Dish Gets Busted Lying About Reaching 200 HD Channels
Yesterday Dish Network claimed they were the first TV provider to reach 200 HD channels. However, as is usually the case, their definition of channel turned out to be a little iffy. 57 of those "channels" turned out to be Video On Demand titles -- and worse perhaps -- titles only available to users who buy the new "Sling Loaded" DVR. Responding to Dish's claim, DirecTV announced that they'd soon be adding an additional 30 HD channels -- bringing their channel total to around 160. Unlike Dish's 200 channels, DirecTV noted in a statement their 160 HD channels will actually be HD channels:
Quote:
"While DISH Network is very skilled at grossly inflating their HD numbers, you'd be hard pressed to find an actual list of comprehensive HD channels that match their recent claims. We invite consumers to go to DIRECTV.com/hdchannels to see a list of all of DIRECTV's more than 160 HD channels. We challenge DISH to publish a list of all their full-time HD channels so consumers can decide and count for themselves."
While Dish did add eight new HD channels recently, they were apparently caught trying to argue that the film The Men Who Stare At Goats was a channel, jokes Todd Spangler at Multichannel News. More amusing perhaps is that when bloggers and reporters tried to contact Dish to find out what those channels were and if they could get a full list, Dish PR reps suddenly started acting "evasive" and "a bit strange":
Quote:
However, when I told them I could not locate more than around 130 HD channels listed at DishNetwork.com, the company's PR department got even more evasive -- and started to act a bit strange. At one point, a company spokeswoman said she could give me a breakdown of the 200 HD channels on "background only," meaning I couldn't attribute the information to Dish Network.
So now instead of being seen as the TV operator with the most HD channels, Dish is being seen as the carrier who assumes everybody is stupid -- not a particularly brilliant PR move
