Dish Raising Programming Prices Next Month – Again

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman

Dish announced today at its web site that it’s raising the price of its programming packages by $5 a month effective October 12, 2023. The satcaster is blaming the rising cost of programming, the same reason it has given for price increases for the last several years. Dish last raised prices last October.

“At Dish, we continue to invest in your service and technology to make improvements and provide you with the best TV viewing experience at the best value,” the company states. “However, the price that we pay for programming continues to rise. In fact, the fastest growing cost we and all other TV providers have is driven by the cost we pay the programmers. We will continue to work hard for fair deals with these programmers to keep channel costs and the price you pay as low as possible. Unfortunately, you may have observed some channel interruptions because of this.”

Dish, which is engaged in four different carriage disputes, is now missing 77 network affiliates. The fee fights are with Hearst, Mission, White Knight and Cox Media.

Here is a list of the new Dish prices effective October 12 of next month:

Welcome Pack – $54.99 – $5 increase

Dish adds that if you are currently enrolled in a price lock or ‘preferred customer offer,’ your programming price will not change until the offer ends. The satcaster has been offering three-year price guarantees to new customers. In addition, effective October 12, 2023, the price of the Welcome Pack for customers who subscribed to it prior to January 15, 2019, will be $50.99 a month. Package prices do not include include $12 a month for local channels, except for the Welcome Pack and DishLATINO Básico.

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman