# Fuck corporate pissing contests(or RIP comedy central) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 9, 2004, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285 "2004-03-09T09:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/1 "2004-03-09T09:25:09Z")
Arrrrrgh. Comedy Central is now no longer one of my options thanks to the corporate dick size show between Viacom and Echostar. The Daily show and South Park are among my very few escapes from this shithole that is reality. Fuck you greedy bastards, you fucking bastards on both sides. I assume this is only temporary beacuase of your greedy bastard natures, and neither of you want to give up the extra money your greedy bastardness needs to be greedily bastardish. But I will not forget this shit. Someday when you least expect it I will have my revenge. Greedy bastard Barbra Streisands mother fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/2 "2004-03-09T12:13:50Z")
If you want revenge, switch to DirecTV or cable. Voting with your wallet, and all that jazz. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/3 "2004-03-09T12:23:46Z")
There is a thread around here someplace about this. A user has Dish Network -which is blocking the Viacom crawl with a black box. I’m on DirecTV and didn’t see the Viacom crawl until tonight on The Daily Show. It does all seem like a childish pissing match. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/4 "2004-03-09T12:46:22Z")
How about an explanation to what Viacom and Echostar are actually doing that’s pissing you off? For us non-mind readers? ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/5 "2004-03-09T12:59:30Z")
From what I understand is going on. Viacom sells programming to Echostar (AKA Dish Network). Viacom wants to up the price on Echostar but Echostar doesn’t want to pay and plans to pull the plug on Viacoms programming. Viacom decides to put a crawl on the bottom of the screen from time to time informing Echostar customers that the channels are about to be pulled. They give a number for Dish Network so the customer to call and complain. Echostar doesn’t like this so they decide to black out the crawl at the bottom of the screen. In the mean time, everyone else who gets Viacom programming --which is most of the USA with cable or Sat-- gets to see the crawl as well. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/6 "2004-03-09T13:05:07Z")
Here’s the other thread on the subject > **[DISH Network - what are they blocking with those black blocks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=243676)** > > Mods, I couldn’t make up my mind what forum this belongs in. I thought more TV watchers would be in Cafe Society, so I put it here, but feel free to move it if I err. Has anyone else noticed? We get DISH Network, and during the past couple of... ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/7 "2004-03-09T14:38:52Z")
I am really really pissed off about this. We don’t watch a lot of tv, usually a show or two a night. What we watch is almost always either on Nick at Nite or on Comedy Central. The first night they were doing this was on the Cosby show. You think the black bar is annoying now, you should have seen it then. First they ran the text on the bottom. Then they ran it on top. Then, to avoid the black bar, _they ran the text through the middle of the screen_. Now they are running ads with Spongebob. What next Viacom? “Hey kids! Tell your parents to call or Spongebob will die!” Fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/8 "2004-03-09T14:47:23Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > Viacom decides to put a crawl on the bottom of the screen Bottom? The othe rnight I saw it right across the middle of the screen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/9 "2004-03-09T16:55:32Z")
Fuck! The channels are GONE now. There’s just a pissy note on the channel info, giving the number for CBS and Viacom to call and bitch. I paid for these channels! I bet that Dish won’t offer to reimburse us. Changing is not an option- I refuse to spend all the money on receivers again. I have my PVR, which acts like a TiVo, and I’m hooked on the ability to instant replay anything I want to see again. Comedy Central fills the holes in the day- times between interesting shows, slack times when nothing else is on- I usually put it on for Mad TV and Kids in the Hall reruns. My sons are gonna be pissed about MTV. Yes, I can live without it- but I paid for it, and they are violating my contract. I wonder what my rights are here? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/10 "2004-03-09T19:19:21Z")
> [@Steelerphan](#): > > Fuck! > > The channels are GONE now. There’s just a pissy note on the channel info, giving the number for CBS and Viacom to call and bitch. > > I paid for these channels! I bet that Dish won’t offer to reimburse us. > > Changing is not an option- I refuse to spend all the money on receivers again. I have my PVR, which acts like a TiVo, and I’m hooked on the ability to instant replay anything I want to see again. > > Comedy Central fills the holes in the day- times between interesting shows, slack times when nothing else is on- I usually put it on for Mad TV and Kids in the Hall reruns. > > My sons are gonna be pissed about MTV. > > Yes, I can live without it- but I paid for it, and they are violating my contract. I wonder what my rights are here? I read that they will be reimbursing subscribers $1 for CBS and if they subscribe to the other viacom (comedy central, mtv et al) they get a second dollar. Don’t spend it all in one place. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/11 "2004-03-09T19:24:15Z")
Oops, I shoulda stuck the link in [here](http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4653097.html) : > [@](#): > > EchoStar said it would provide $1 monthly credits to customers who lose CBS programming, and another $1 for those who subscribe to additional Viacom channels. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/12 "2004-03-09T21:10:59Z")
