Soup Nazi

As it stands, DirecTV will NOT be carrying WWF No Mercy on PPV this Sunday, October 21st.

Not only does this effect the satellite-giant's customer service base, but the WWF's "Blast Areas" like Hooters that carry the PPV for FREE for their paying customers will be shut out as well ...

The more hardball that the WWF plays with DirecTV, the more that their ratings and buyrates may very-well go deeper into the toilet ...

Soup Nazi

The WWF sent out the following press release concerning the DirecTV situation with the company.

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Stops Offering Pay-Per-View Programming on DirecTV

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2001--World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWF - news) today announced that it would no longer offer pay-per-view (PPV) programming on DirecTV, starting with the ``No Mercy'' pay-per-view event this Sunday, October 21, 2001.

WWFE and DirecTV have been in negotiations over a new contract, but have not been able to come to terms on the fundamental issue of what the revenue split should be. The prior contract expired in January 2001, and WWFE granted several extensions during that time while the parties continued to negotiate.

"As the leading content and revenue provider in the pay-per-view industry, WWFE is simply asking for a fair split in the revenues,'' said Stuart Snyder, President and COO of WWFE.

WWFE is encouraging its fans who are DirecTV subscribers to seek alternative ways to view "No Mercy'' this Sunday, as well as future WWFE PPV programs.

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. is an integrated media and entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and Toronto. Additional information on the company can be found at wwf.com and wwfecorpbiz.com.

Forward-Looking Statements : This news release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, food and beverage, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; and other risks and factors identified in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated.

ViewAskewbian

Man, this pisses me off because I will be at my parents this weekend and would be able to watch it for free on their sattelite. Now I am gonna miss it...

I was quite hyped for the "lader match"

V

NC-36

Maybe Vince has a new buddy named Charlie Ergen (Dish Network CEO). Dish Network has a new contest going - buy the next 3 WWF PPV's on Dish (No Mercy. Survivor Series and Payback) and you're automatically enterred to win a VIP trip to Atlanta for two to the Royal Rumble in January -

http://www.dishnetwork.com/ppv/events/wwf.html

BTW, Soup, did you get your Directv/Dish setup working yet ?

Soup Nazi

I knew about Charlie and Vince's deal - anything to give DISH the upper-hand on their competition.

I've called DISH, and they refuse to give me an IRD and an Access Card with an external DirecTV satellite dish ...

NC-36

Are you already a Dish customer ? If not, why not just order a 301 tuner from www.dss1.com for $9.95 (new customers only, get I LIKE NINE promo) and use any old single LNB from Wal-mart (goes for about $30) ? Then if you already have the Directv para todos dish you should be ready to rock.
It's really none of Dish's business what kind of dish you use, ase long as you pay your bill on time - just don't tell them anything they don't need to know

Soup Nazi

I subscribe to DirecTV. I want(ed) to take advantage of the "I LIKE 9" proimotion. I have a dual-LNB DTV dish, with 2 receivers (420RE and 480RE).

I don't think my DTV dish is aimed at the proper satellite. If it was, I'd cancel DTV - pick up two 301's, and activate DISH NET's feeds.

NC-36

Hmmm, I don't know if you have the right dish - does it look like this -

from http://www.techweenies.com/dss-1.shtml



"The Para Todos dish is a 22" wide oval dish and is used primarily in systems that are sold for Spanish language programming. It comes with 2 LNBF's for the 101 and 119 positions but there is a blank position in the center"

If this is what you have, and you want ONLY Dish Network, you would only have to move the 101 LNB to the unused middle slot for the 110 channels, then begin re-aligning the dish for max signal strength - you will also need to have a Dish tuner hooked up (Directv tuners don't see Dish signals, and vice versa).

Dish Network's DISH 500 dish is a 20" dish and must be skewed(turned cockeyed) to get enough signal from both the 110 and 119 locations, so the 22 may also have to be skewed correctly, but with that larger 22" dish you should get more signal than the DISH 500.

