Over the last few months, we’ve reviewed cable and internet service bills for seven of the nation’s largest providers in an attempt to make sense of all those fees and charges. So what did we learn from these bills covering cable, satellite, and fiber customers from Connecticut to California? [More]
dish network
Dish Will Send Someone To Your House To Fix Your Broken iPhone
By 5.3.16
One of the most annoying things about breaking your phone is having to go somewhere and wait in line to get it fixed. There’s another, unexpected option now for iPhone users who have shattered their device’s screens or need help with a dead battery: satellite provider Dish has launched a new repair service that sends a technician to wherever the customer is. [More]
The Consumerist Guide To Understanding Your Dish Network Bill
By 4.28.16
When you sign up for telecommunications services — some combination of TV, broadband, and/or phone — you’re told you’ll pay something like $49 or $99 a month… and yet the price you actually pay can be as much as 40% again on top of that, thanks to a heap of sometimes confusing charges and fees. Which ones do you blame the government for, and which are made up by your cable company? One business at a time, we’re using real customers’ bills to break it down. We’ve covered Comcast, TWC, DirecTV, Charter, FiOS, and Uverse in our bill guide series so far. Now, it’s Dish’s turn. [More]
Sling TV: Data Caps Are Cable Industry Tool To “Sabotage” Streaming Video
By 4.22.16
Since Comcast began expanding its years-long “test” of data caps and overage fees, complaints to the FCC about these new limits have skyrocketed. And some streaming video companies say that data caps are causing customers to either limit their use or drop these services rather than risk paying a penalty for going over their monthly allotment. [More]
Comedy Central, MTV, Nick Jr. Coming To Sling TV Streaming Service
By 4.21.16
This morning, Dish Network and Viacom announced a contract multi-year renewal that keeps Viacom channels like Comedy Central, MTV, BET, and Nickelodeon on the satellite service, and will also add a number of Viacom-owned channels to Dish’s Sling TV streaming service. [More]
Want To Help Us With A Guide? Send Us Your Dish Bill!
By 4.18.16
Hello! Do you like our series that has been breaking down real-life cable and satellite bills to help explain what all those dozens of little charges are? Us, too! We’d like to add DISH NETWORK to the list (which so far includes Comcast, DirecTV, Charter, TWC, Uverse, and FiOS) but to make that happen we need some help. Namely, bills from real-life Dish subscribers! If you’re willing to share yours with us, please e-mail a copy to tips@consumerist.com. As always, we won’t publish any identifying information, but the more we have the more right we can make the story. Thanks, and here is a picture of a cat. [More]
Sling TV Finally Adding Live Network TV, Multi-Stream Support. Is It Worth It?
By 4.13.16
Since Dish’s Sling TV streaming service launched in 2015, there were two regularly repeated gripes from cord-cutters: That Sling didn’t provide online access to any of the major broadcast networks and that you were forced to only using Sling on a single device at any given time. Sling is now taking steps to address both of these issues, but will they be enough to offer a true cable replacement? [More]
Dish Sues NBC For Blabbing Publicly About Looming Blackout
By 3.15.16
It’s not uncommon for TV networks and pay-TV operators to get into very public spats about contract negotiations and looming blackouts, but the folks at Dish say that NBCUniversal crossed the line this week in going public about its ongoing contract dispute with the satellite company. [More]
Dish Network Could Pay $24B In Fines For Millions Of Illegal Telemarketing Calls
By 1.21.16
When a company hires a telemarketing contractor, and that company makes telemarketing calls on your behalf, should you be held responsible for what that contractor does? This week, a trial in federal court began against Dish Network, where the feds and four state governments are seeking more than $24 billion in fines against the satellite TV company to resolve accusations that it made illegal calls. [More]
New Dish DVR Lets You Record Up To 16 Shows At Once, Watch 4 Channels Simultaneously In HD
By 1.5.16
Do you feel the need to watch everything on TV all at once? Then Dish might be the TV provider for you. The satellite company is coming out with a new DVR that features 16 different tuners for people who just can’t get enough TV. [More]
Happy New Year: Dish, DirecTV/AT&T, Time Warner Cable All Raising Rates In January Because They Can
By 12.21.15
For a bunch of the big cable and satellite companies, it does indeed look like a very merry Christmas and a happy new year are on the horizon — but consumers can be forgiven for feeling a lot more grinchy about it. That’s because all the new nickels, dimes, and dollars that are going to line businesses’ big virtual pockets are coming directly from subscribers in the form of unasked-for price hikes. [More]
Dish Apologizes For Demanding Couple Return Equipment After Their Home Was Destroyed By Wildfire
By 10.5.15
Whenever there’s a natural disaster wreaking devastation upon people and their homes, it seems there will, unfortunately, always be cable customer service representatives who respond less than sensitively. Here’s another: a couple whose home burned down in a California wildfire says they were shocked when Dish demanded they return equipment that was destroyed. [More]
Dish Taking Away Users’ Right To Sue Company In Court. Here’s How To Opt Out
By 8.31.15
Over the weekend, a number of Consumerist readers wrote to us with the bad news that, like a growing number of companies, Dish Network is updating its terms of use to strip customers of their right to dispute legal claims in a court of law. There is a way for Dish subscribers to opt out of this restriction — but only if they do it right away. [More]
Dish, Sinclair End Broadcast Network Blackout… For Now, At Least
By 8.27.15
Dish’s latest contract fight with the networks it airs has wrapped up much more quickly than usual: less than a day after nearly 130 Sinclair channels went dark on the satellite provider, the local channels are back on in 5 million subscribers’ homes. At least, for now. [More]
Hundreds Of Local Channels Go Dark For Millions Of Dish Subscribers In Latest TV Blackout Fight
By 8.26.15
Dish Network subscribers may have a hard time getting their local news and weather today along with some of their favorite network programming. A contract dispute between the satellite TV company and one of the biggest network owners in the country has resulted in one of the biggest TV blackouts to date, with 5 million viewers losing access to nearly 130 channels. [More]
Sling TV Says Comcast-Owned NBC Stations Are Blocking Its Ads
By 7.31.15
There’s a rumble brewing in telecom town: Sling TV is accusing Comcast of keeping its ads off some NBC stations’ airwaves. Which is exactly what the big bad cable company in its recent marketing campaign would do, Dish Network-owned Sling says. [More]
Add Comcast To The List Of Rumored Merger Partners For T-Mobile
By 6.17.15
Not one to sit around and sulk after ditching its $45 billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable – or let a rival cable company beat it to the altar – the Lords of Kabletown are reportedly making eyes with the wireless industry, flirting with the idea of buying T-Mobile. [More]
Verizon Not Interested In Buying Dish
By 6.16.15
With everyone else in the cable/Internet/wireless business gone merger-mad, the only thing that telecom titan Verizon has purchased recently is AOL for a few billion bucks. The company has long been suggested as a prime buyer for satellite TV service Dish, but a top Verizon executive says that’s just not happening. [More]
