New Greek Channel Package Platform.

[gang3171]

Yes we can have different views but i can not predict what is going to happen to the new platform, i am not always  100%  thing change by the minute with the Greek channels.

Don't be surprise  if Antenna / Alpha move to Home2us in the future.

ERA5, ERA Sport, and NET 105.8 will  be available on Home2us

DKSat

Thanks DKSat for the info on ERT's radio stations. Also you mentioned in an earlier post that ANT1 no longer has a contract with Dish Network. I thought back in 2006 they signed a 10 year contract-which would carry them to 2016. Anyway if that's the case maybe they'll make themselves available with Home2US also and then their platform would all of a sudden look more attractive. Only Alpha would be left out in the cold, at least for now.

[Grk101]

Either there was a clause in their contract that they can come out of it early if some terms or guarantees are not met, (by ANT1 or Dish) or the contract was really for a shorter period. Who knows, the only thing certain is that Dish was royally tricked. The exclusivity agreement was only for satellite and Ant1 proceeded to branch out to a number of cable networks thus creating options besides Dish in a number of markets. That agreement does not look too attractive after that, and ANT1 is the one that got the better deal out of it in my opinion. :P They got to get all their spin-off channels on Dish, and also got to set terms for how other Greek channels can be made available. (forcing people to subscribe to their package in order to get the other channels)

If Home2us are smart, they will target Ant1. I just don't know how their spin off channels would fit though, unless Ant1 is on both.

[likos]

As it stands, Home2US subscribers buy their equipment, they don't get it for free. We will have to hope Directv will offer some deal to those switching to Home2US. Current Directv subscribers don't own their equipment.

As for success, it is possible that Home2US will have lower costs so success may be defined differently for channels moving there. Still, I think MEGA COSMOS may have a good chance, but the others will tank unless they bundle them all together, and won't that expose their hypocricy after all the faux outrage over DISH bundling them.

But if we are talking absolute numbers of subscribers, they will never surpass or even come close to DISH unless ANTENNA and its sports move to that platform, and I don't buy that happening. Last I read, Kyriakoy does not like shooting himsef in the foot.

[harlem_reporter]

Yes we can have different views but i can not predict what is going to happen to the new platform, i am not always 100% thing change by the minute with the Greek channels.

Don't be surprise if Antenna / Alpha move to Home2us in the future.

ERA5, ERA Sport, and NET 105.8 will be available on Home2us

DKSat

Understandable.

Has ERTWORLD started testing on 101W along with MEGA and the other channels on Home2US?

[harlem_reporter]

How do you know this, it hasn't even launched and you have doomed it to failure?!  With the addition of ERT World, all the important channels will be on this platform so why will it fail?!  You have the #1 channel from Greece in MEGA and ERT World which is popular with the omogenia as well as a few other niche channels mixed in for good measure- sounds like a good package to me.  Antenna & Alpha are nothing but junk fests filled with reality garbage so you aren't losing much- at least as far as I am concerned.  The fact they will apparently also offer American programming (via DirecTV) will help get people to switch over.  I think it all comes down to the packaging and pricing, which hopefully will be announced soon?!

What is your source for this info- do you work for ERT or something?!  Last time I checked this channel was not owned by Dish Network, so why can't it be available on any other provider??

1. I know because DirecTV, with 15 million subscribers and spending enormous money did not succeed in sustaining a Greek package, a platform which updates its web site every year will?

2. I remember all the posts saying ERTWORLD will go to DirecTV, and did not happen. If DirecTV, which spends millions per years on lawyers, did not manage to get ERTWORLD and instead decided to drop the Greek package, Home2US will?

So, here is the gist of what we do -and don't- know:

1. MEGA, ALTER, STAR, RIK and GTV will be available on Home2US as of April 1st (fools' day, by coincidence)

2. Home2US would like very much to have ERTWORLD in this package. Will this happen? I doubt it. Simply, because DirecTV did not manage to make it happen and did not see any prospect of this happening, thus ceased the Greek package

3. Has ERTWORLD started testing with the other channels on Home2US? DKSat who first reported the testing might be able to let all of us know. Then we will have a better picture if Home2US might have ERTWORLD. If there is no testing of ERTWORLD on Home2US as we speak, I think we can forget about it.

