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AT&T Television The Almighty Buck Entertainment

AT&T Blacks Out HBO, Cinemax For Dish, Sling TV Users Over Carriage Dispute (telecompaper.com) 107

Posted by BeauHD from the money-fight dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Telecompaper: AT&T has blocked its HBO and Cinemax channels for Dish and Sling TV customers over a carriage dispute. This is the first channel blackout for HBO in its 40 years of operation. Pay-TV provider Dish and OTT services Sling TV said AT&T is making "untenable demands designed specifically to harm customers, particularly those in rural areas, as well as damage competing pay-TV providers" and that at the time of the merger, no guidelines were set in place to ensure AT&T "played fair" for HBO and Cinemax subscribers, regardless of their pay-TV provider.

Dish said AT&T is demanding it pay for a guaranteed number of subscribers, regardless of how many people actually want to subscribe to HBO. The company noted that during the arbitration process, AT&T will have to restore its channels to Dish customers. The company and Sling TV will credit customers on their bill for the time they do not receive either HBO or Cinemax. Dish added that it is also offering customers a free preview of HDNET Movies. An HBO spokesperson said in a statement: "During our forty-plus years of operation, HBO has always been able to reach agreement with our valued distributors and our services have never been taken down or made unavailable to subscribers due to an inability to conclude a deal. Unfortunately, Dish is making it extremely difficult, responding to our good faith attempts with unreasonable terms. Past behavior shows that removing services from their customers is becoming all too common a negotiating tactic for them. We hope the situation with Dish changes soon but, in the meantime, our valued customers should take advantage of the other ways to access an HBO subscription so they can continue to enjoy our acclaimed programming."
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AT&T Blacks Out HBO, Cinemax For Dish, Sling TV Users Over Carriage Dispute More

AT&T Blacks Out HBO, Cinemax For Dish, Sling TV Users Over Carriage Dispute

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  • $15/month for HBO Now (or the same via Amazon). Monthly cost via cable or satellite is higher.

    • Re:Just stream it. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by aaronb1138 ( 2035478 ) on Thursday November 01, 2018 @04:55PM (#57577364)
      Exactly why AT&T shouldn't be able to control both content and distribution as a matter of anti-trust (same for Comcast et. al.). At one time they had a very cozy relationship including combined billing with Dish, as Dish although a distribution channel, was effectively content for consumers.

      AT&T is playing hardball because they would rather take $15 direct while making extra cash on the backend providing consumer bandwidth necessary for the service. No reason to let Dish charge $15 or $20 and only give them $10. Plus getting people off Dish only serves to get more people on AT&T U-verse / DSL as well as convincing customers to kick their bandwidth package up a notch to handle multiple people streaming instead of getting HBO or Cinemax over satellite.

      Equally so, we can be assured that 4k and 8k content streaming are going to be pushed by AT&T and Comcast through their content networks as a way to make consumers pay for bigger bandwidth and usage packages. Zero rate native content against caps, but choke the bandwidth until they get better than base internet speed.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kriston ( 7886 )

        For TV service, AT&T, would rather have customers move to its own DirecTV service, not U-verse.

        Dish Network and Sling are owned by Dish Network/EchoStar. Dish Network directly competes with AT&T's DirecTV. EchoStar bought Sling Media in 2007. Dish Network/EchoStar has a long history of carriage disputes like this going back several decades.

        In 2008 EchoStar split into two divisions: Dish Network Corp which runs the Dish Network service and EchoStar which runs the satellites and develops set-top ha

        • Right, but as a matter of history, before the DirectTV acquisition, AT&T and Dish had a strong relationship. Some of DIsh's shoddy business practices, like not acknowledging returned set top boxes and trying to fraudulently bill customers for them probably soured the relationship. Getting into content ownership and buying DirectTV are parallel and intertwined efforts which have given AT&T explicit reason to act with malice towards Dish.

          I wouldn't have sympathy for Dish if not for the fact that AT

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by kriston ( 7886 )

            I can't disagree with that.

            Charlie is a gambler. For example, he lost big time with TiVo and the award is the only thing that saved TiVo. Looks like something similar is happening with AT&T.

  • Cord cutter (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 01, 2018 @04:44PM (#57577296)
    We cut the cord, switched to an antenna and Netflix, and now we're about to drop the latter. Turns out there are other things to do than watch TV. Who knew?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      Like /.? :P

  • at$t is at it again (Score:3)

    by renegade600 ( 204461 ) on Thursday November 01, 2018 @04:47PM (#57577314)

    at$t is looking out for their property, directv. I guess they are going to make their competition pay a premium for the service.

  • GOODEVENING HBO (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    GOODEVENING HBO
    FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT
    $12.95/MONTH ?
    NO WAY !
      [SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!]

  • And this is exactly the model... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    ...that Ajit Pai wants for the internet.

    Substatntial content providers like netflix, nytimes, fox new, mlb, etc. are expected to negotiate with "content distributors", aka ISPs and their peering providers to get their bits to customers.

  • Not sure if I have HBO. Don't think I would miss it.

