Fuck you, CBS. (an extremely minor rant)

The BBQ Pit
1

As of June 1, DISH Network has removed my access to the east & west coast CBS affiliates.

The reason being that I can now get my local CBS channel on the satellite (with the other three networks for only $5.99/month!).

I called DISH and was told this is happening in every city where a CBS affiliate is available through DISH’s local programming access. This is a permanent thing.

My local CBS station sucks. For that matter, ALL my local network channels suck.

Of course, for me, this isn’t really a big deal since the only show I watch on CBS is Letterman. I still have my local channels via cable (I have to pay about $8 for the local channels in order to get a discount on my cable modem ($42.95/month). If I didn’t have any cable TV programming, I would have to pay $57.95/month. So that means I pay $8 to save $15!)

Still, this sucks. But not a lot.

Theoretically, the other networks could do the same thing. Again, this wouldn’t be a horrible thing. The number of network shows I watch has dwindled severely over the years. In fact, next season the only network shows I plan on watching are The Simpsons & 24.

Enterprise is on a UPN channel which is part of the Superstation Package, so I shouldn’t be losing that any time soon.

Any other DISH Dopers having this happen to them?
Oh yeah this IS the Pit:

Fuck CBS in the eye with a big rusty barbed wire encrusted dildo.

2

Wow, you mean this is just finally happening to you? I think I posed my rant over a year ago, when I lost CBS and ABC. It wasn’t Dish Network’s fault, it’s some new law. I still get NBC because apparently the local NBC affiliate doesn’t give a rat’s ass (or at least they haven’t for the last few years) because even though we keep on getting mails telling us that we’re going to lose NBC, nothing happens. So I have to assume that our local NBC station doesn’t mind that we get a distant NBC station. Bless them.

I think there was a law in 1999 or something that brought this all about. I can’t remember the details (I’ll count on some smart-as-a-whip Doper to clarify) but it had something to do with the local stations wanting precedence? Like, they weren’t getting their advertising shown to all their customers? At least that’s how it sounded to me.

And that sucked. Because the local stations here in Hooterville suck too, as far as I am concerned. I tried to watch them for a while, but it just sunk in how badly they sucked and I’ve vowed to boycott them (well, at least the local news). But that’s just me. Anyway, we used to get all of the West Cost networks but now we’re down to one, KNBC (L.A.'s Channel 4, which is great because I’m from LA and have watched them all my life). I won’t complain if we can keep KNBC, but I realize that it could be pulled at any time.

My understanding from past experience is that Dish Network will apply for a “waiver” from the local station, and if the local station accepts it (or doesn’t protest—not sure how that works), then we can keep our West Coast networks. Apparently the local CBS and ABC (and FOX) stations rejected the waiver, because they were yanked over a year ago. Curse them. So, now I don’t watch them hardly at all. I just watch FOX’s 24 (on my sister’s TV) and that’s it. Come to think of it, I haven’t watched a network series on CBS or ABC in ever so long, and I don’t miss it at all.

Anyway, I feel your pain, and it pisses me off too. I feel like it’s some backwards way of forcing us to settle for whatever drivel the local stations want to throw at us, where they (the local stations) won’t have to compete with better quality stations. I think it’s outrageous.

Thank goodness that (as of now) there’s no danger of losing the WB (KTLA, Channel 5 in LA) because I watch that all the time.