4. Is Home2US' Greek package going to last more than 6 months? Well, ALTER and STAR were on RCN and were taken down for not having enough subs in a matter of months. MEGA, ALTER and GTV were taken down from DirecTV after four years for not having enough subs. But DirecTV has billions of $$$$ more than Home2US and they could sustain the losses for those years. RIK has never been in the US before, obviously due to lack of viewers' demand

Let's see on the 1st of April B) :rolleyes: :D :P :LOL: ;) :o :huh: :box: :LOL:

[Grk101]

MEGA, ALTER and GTV were taken down from DirecTV after four years for not having enough subs. But DirecTV has billions of $$$$ more than Home2US and they could sustain the losses for those years.

I don't think we know about the specifics of why DirecTV dropped the channels. There could be a number of factors that played into that decision. They could have very well been "profitable", but not as much as DirecTV was aiming for compared to their overall costs and efforts and what not. Keep in mind that Home2us is bound to have lower operational costs, and since they are a smaller company that type of profit may be more than satisfactory for them.

It is also a bit foolish to think that Dish is doing so well still, especially in this economy. Since 2006, their top Greek package has been basically halved in price. ($50.99 to $24.99, missing 1 major channel. Alpha took the place of either Mega or Alter, so there is only 1 channel void.) That can't be a good sign, and they certainly did not decide to drop prices just to be nice. :LOL: The difference is that Dish seems to be trying to save the situation (signing on Alpha, lowering prices) while DirecTV decided to just move on instead.

[gyros]

I don't think we know about the specifics of why DirecTV dropped the channels. There could be a number of factors that played into that decision. They could have very well been "profitable", but not as much as DirecTV was aiming for compared to their overall costs and efforts and what not. Keep in mind that Home2us is bound to have lower operational costs, and since they are a smaller company that type of profit may be more than satisfactory for them.

It is also a bit foolish to think that Dish is doing so well still, especially in this economy. Since 2006, their top Greek package has been basically halved in price. ($50.99 to $24.99, missing 1 major channel. Alpha took the place of either Mega or Alter, so there is only 1 channel void.) That can't be a good sign, and they certainly did not decide to drop prices just to be nice. :LOL: The difference is that Dish seems to be trying to save the situation (signing on Alpha, lowering prices) while DirecTV decided to just move on instead.

I don't think its foolish at all. If you can't get a lot of subscribers on directv, chances aren't good that you are going to get a large following on some 2 bit television service. The one thing Greek channels don't realize is that their content sucks except for ERT. As long as ERT stays at dish, then nobody is switching over.

I have family members that will only watch the newscast and ERT and thats about it. They would rather watch the standard American channels than that garbage they are peddling now. I saw a commercial for the "housewives of Athens". Greek tv is turning into vh1/mtv/bravo

[HellasHab]

I have family members that will only watch the newscast and ERT and thats about it. They would rather watch the standard American channels than that garbage they are peddling now. I saw a commercial for the "housewives of Athens". Greek tv is turning into vh1/mtv/bravo

Good to hear I am not alone in my great dislike for the garbage that Antenna is airing these days. :tdown: The only decent show they have IMO is Xoris Oria, a TV series which apparently has been sitting on the shelf since 2008!? Some of these newer shows like Housewives and Mh to peis sti nifi are a total joke. Is this what people in Greece like to watch or are they just as disgusted by this crap as I am?! Actually in fairness, many of these crap shows that air on the Greek networks have been imported from the US & Britain, looks like this reality crap is a lucrative business as many shows have been turned into franchises, exported to many countries around the world. It appears that the decline of television is a global phenomenon and is not limited just to Greece.

I assume that sports is the main reason that most people subscribe to Antenna Satellite these days, which makes me wonder why they don't convert ANT1 Gold into a sports channel?! They already have the rights to the Greek League and Greek Cup, they can add some basketball coverage and perhaps some national team games into the mix as well. I am sure that such a channel would be popular among the omogenia, depending of course on how much they charge?! This has already been done by SPT, a Portuguese American channel that partnered up with Sport TV (premium sports service in Portugal) to create an international version of Sport TV.

[Grk101]

I think that the biggest thing that might hurt the Home2us venture is the start up costs. I notice on their site they have no leasing option, and equipment + installation adds up fast. They better offer some specials (like free or discounted equipment and installation) if they hope to get people to switch over. Let's see what they do, April 1st is less than 2 weeks away.

[likos]

I assume that sports is the main reason that most people subscribe to Antenna Satellite these days, which makes me wonder why they don't convert ANT1 Gold into a sports channel?!

As I keep reminding people, there is a reason all discussions about greek TV abroad happens in football ("soccer"--whatever) forums. DISH has all the Greek sports right now, between ERT and ANTENNA.

As for why keep sports on the main ANTENNA channel, I assume this has to do with the fact that the channel is also carried on cable systems.