Fucking Dish! Here’s a copy of the email I sent to CEO Charlie Ergin. Its not very well thought out, but I’m really busy and pissed off today (and worried about the wife who is travelling with the kid, also) to make a coherent argument or make much sense. Anyway, its from the gut, and that makes it more fun! "I’ve always hated Dish network from the day I had it hooked up. Vastly inferior to Cable, but that’s a whole 'nother issue. Unfortunately, I have few options where I live. Now, I’m pretty angry and upset with recent developments, and I find it difficult to keep this email from becoming an expletive filled rant. So, bear with me and let me vent some frustration. Hell, I don’t believe for a second you (or anyone) are actually going to read this anyway… I don’t really care what your petty squabble is with Viacom and what the root issue really is, but all I know is I’m not getting what I’m paying for! Let me clue you in: I have a two year old. He watches Noogin all morning. I get home from work and I watch Comedy Central. The only other channels I watch with any regularity is PBS (a FREE channel that I somehow have to pay YOU EXTRA for!) and SpeedTV on Sunday. Top 150 my ass! Most all the rest of your programming is shit! I’m forced to pay for it anyway if I want anything decent to watch. You pull half of my family’s programming and you offer me a lousy $1.00/month rebate? Sorry, Buckwheat, but that’s not going to cut it! If keeping the programming I pay for, as agreed each and every month for the last several years means a little less profit in your fat bank account, too bad! Suck it up, make a deal, and give me what I’ve already paid for! If you find it necessary to jack the rates up to make you boat payment, well, that’s life. At least I would know up front what I’m paying and what I’m getting. I’m a big boy. I can decide if I want to continue service or go elsewhere. The way I see it, you STOLE my programing, since I have already paid this month, and its sure as hell worth more than a $1.00 to me. Tell you what, Chuck! Since Comedy Central and Noggin are only worth a buck to you, how’s about me paying only $1.00 for them if they come back, plus $1.00 for Speed and you can stuff the rest of that crap down Marnie the Spokesdunce’s pie-hole? Two bucks a month is about what Dish is worth, the way I figure it anyway. I can hardly wait till cable makes it out to where I live. I’ll be the first to hook up and trash that horrid dish. I’m hitting the “send” button, then calling your competition." Been checking into getting DirectTV, but been too busy to really study on it… ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/13 "2004-03-09T23:32:46Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Bottom? The othe rnight I saw it right across the middle of the screen. That’s nuts. I watch little TV. I’ve only seen the crawl once during The Daily Show -and it was at the bottom. Even though this affair doesn’t effect me personally (I’m on DirecTV) it pisses me off. This is something the two companies should squabble over in private. Dragging the customers into it is petty, childish and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/14 "2004-03-09T23:44:29Z")
For fun… I just called Dish Network to inquire about dumping my DirecTV and going with them (which I’m not going to do). The sales guy on the other end asked me a few questions about what I’m after (how many TV’s, would I want DVR, ect) but one question was “what channels do you watch”. I said “CNN, Comedy Central, my daughter watches the MTV and Nick, and HBO” He said “our America’s Top 60 will cover those channels except HBO” So it seems they are still selling those channels to customers even though they stopped _broadcasting them to the customer_. Their website no longer lists the channels they stopped broadcasting. Crazy. This is going to get ugly I think. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/15 "2004-03-09T23:50:36Z")
DISH Network’s current ad campaign is all about how _greedy_ cable companies are! Seems the DISH has gone to pot (and cable is a kettle). ---
**Author:** ![MindWanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@MindWanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindWanderer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/16 "2004-03-10T00:09:30Z")
I worked for Dish network, and I’ve directed people to direct tv or cable ever since. I was in winback and “return authorization” for the crappy low end boxes that broke and replaced with equally crappy used boxes the user got. The whole thing was a giant cesspool of corporate propaganda and mcdonaldized customer service. (I worked next door to the corporate headquarters, so I heard every day about our holiest of holies Ergin). Good thing I don’t work there anymore, I bet the CSR retention rate just dropped by 500% because of the recent fiasco. Dish networks CSR division is like a sweatshop of customer service workers, zillions of people crammed into interchangeable slots running five miles to find one of the very few supervisors every fifteen seconds because the customer demands to do one of the many things that CSRs are not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/17 "2004-03-10T01:23:00Z")
Heh. Earlier this afternoon my husband called up Dish, and calmly but forcefully stated that he was either going to have his channels back by Friday, or he was cancelling our service. He said quite a few things, most of them fit to reprint, but Friday is gonna be interesting around our house. He can’t STAND broadcast TV. Fortunately for him, I have a cable TV hookup in my room, because our cable company won’t provide only an internet hookup, it only provides an internet and TV package. Maybe I won’t let him into my room without paying a toll, though… ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/18 "2004-03-10T01:43:00Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > Heh. Earlier this afternoon my husband called up Dish, and calmly but forcefully stated that he was either going to have his channels back by Friday, or he was cancelling our service. He said quite a few things, most of them fit to reprint, but Friday is gonna be interesting around our house. He can’t STAND broadcast TV. Fortunately for him, I have a cable TV hookup in my room, because our cable company won’t provide only an internet hookup, it only provides an internet and TV package. Maybe I won’t let him into my room without paying a toll, though… You… You’re going to charge your husband to watch TV in your room? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/19 "2004-03-10T01:52:32Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > You… You’re going to charge your husband to watch TV in your room? :eek: Man. . . I don’t EVEN want to know how they negotiate. . . Okay, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285/20 "2004-03-10T01:58:46Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > You… You’re going to charge your husband to watch TV in your room? :eek: Knowing **Lynn** , she’ll probably demand chocolate! Of course, there are other ways of collecting tolls… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-corporate-pissing-contests-or-rip-comedy-central/233285.md?page=2)