At the geocities diagram site ( http://www.geocities.com/dbs_tech/dishes/dsa8900e.htm ) refer to drawing 4A and leave out the Directv 101 to see what I mean. Remember, both LNB's must have 2 outputs and you need a couple of sw-21 switches to hook up 2 tuners, but the dish itself will work just fine with Directv or Dish.

Soup Nazi

I've got the standard 18" oval DTV dish ...

I'd have to go though hell with the management here to try to justify pulling the old one down, and putting the new one up ...

NC-36

Since you don't have this, a DISH 500 (which you get for being a new subscriber) will mount directly on the standard RCA/Hughes mounting arm (won't work with Sony - too small). You just disconnect the cables from the LNB, remove the RCA/Hughes dish, put DISH 500 in place, re-attach the cables and align it - the cables that are in place from Directv will work just fine.
I don't see why management would mind this - no drilling of holes, nothing removed but swapping one dish for another ...

Soup Nazi

Now, there's a man with a plan ...

Thanks, I'll look into that!

NC-36

If you don't already have a dealer in mind, this one is pretty cheap - http://www.dss1.com/sale.htm
Single 301 for $9.95 or 301/2800 2-tuner combo for 99.95

or maybe this - http://www.dishdepot.com/Cart/descri...08.139.149.196

Trade a single Directv system (w/remote, smart card, dish and LNB) and get a 501 PVR for $99.95 + s&h - add a 2800 2nd tuner for $89

Soup Nazi

Dude, mega cool ...

E-mail me for a sweet pr0n link, if you are so inclined ...

NC-36

Too bad I'm at work - wouldn't do for pr0n to show up here

I looooooove my 501 - it has completely changed how I watch TV, and without the monthly fee of a TiVo. If you have the extra change, get one.

Keep in mind, http://www.dss1.com has been swamped the last couple of weeks, so you may have to wait for shipment (like my brother has). Also, dss1 and dishdepot no longer have links for the "I Like 9" promo. It's still valid until Oct.31 (rumor has it extended until 01/31/02), but they may not be able to ship before then.
Call the toll-free numbers before ordering and find out about delays, etc., and the particulars of "I Like 9" installation - it is, technically, supposed to be professionally installed (nudge nudge, ) so don't let Dish Network think anything else.

JMLEWIS1

Have you had any bugs with the 501? I've read on other sites that there have been major problems with this model.

http://www.dbsforums.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000795.html


Soup,

You still having problems obtaining networks?

Soup Nazi

Like you wouldn't believe!

NC-36

The ONLY problem I've had with my 501 is when I was recording something and some rain moved in causing the dreaded rain fade. This happened a couple of times (late summer storms) and it resulted in a pixelated mish-mash, along with some corruption of other recordings.
Echostar is aware of this and is working on it (some sort of directory problem I think). They are also updating the 501's OS by Thanksgiving to include a 7-day searchable guide on the hard drive (301's still get just 2 days) and a nifty (if kinda strange) caller ID function by late January - it lets your tuner display caller ID info on your TV screen !

AndyCapps

What other easy way does the WWF have to raise it's revenue/stock price? Since the XFL was a flop, easily increasing revenue by taking a larger cut seems like an easy way to me.

NC-36

Short term, the WWF may not make as much on the next few PPV's with Dish Network's smaller subscriber base and the commercial customers (Hooters, local sports bars) not buying it since Dish doesn't have nearly as many commercial customers, who signed up with DirecTV because of the NFL/NHL/MLB packages exclusive to DirecTV. Hooters, et al., will likely buy Dish systems by next month and add them to their existing set-ups.

These losses may be offset some because the freeloaders who watched the PPV for free with hacked cards will now be forced to actually PAY for a PPV if they want to see it. I also expect the WWF to promote Dish Network by name more often - Vince McMahon is the kind of guy who bears a grudge, and DirecTV has been jerking WWFE around for months.