[HellasHab]

As for why keep sports on the main ANTENNA channel, I assume this has to do with the fact that the channel is also carried on cable systems.

Actually, I think the reason ANT1 airs sports is because their programming is poor and they don't have anything else to offer. If they didn't air any soccer then their subscriber count would drop like stone- soccer is what is keeping this channel alive IMO.

I am sure if they had a sports channel that it would be picked up by cable companies- sports channels are licenses to print $$.

[gang3171]

Listen up everybody. I think everyone will think twice before one decides to do business with Home2US. Looking at the foreign packages they currently have, I decided to see the pricing and boy do things add up. I checked each package and prices range from $19.99 to $80.00. Then there's the equipment. Receiver only it's $95.00. Receiver & dish complete kit is $165.00. If you want them to install it, it's another $175.00. Shipping and handling fee is $40.00. And, depending on which package you purchase, there's a 1st time payment fee and depending on the package you get, it ranges from $64.98 to $314.00. Imagine the price tag it would be for 6 Greek channels! Are they freakin' serious? If you don't believe me, go to their website and click on the ORDER NOW tab and put a package in your shopping cart and you'll see. As for me, I am not shelling out that kind of cash. I'm still holding out hope that maybe this deal falls through at the last minute and at least MEGA & Alter return to Dish. If they don't, oh, well. ANT1 & ERT still have the sports contracts and there's Alpha for the lifestyle & entertainment part of it and I will still enjoy my yearly obsession with Eurovision.

[Grk101]

Yeah like I said in my previous post, start up costs might kill them. We should probably wait and see what they do, hopefully they will offer some type of special like when Mega moved to DirecTV. Those who stick with DirecTV for American programing will have lower costs though since they already have the dish and wiring. Also I read that you can use an outside receiver for Home2us, but I don't know if that means that Dish or DirecTV receivers will work too? I personally do not plan to keep DirecTV, so I really do hope they offer some type of special because equipment + installation adds up. Even if you don't buy direct from them.

[harlem_reporter]

  And, depending on which package you purchase, there's a 1st time payment fee and depending on the package you get, it ranges from $64.98 to $314.00.  Imagine the price tag it would be for 6 Greek channels!  Are they freakin' serious?  If you don't believe me, go to their website and click on the ORDER NOW tab and put a package in your shopping cart and you'll see.  As for me, I am not shelling out that kind of cash.  I'm still holding out hope that maybe this deal falls through at the last minute and at least MEGA & Alter return to Dish.  If they don't, oh, well.  ANT1 & ERT still have the sports contracts and there's Alpha for the lifestyle & entertainment  part of it and I will still enjoy my yearly obsession with Eurovision.

"1st time payment fee..... (up).... to $ 314" ???????????

Another ARPAHTI (

[Grk101]

"First time payment fee"=grand total. It is just everything added up (Equipment, activation, installation, shipping, etc) so it depends what each customer chooses. I am sure will will get the exact details soon.

On a side note, I found this image of a promotion from when they launched some new Albanian channels.

I hope they offer a better deal than this for the Greek channels......This doesn't cut it IMO as costs still add up.

[gang3171]

"First time payment fee"=grand total. It is just everything added up (Equipment, activation, installation, shipping, etc) so it depends what each customer chooses. I am sure will will get the exact details soon.

On a side note, I found this image of a promotion from when they launched some new Albanian channels.

I hope they offer a better deal than this for the Greek channels......This doesn't cut it IMO as costs still add up.

You're right, Grk101. First time payment fee=grand total. But still, it's a lot of money because the price for the full equipment kit is for just one receiver. The receiver by itself is $95.00. So $95 times if you wanted 3 more receivers, it's $285 additional.

[gyros]

This is typical of Greek business practices. Where every other western country uses supply and demand, the Greek business uses supply and gouge thinking we are all going to run and buy their crap. Good luck with 20 subscribers who are hardcore. The rest will just wait until you come to your senses.

[harlem_reporter]

"First time payment fee"=grand total. It is just everything added up (Equipment, activation, installation, shipping, etc) so it depends what each customer chooses. I am sure will will get the exact details soon.

On a side note, I found this image of a promotion from when they launched some new Albanian channels.

I hope they offer a better deal than this for the Greek channels......This doesn't cut it IMO as costs still add up.

You're right, Grk101. First time payment fee=grand total. But still, it's a lot of money because the price for the full equipment kit is for just one receiver. The receiver by itself is $95.00. So $95 times if you wanted 3 more receivers, it's $285 additional.

