The honeymoon may be over.

I’ve been with DishNetwork for a long time, & for the most part, I’ve been very happy with them.  I love the programming choices, DVR technology, & occasional free preview weekends for premium channels.

But I’ve also overlooked a lot about them that I haven’t liked.

They took away FX, AMC, IFC, & WE for a while when negotiations with those networks wasn’t going well.  Yet they never gave us a break in pricing for the missing channels.

They took away WPIX, which I really liked, because it isn’t local enough to be a “local channel” & they aren’t required by law to carry it.  (Nice, huh?  They’re not required by law, so screw you.)  Yet they never lowered programming prices to reflect the loss of a channel.

My DVRs have died on me twice, & while they replaced them for free (only because I pay their monthly “insurance” fee), they’ve never offered an option to back up the shows I had recorded…& which meant a lot to me, I’m moderately embarrassed to admit…& can never get back, & won’t upgrade my DVRs unless I pay through the nose for it.

Every time we get a storm, the signal goes out completely.  It never used to do this, but now it seems to happen all the time, sometimes even when the weather isn’t that bad.  And in response to my complaints, they tell me, “Eh, it happens.  We can’t control the weather.”

And I have tolerated it all.  Thrown the occasional fit, but sucked it up & let it go, because the good mostly outweighs the bad.

Now, though, they may have pushed me too far.  They’ve taken away Cloo, one of my favorite channels.  Their excuse is that the programming on Cloo is similar to programming available on other channels, so why bother?

But are they offering a replacement or…wait for it…lowering our monthly charges?  Hell, no!  Of course not.

So let’s just call this what it is, shall we?  A way for them to offer less but still rake in the same big bucks.  And in response to my complaint about this [malfesance], I get yet another brush-off company line:  “Our agreement does stay that programming & charges are subject to change.”

Uh-huh.  Well, I’m subject to changing my mind about which cable provider I subscribe to.  I really don’t want to…my DVRs are full, I can work the system with my eyes closed, & I’ve got all of the channel numbers memorized.  But this one may just push me over the edge.  I think it’s time to start investigating other companies & see if I can find someone who does carry Cloo so I can have my favorite all-day marathons back.