Orby TV, a satellite TV service that started in 2019 as a low-cost alternative to DIRECTV and Dish, has mysteriously deleted all contents of its web site except for one line saying it’s no longer “activating customer accounts.”
Update: Orby TV Goes Out of Business
The satcaster’s customer help line has a recorded message echoing that Orby is no longer activating customer accounts, and its Facebook page appears to have been removed. Orby TV also has a YouTube page with 1.26 thousand subscribers, but all content has been removed.
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The TV Answer Man has been unable to reach Michael Thornton, Orby’s CEO, and a former Starz and DIRECTV executive. When we called a Beverly Hills, California phone number listed for Orby at various business web sites, the person answering said it was a private residence which had nothing to do with Orby.
Eric Becker, a former Starz executive who now runs a private public relations firm called Becker PR, has done public relations work for Orby in the past. But when asked today if he knew the satellite TV service’s status, he said he did not work with Orby any longer and was unaware of its current status.
Some Orby TV subscribers have posted messages on social media sites saying they are still receiving programming as of today.
Orby TV, which has been available in every state but Alaska and Hawaii, started in 2019 as a response to the escalating cost of cable and satellite television. Orby’s monthly cost is $40 for its base package, which is considerably less than DIRECTV and Dish.
Like DIRECTV and Dish, Orby delivers signals to your home via a small satellite dish and receiver, which can be purchased at Best Buy and other retail outlets. However, Best Buy today is not selling new Orby receivers, only reduced-priced ones on “clearance.”
The TV Answer Man will try to learn more about Orby’s status and report back when we get more information.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
Why is ORBY TV going out of business? Who’s gonna watch the Over The Air Channels?
This is really bad that ORBY TV is goiung out of business what about the Customer’s bills how will they pay? if ORBY TV goes out of business.
This is very bad if ORBY TV goes out of business how will the ORBY Customers pay their bills? This is very bad that ORBY TV is going out of business
Why come they didn’t tell no costumer about it what going happen to my service
It is not a surprise if Orby TV has gone out of business. The competition is tough. Orby TV was a similar service to Philo Streaming Service but much cheaper at $20 a month compared to Orby TV at $40 a month. I would not be surprised if another service has purchased Orby TV & its technology. Dish Network is a likely candidate to purchase Orby TV. It is surprising that the Orby TV website would disappear with an announcement first.
Rest assured…DISH is N-O-T buying ANYTHING satellite for ANY reason…SATELLITE TV is D-E-A-D and N-O-T coming back…ORBY is GONE and had a faulty plan form the start…AT&T and Directv is next and DISH WILL EXIT soon too…
I do not like dish tv and Orby tv gave me channels Dish and Directv would make you pay for, this absolutely sucks
“ORBY” was dealing with the TRUE “BOTTOM FEEDERS “of the OLD and DIEING “satellite” tv game…Most had had it with the incompetent idiots at DirecTV which IS dyeing (along with AT&T btw) and DIsh has it’s own N-O-N “satellite tv” agenda (as in 5G life)…SATELLITE TV is DEAD and IF you “livz in da country” then you WILL have to go BACK to the days BEFORE satellite tv in MANY places UNTIL fiber OR cable gets the broadband pipe to you.
LET me say it again (for those of you that rode the “short bus” to school)…
SATELLITE
TV
IS…
DEAD !!!!!!!!!!
Wow I didnt ride the short bus, but I would rather pay lower prices then those overrated prices and satellite worked for me, wo now I guess prices will go even higher, who the crap cares for a stick and trying to find things to look up to watch, smh
Quit being a jerk. There are thousands of us living in rural areas that don’t have broadband and don’t receive over the air signals due to terrain and distance. You comment was rude and ignorant. There is a market for satellite tv and while it is no longer a priority market, it still remains as a market that somebody needs to serve.
LET ME ASSURE YOU that the ONLY service that will be left standing in the future for a little while longer will be what is left of DISH…AT&T has committed to EXIT the satellite business and that WILL LEAVE you ONLY one provider until Ergan pulls the plug one DISH YOU “MAY” get saved by SATELLITE internet but if you truly live in the sticks your choice for TV will be VERY unreliable and COSTLY into the future in ANY event…MY COMENT STANDS !!
Rean, yep. Just lost the programming today 😞. Still get a handful of local stations
That’s from the antenna. That should work indefinitely.
Of course their going out of business.. Sigh.. I put up with the so called equipment,fake promises & other stuff for 2yrs & the day I have Directv installed & go to cancel them I can’t log into my acct,call nor get a response back via email!! So now what the heck do I do!! If there’s any lawsuits out there against them I so wanna know!!
CAN;T SUIT an “empty bag”…rest assured any “assets” gained are WELL protected…
I’ve only had them for a month. If they
are going out of business I want my money back for the equipment I purchased.
