The Dish Network News Blog

Attention Dish Network Subscribers, we need your help in stopping discriminatory taxes against direct broadcast satellite services. Dish Network is known for having the lowest all digital price for pay television and  the cable companies are always trying to raise satellite televisions prices by lobbing the state governments to apply an unfair sales tax to Dish Network subscribers.

Presently the Cable industry is lobbying several states to pass the Internet Tax Moratorium Bill which carries a stipulation that will make Dish Network customers pay higher sales taxes.  This bill will require states and municipalities to implement tax on satellite service.  Both DISH Network and DirecTV are supporting an amendment known as the DBS Amendment to the Internet Tax Moratorium Bill that will require states and municipalities to implement the same tax on satellite services as they do on cable services.

It’s known that Dish Network constantly wins over cable on price, quality, and customer service and Dish Network continues to be the benchmark disincentive against cable rate increases.  Because of Dish Networks low prices, the cable industry lobbies states to impose discriminatory DBS taxes. This tax that cable is trying to get passed will artificially inflate the cost of satellite-TV service.

We all are tired of taxes, especially those that are designed to restrain a consumer’s choice.  The cable industry can not compete in a fair market because of their huge costly infrastructure and overhead. So to level their playing field, they rather tax satellite customers and increase their bills.

Why doesn’t cable do as Dish Network does and negotiate cost effective carriage deals with programmers and look for efficient and cost-effective ways to deliver digital televisions? As the mandatory digital conversion approaches, which is only 18 months away, cable will be a in money crunch to switch their customers from analog to digital. So cable will do what they do best, raise rates and try to raise satellite customer’s rates.

If you’re a customer in a state with discriminatory sales taxes, the cable companies are attacking your right to choose a cheaper better alternative. Currently, these states with Discriminatory DBS Taxes are Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Utah.

Its time to take action and let the cable companies that Satellite customers are not going to pay for their decaying and obsolete cable systems. Please tell Congress to support fair sales taxes for all pay television subscribers!

Please call Congress at (202) 225-3121 and ask to be transferred to your Member of Congress. Simply leave a message with your Member and then ask to be transferred to the staffer who handles Judiciary Committee issues.
 

Don’t let the cable companies use taxes to justify their outrageously high prices!

 Although the Big Ten Network and Dish Network continue to try to negotiate a fair deal for Dish Network subscribers, Dish Network has provided a great tool allowing Big Ten Fans to watch their favorite teams without having to subscribe to the Big Ten Network. This is great news that a large number of Big Ten football games will be available to qualifying subscribers on DISH Network channels this college football season.