Dish today is instituting a three-year price lock for new customers, the same day it’s raising monthly prices for existing customers.
The three-year guarantee, which replaces Dish’s previous two-year price lock for new customers, is good for anyone who agrees to a two-year agreement for a Dish America’s Top programming package or above. The America’s Top plans start at $79.99 a month for new customers.
Dish says it wants to ensure that new customers keep the current price for three years because the inflation rate has hit a 40-year high.
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“Consumers today are facing real challenges when it comes to managing their finances,” Brian Neylon, group president of Dish TV, said in a statement. “We’re proud to announce stability for Dish customers with a 3-Year TV Price Guarantee that enables households to easily budget their entertainment costs through 2025 and beyond.”
The two-year agreement is a binding agreement and subscribers who cancel prior to the end of the two years must pay a penalty of $20 a month for every month left in the two years.
That can be painful and existing customers today know something about financial pain. As announced last month, Dish today is raising monthly prices on current subscribers by $5 a month. Dish, like most pay TV distributors, has raised its prices annually for several years, citing rising programming acquisition costs. The satcaster did increase its program acquisition costs last month when it settled a carriage dispute with Disney for its 17 channels, including ESPN.
However, new customers at least can count on their package rates staying the same for the next three years. And the price lock applies to programming plans, local channel plans and equipment. (The Dish-owned Sling TV is not part of this promotion.)
Dish tells the TV Answer Man that no date has been set for how long the three-year price lock will be available. Customers interested in learning more about the DISH three-year price guarantee can visit Dish.com.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
How will that affect the merger with direct, if and when?
Too bad they won’t lock in the channels too. My biggest gripe with Dish before I cut the cord and went to YouTube TV was that I kept losing channels that I cared about with no recourse (“go buy an antenna”).
So much for appreciating their existing customer base and inspiring loyalty…