Dish Introduces Vague 3-Year 'Price Guarantee' on Full Monty Satellite TV Tiers

By
( )
published

Dish says new subscribers for its 'America's Top' packages can lock in the price with a two-year commitment. It's unclear as to whether the guarantee protects against spikes in taxes and surcharges, however

A Dish technician standing outside a company van.
(Image credit: Dish)

Dish Network said it's offering a three-year "price guarantee" to new customers committing for two years to its "America's Top" satellite TV bundles, which start at $79.99 a month.

“Consumers today are facing real challenges when it comes to managing their finances,” said Brian Neylon, group president for Dish, in a statement. “We’re proud to announce stability for Dish customers with a three-year TV price guarantee that enables households to easily budget their entertainment costs through 2025 and beyond.”

Dish's press release wasn't terribly explicit in terms of what the pay TV company is actually guaranteeing. Will it also cover charges on associated CPE, such as the Hopper Plus set-top box? How about surcharges on regional sports networks and local channels? FCC-related fees? Taxes?

"Taxes are not included and subject to change," a Dish rep told Next TV via email. "Since Dish is customer-first, we don’t actually tack on a bunch of fees like the competition. Dish does not have a regional sports network fee (like our competitors) or separate retrans fees."

As the "local channels fee" on this Dish billing statement from 2021 shows, we'd probably check the ol' fine print before committing around $100 month for two year's of the pay TV Full Monty.

Dish Network

(Image credit: Dish Network)

Dish lost another 184,000 satellite TV subscribers in the third quarter, whittling its base to just over 7.6 million customers. In the 12 months ending Sept. 30, Dish lost 14.3% of its satellite TV customers -- an attrition rate higher than even Comcast's 10.6% pace of blood loss.

So Neylon can profess a bleeding heart for the consumer all he wants, but Dish needs to find a way to reduce customer churn if it's going to stay in the pay TV game.

“TV entertainment should be effortless. We’re proud that time and time again we’ve had our customers’ backs,” Neylon added. “Alongside our three-year TV price guarantee, Dish customers deserve the best viewing experience in the industry and our next-generation Hopper Plus and award-winning Hopper whole-home DVR system, Chromecast built-in, and Dish Voice Remote with Google Assistant make TV simpler.” ■

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!