  • Who's lying? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by viperidaenz ( 2515578 ) on Thursday November 01, 2018 @05:08PM (#57577452)

    Dish says AT&T is blocking the channels.
    AT&T is saying Dish has decided to not broadcast as a negotiating tool. Which seems stupid as it only hurts Dish when their customers get angry.

    If you believe AT&T, Dish is basically saying "Hey AT&T, we're going to fuck over our own customers and give them discounts and other free services, in the hope they don't cancel their subscriptions with us and switch to your wholly owned competitor, DirectTV until you agree to our terms. TAKE THAT!"

    If you believe Dish, AT&T is saying "We're going to block the content your customers pay you for, until you agree to our terms, while your customers switch to our other business that directly competes with you"

    I'm inclined to believe Dish here.

    • Wouldn't be the first time Dish blacked out channels on their service. I remember years ago they did the same for Viacom properties (Nickelodeon, Comedy Central) during contract negotiations way back in 2004.

      I frankly don't care. Hollywood needs to learn how to do more with less.

      The days of fat media contracts are over and it's obvious the market for entertainment is in a slow decline.

      If I'm that desperate for a TV show, I'll just download it off of TPB. At that point no one wins anything.

      Oh and ATT

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        If I'm that desperate for a TV show, I'll just download it off of TPB. At that point no one wins anything.

        TV executives care not if you use TPB. Because it's an eyeball that's not counted, but since it wasn't revenue generating in the first place (no ads nor subscription revenue) you're a fan they don't care about. You don't matter to them.

        If something they do causes a bunch of people to suddenly download the TV show, they see the declining viewership and cancel the show. So your downloading from TPB, inste

  • Why only for TV are customers sheep? (Score:3)

    by TheZeitgeist ( 5083373 ) on Thursday November 01, 2018 @05:15PM (#57577500)

    As most peeps here know, trying to get customer to pay for content on website is near-impossible, and customer hates the ads etc. This makes sense, I'm the same kind of cheapskate :)

    Where I get confused is TV. People are paying Dish, ATT, Sling, whoever, big bucks...this fight is over food chain of all that loot. But said customers are providing the loot to spend their time watching ads these properties are shoving hard 24/7 - and customer is paying for this, PAYING FOR ADS.

    Why people so different from one medium to the next? I really don't get it.

  • Cut the cord.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      And replace it with what? Cellular Internet access that gives each subscriber a pittance of gigabytes per month for tethering?

  • We don't need no stinking carriages (Score:4, Interesting)

    by WillAffleckUW ( 858324 ) on Thursday November 01, 2018 @06:32PM (#57577962) Homepage Journal

    We have bikes in this town! ...

    What, you still don't realize HDTV signals are free and you can get like 150+ of them in any major city? Next thing you know, you'll tell me you don't realize they broadcast in a higher resolution than cable provides ...

    And you can sub to them on the web if you need them, they are required to provide low-income 40 Mbps service for around $30 in most cities.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dj245 ( 732906 )

      We have bikes in this town! ...

      What, you still don't realize HDTV signals are free and you can get like 150+ of them in any major city? Next thing you know, you'll tell me you don't realize they broadcast in a higher resolution than cable provides ...

      And you can sub to them on the web if you need them, they are required to provide low-income 40 Mbps service for around $30 in most cities.

      150+ HDTV channels? That seems like a gross exaggeration. I have about 60 in Houston, 1/3 are Spanish, and roughly another 1/5 are Vietnamese.

      And have you actually watched broadcast TV lately? With all the ad breaks, it's like a blast from the past. On the other hand, if you want to stop watching TV entirely and go outside, broadcast TV is an excellent stepping stone.

  • "Dish said AT&T is demanding it pay for a guaranteed number of subscribers, regardless of how many people actually want to subscribe to HBO."

    In other words, AT&T is still clinging to the old cable tv all-or-nothing business model, where you were a subscriber whether you liked it or not. Whatever Dish has to pay for HBO will have to be passed onto their customers, (as Dish is a business, not a charity) no matter how many actual subscribers there are to the channel.

    That said, years ago I went to inte

  • The contracts that towns signed for exclusive cable TV rights included many things that the cable companies aren't doing. There are requirements for educational channels and rules about kids programming. Many towns had deals about rate increases and rollout rates. Many towns could dig out their old contract, figure out how to nullify it and allow a second provider or even take over control of the local assets using eminent domain. Or they could be like a cable company and just change their mind.

  • I just subscribe to HBO directly and itâ(TM)s the same price itâ(TM)s ever been.

  • I'd expect this practice of distribution companies buying up content that they can hold ransom over other distribution companies to become more common place. AT&T of course directly competes with Dish with its Uverse and DirectTV products, so trying to leverage as much as they can over them will be common. I'd expect Comcast to get into the game as well, with their NBC/Universal companies and try to squeeze more out of rivals. The biggest losers in all this is of course the consumers, who will at bes
  • Cable has ruined the customer experience. Flipping channels was a somewhat enjoyable (if mindless) activity when there was less than 50 channels and they could display in a fraction of a second after changing the channel.

    Now there are thousands of channels (many duplicate) which take 3+ seconds to change and whole blocks of numbers just not available anyway, a cumbersome and slow digital 'guide', hundreds of low tier 'filler' channels which must be purchased before in order access the small amount of

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