Excuse me, did you notice that (in the TV screen) says

"requires commitment of 18 months" x $28 = $504

this is not arpahti, this is

THE DEFINITION OF ARPAHTI

[harlem_reporter]

So

$504 for the 18 month commitment

$314 for the first time bla bla

$190 for 2 additional receivers

$1008 TOTAL

ARPAHTAAAAAARA = the definition of ARPAHTI

who ever buys that gets a bozo mask, so he can easily be spotted as the biggest, all time sucker (viewer) of Greek programming :LOL: :LOL:

ELLADARA ATELEIOTI :gr:

[Grk101]

Harlem, you are making a mistake here.

Requires commitment (for that special) = contract. It doesn't mean you pay it all up front, just that you are bound to them for at least 18 months. (Can't cancel) Dish Network and DirecTV have similar commitments in order to get their specials, usually for 2 years. If you look back in the threads, you will find that back in 2006 for example people had to enter a 2 year commitment to take advantage of the special they were offering. (If I recall correctly). That part is standard pay-tv practice.

First time fee=the total. That is 1 month service, equipment you choose, installation and shipping all added up. They just use a different term for "total". Don't know why. If you were to outright buy your equipment for Dish Network, not agree to a 2 year commitment, and pay for installation, you would also come out to a number in the 100s with them. (Just the activation fee is 100 alone if you don't agree to Dish's 2 year commitment) The difference is that they offer lease options and other specials though.

In my opinion for Home2us to have a chance, they need to offer the system free (receiver and satellite) along with free installation. (In that case I would not have a problem paying the first 3 months up front for example and signing a contract) I think that their installation is not directly from them though but through "partners", so they may have a problem providing that part free. (Actually I have a feeling for that reason a lone installation is overpriced. I wonder how much a private contractor in the area charges for installation.) If they can't offer installation free, then up the system offer. (2 free receivers for example) Or at least begin offering a leasing option. If they plan to offer something like what they were offering for the Albanian package, then they must be delusional thinking people are going to jump on it. The start up costs are simply too much. Unless they are hoping people are going to keep DirecTV for American programing and just need to buy the receivers and a new LNB only. Like I said before though, I know I'm not. And I am willing to bet a number of people will not keep it either.

[likos]

If they plan to offer something like what they were offering for the Albanian package, then they must be delusional thinking people are going to jump on it.

we have yet to see the deal offered, but I don't think the problem is with Home2US. They have developed a market for channels that are not desirable on other platforms because of low audience share and they offer these to an audience that wants them and is willing to pay these prices. ALTER GLOBE, STAR INTERNATIONAL and GMTV would belong there. MEGA should be in a major platform, namely DISH since that is the only one committed to international channels. The problem is that Mega Cosmos trusted their fate in the hands of Greek Media Group and will now have to follow in the footsteps of these lesser channels.

[Grk101]

we have yet to see the deal offered

True. I guess we will see soon enough.

[HellasHab]

The problem is that Mega Cosmos trusted their fate in the hands of Greek Media Group and will now have to follow in the footsteps of these lesser channels.

As I mentioned to Harlem_reporter in an earlier post, if you are not happy with the situation then why not contact MEGA Channel in Greece and complain. If they get bombarded with complaints from a lot of people, then that might force them to do something and push GMG to sign a deal with Dish Network?!

Luckily for us here in Canada we don't have distribution problems with the Greek channels but we do have another issue- all Greek channels here are crappy Canadianized versions and not the real thing. So be happy that at least you get the real thing in the US-even though they might not all be on the same platform.

[likos]

As I mentioned to Harlem_reporter in an earlier post, if you are not happy with the situation then why not contact MEGA Channel in Greece and complain.

Well, I was saying that MEGA could have made it to Dish. But do I personally care if that channel is on my airwaves in the US? Nope.

[harlem_reporter]

Dish Network and DirecTV have similar commitments

Well, indeed: as we say in my village, "kai i (Home2US) milonou ton andra tis me tous pramateftades (Directv, Dish)"

And I am refering to credibility: I might be willing to make a 2-year commitment to DirecTV or Dish or Cablevision or Timewarner, because I do know that those companies will indeed be around after two years.

Can anyone offer a RELIABLE COMMITMENT that Home2US will not end up like SKYVISION, the company that used to carry Greek channels before Dish and went belly up?

When a giant with unlimited financial, legal and distribution resources like Directv drops a specialty ethnic package like the Greek after FOUR YEARS of trying to make that a success, well, that alone tells me that whoever drills his roof to install a Home2US dish for a third time after Skyvision and Directv will end up being a recurrent, third-time sucker . :nono: :nono: :nono: Sorry. :nono: