It shouldn't surprise anyone who reads The Turner Report on a regular basis to realize that there is a systematic, coordinated effort going on between Nexstar Broadcasting and the local satellite dish provider to break the back of the local cable company.
Take the recent anti-cable demonstration, covered by Nexstar's stations, and reportedly staged by sources connected with the satellite dish company. Or take the advertisements that are being placed regularly by the company, many times on KODE and KSNF's newscasts, encouraging viewers to continue to get their local stations by switching to satellite.
Multichannel News reports that Dish Network "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."
It was on June 29, 2004, that EchoStar Communications, owner of Dish network, announced that the network would offer local TV channels to Joplin and Pittsburg. In that announcement, EchoStar said, "Dish Network has frozen the lowest all-digital TV price through January 2005."
And that is exactly what Dish Network has done. During all of its promotions, the company has failed to mention that as of Feb. 1 it will be increasing its prices. The same company that has been lambasting cable for annual rate increases, will make its first rate increase since...February 2004.
Multichannel News reports "Dish Network is raising the price of its programming packages by $2 to $4 per month as of Feb. 1, citing rising programming costs and other expenses."
The letters announcing the rate increases are scheduled to go out this week, the article said. That "lowest all-digital TV price" will increase from $29.99 per month to $31.99 a 6.7 percent increase.
The Top 120 package is scheduled to increase from $39.99 to $42.99, up 7.5 percent. The Top 180 will increase from $49.99 to $52.99 and the "America's Everything" package will be $86.99, up from $82.99.