DISH Network is the second largest indirect broadcaster in the United States with over 8 million digital subscribers. However, it has earned the negative image of being considerably costly compared to other cable and satellite TV service providers. Now, let me discuss some factors that explain why DISH’s prices are relatively higher than those of other cable providers.
Equipment and Installation Costs
There are several things that we found that contribute to the overall price of the DISH service with one of these being their equipment costs. For satellite TV, one major drawback is that customers cannot purchase equipment of their choice; instead, they must use DISH’s equipment. This means you must lease receivers, DVRs, and dish antenna hardware from DISH on your own and usually at a high price. Commonly, these leases are priced at $10-20 per TV per month extra to your current costs. Initial costs, including installation fees, may also amount to more than $100.
Limited Bundled Services
A combination of TV, internet, and phone services as a single package is a popular product type among the major providers because it results in a reduction of prices through consolidation. However, DISH has been consistently providing mainly TV services and has not ventured into offering other bundle services. In general, DISH appears to have fewer opportunities to give customers better prices through the use of bundled deals than cable companies.
This is regarding several contracts and early termination fees that are usually imposed on the customers.
It is also common for DISH to introduce special offers for new customers who are given attractive offers of a lower monthly rate for the first year. However, achieving these rates means signing up for a 2-year commitment with the cable company. However, if you wish to cancel the service early then DISH can charge you up to $480 on the early termination fee. They also result in a high average monthly customer fee that is charged to customers who remain with the company after the first month.
Channel Packages and Add-Ons
To be precise, DISH currently offers packages at $50 per month and below but critics say that their basic channel packages miss a lot of popular networks. For additional channels such as ESPN, regional sports networks and major local network affiliates usually requires the cable subscriber to go for other higher packages that are way expensive. Other charges include other receivers’ fees, High-definition service fees, Digital video recorder service fees, and taxes to arrive at the total cost.
There are no options with low prices or that are affordable for consumers.
Other key pay-TV providers have simple low-cost offerings targeted at the B/ C demographics who do not need all the extra frills. For instance, Spectrum has a cheap option for streaming TV, and Comcast’s “Internet Essentials” is a relatively cheap product. However, unlike other providers, DISH doesn’t provide any promotional offers and what may be considered a budget-friendly TV package with basic channels at the moment. It is still fully paid, even if it is their basic package.
Rural Subsidies
Dish has a niche market that targets the rural regions as part of its core strategy. Since bringing out infrastructure to these regions can be very costly, DISH occasionally gets state and federal funding to take out its internet to the countryside. However, the price of getting to these distant markets is what is in turn passed on to the consumer in the form of national pricing. As already stated, DISH absorbs those infrastructure expenses and passes them on to all the customers through rates.
Prioritizing Profits
However, some industry analysts find that DISH Network emphasizes profits more than price affordability than it is with some cable and streaming providers. That other companies like Comcast and AT&T also frequently raise rates is also true, but these entities have a massive broadband internet business to support them. Conversely, DISH depends mainly on TV subscribers in generating its revenues, though it has a diversified revenue model compared to Netflix. This puts pressure on DISH to extract as much cash as they can from a dwindling traditional pay-tv client base.
No Competition Advantage
The lack of competition is evident when one has to analyze markets mainly dominated by a single cable firm. This makes it possible for them to hike tariffs as they please since their customers cannot easily get alternative channels. Moreover, DISH operates as a competitor on a national level for all types of markets which include areas with low cable service prices. The lack of this monopoly in any geographic location creates a problem for DISH by having to set very high rates all the time.
There are limited offers on TV bundles with fewer discounts; DISH has long contracts; it does not offer low-cost options; and it emphasizes profitability. As programming costs continue to rise, the effect filters down across the pay-TV industry: economic constraints may make it impossible for DISH to significantly cut the price without eradicating its earnings. CON: Even though DISH proclaims to have the lowest all-digital TV packages available, there are many hidden fees and additional services that make it impossible for some households to afford. Therefore, to compare DISH to other options, it is crucial to calculate total costs with a close focus on them.
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