Dish Introduces New Skinny Bundle Without Broadcast Networks
August 04 2016 - 09:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Shalini Ramachandran
Dish Network Corp. is stripping out some of the best-known
broadcast and cable networks from its basic TV package to create a
new "skinny bundle, " designed to give consumers more control of
which channels they pay to watch.
The satellite-TV package, called "Flex Pack," will allow
customers to buy a basic bundle and one additional channel pack for
$39.99 a month. The basic bundle includes 50 networks like AMC,
CNN, Food Network and FX, but won't include broadcast networks like
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox or cable juggernauts like ESPN or Fox News.
Those channels will only be available in separate add-on tiers,
each ranging in price from $4 to $10 extra a month. The broadcast
tier, for instance, costs $10. Customers can also add on premium
networks like HBO and Showtime.
It isn't clear if programmers will be on board with Dish's new
offering. Dish's Warren Schlichting, executive vice president of
marketing, programming and media sales, said in an interview that
the new bundle won't be a surprise to them.
"People are sick and tired of our industry and these giant
bundles," Mr. Schlichting said. "What we are trying to do is give
the customer choice."
It's a move similar to one launched more than a year ago by
Verizon Communications Inc.'s Fios, which sought to give customers
more choice through a "Custom TV" offering that included ESPN in a
separate add-on sports tier instead of among a basic set of
channels. ESPN subsequently sued the company, and the two settled
in May. Before the settlement was announced, Verizon moved ESPN
into one of its base packages -- a move widely viewed as an olive
branch to the sports channel. It also raised the price of the
cheapest custom TV plan from $55 to $65 a month.
Media companies have long negotiated with cable TV providers to
get their biggest and most expensive channels in the basic
programming packages that most people buy, so that they can get
paid on the largest possible number of households. That business
model has helped fuel TV channels' profits for years.
With the new Dish offering, customers can switch on and off
different channel packages every month. For instance, a football
fan can drop the broadcast locals pack after the football season is
over and switch to, say, a "news pack" with networks like Fox News
Channel, CNBC and BBC World News.
It's "unlikely we'll ever get to full a la carte," Mr.
Schlichting said. But "the ability to maneuver and customize is
pretty powerful."
Write to Shalini Ramachandran at
shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 04, 2016 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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