Or they may simply be comparing promotional rates, which again depends upon which you look at, are quite a bit cheaper than DTV, and since DTV just loves to advertise their promo rate as the "cost" (microfine print that tells you how much it will cost), can't really fault them at all.
 
my parents switched from direct tv to dish because they were cutting out channels and replacing it with shit ones. but they finally have HD service for their TVs even though it did cut into their savings.
 
sfsuphysics said:
I think it's all in the wording. "Similar" doesn't necessarily need to mean the same number of channels, "similar" could very easily mean "lowest priced plans" which some Googling shows DIsh $39.99 vs DTV $55.99, which while not $20 cheaper per month, it still is cheaper. Or they may simply be comparing promotional rates, which again depends upon which you look at, are quite a bit cheaper than DTV, and since DTV just loves to advertise their promo rate as the "cost" (microfine print that tells you how much it will cost), can't really fault them at all.
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no.. this commercial in question is obvious. they clearly state that between two plans that are basically the same, theirs is $20 cheaper. then the lady is like "$20 a month, every month?" "yeah!" "wow, that REALLY adds up!"

and quite honestly, a big reason i went with dish a year ago was because they always claim low prices. in fact, i never though they were any cheaper then directv, especially when you add up the hidden charges.
 
zero2dash said:
We have another year on our Direct contract, once that is up we'll be getting U-Verse. I'd cancel the Direct now and get it since U-Verse is finally available in my area, but I don't feel like paying $240 in ETF (early termination fees).
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I have u-verse. Don't do it. I really hate it, the only reason we still have it is because I am in a rental and there is a change of owners, so we don't want to sign another contract if we have to move.

u-verse has no on demand unless you want to pay for everything. Their HD is what I would call crap(pixilated shit), and the internet for me is unreliable even though we also had att dsl at the same speed that was perfectly fine.
 
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