WA WA WA…you represent the “TYPICAL” tv viewing BOTTOM FEEDER…YOU expect HUNDREDS of CHANNELS for LITTLE MONEY and did NOT use the brains you MAY or MAY NOT HAVE to see the COMMON SENSE that NO WAY NO HOW do you get a free DEAL with ANYTHING in the U ASS A…FACE is bubba…YOU COULD NOT AFFORD Directv which has spiraled into a JOKE run by the morons at AT&T…DISH could CARE LESS if you buy or not because THEY will be exiting the business soon too…SO you went with the cheap deal and expected STEAK for HAMBURGER PRICES… A “DEAL” that was TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE” and got your freeloading bubba (uknow what) HOSED GEE…WHAT a “surprise”…Basically YOU got what you DESERVE…HOSED !!! STOP complaining and YOU have about as much chance at getting your $$ back as you do winning the power ball lotto… GO TAKE MORE MEDS !!
I got the channels I wanted for cheaper prices
Okay. So Mr. Swann since you have more than 2 decades of reporting on TV technology, can you advise those of us who have been left hanging and don’t know what to do on what we should switch to? Not interested in another satellite like Direct and Dish. Help please?
THIS one is EASY…and I HAVE 40 years in satellite tv…
DIRECT TO HOME SATELLITE is
D
E
A
D
NOT coming back…PROGRAMMING too expensive AND the SATELLITES cost zillions to place and PAY FOR…PROFIT IS TOAST and SO
ARE YOUR “options (/choices”)
ORBY was a JOKE to start with and NO ONE knew it better then their CEO…STAB AND BLEED operation…
YOU M-A-Y be able to get some sort of UN THEATERED 4 G service but YOU GET TO PAY for all the programming PLUS the internet data…IF YOU DON’T have CABLE in your area (or like MOST were DISCONNECTED for NON PAYMENT and OWE A BALNCE to be re-hooked) then YOU had best GET an NEW HOBBY !!
This was a childish answer, were was the solution, I do not owe any cable company because I have been with satellite for years, so what is your solution for me. Just pay the higher price and shut up, is that it?
so, you PAY for your “soon to be defunct” SATELLITE SERVICE with Craig’s list personals ?
Dave M, you are about the smartest dummy I ever seen write. You know that dummy who really thinks he is smart but is the most dumbest person in the room. I had them blocked from taking auto pay from my account, but still receive service. But guess what I’m having another satellite installed tomorrow, maybe you can come over and watch sports. Or maybe you enjoy playing with your stick🤣🤣🤣, you may like trying to find channels that way, searching and screaming and going to different apps to find a show, wow so up to date, who wouldn’t like surfing the box to download what you.
Ya you can have “another” sateililte installed UNTIL THEY buy the farm too. You have ONLY and AT BEST a few years left before ALL satellite is GONE for ever.
Directv will be the next to disappear.
When the fiber gets to the sticks there will not be enough satellite customers to pay the electric bill let alone make a profit…I REPEAT…
SATELLITE TV IS DEAD.
(and bty SO IS “CABLE” only thing the FUTURE holds for ANY [provider is INTERNET) …
Orby went toes up early this morning. I’m still getting some of the channels, many have disappeared. Waiting to see if broadcast channels remain once the corpse is in the ground.
As of this morning, no satellite programming on Orby. Still getting OTA signals. I paid almost $600 for equipment/installation at the first of this year, so two months of programming at $54 a month comes to almost $1000…..for two months of service. I want my money back.
YOU have about as much chance of getting a “refund” as you do winning the lottery !!
KISS IT GOODBYE !!
Why are you even commenting here? You do nothing but hurl jabs and insults at people while hiding in the “interwebs. They have a legitimate gripe. If you have something thoughtful to add, great, but you don’t need to insult people to do it. By the way, caps lock IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.
True Answers would be nice instead of insults.. (Thanks Perry)
i think the money should be returned for the useless equipment that will not work no where
ORBY thanks you for your…DONATION !!!!!
Wow. Dave is so smart. I feel like a complete idiot for not wanting to pay for all the channels that I didn’t watch on Dish. I talked to Best Buy and they say that ORBY is planning on some refunds for equipment but I guess that is all lies since the all knowing Dave says that won’t happen. I wonder how and why Dave even found this page , well, unless he had ORBY and was looking for what happened to it. So Dave, most of us don’t really need your insults and opinions unless you have some facts to back them up. Maybe in the future there won’t be satellite TV but I think it will be there for a while. I think Dave is really mad at ORBY for some reason. I’m not so sure that Dish didn’t buy out ORBY but we probably won’t ever know that since it might create a monopoly. But I’m just another idiot so I may be wrong. Right Dave. Ok the forum is open to insults now.
Well you obviously have the IQ of a house plant and for SOME reason you have “awarded” your useless self an “opinion” that has MORE HOLES in it then a swiss cheese.
DISH did NOT buy “orby” DISH is NOT interested in ANY form of satellite tv at ALL. DISH full well KNOWS that the FUTURE is in some form of WIRLESS INTERNET and 5 G service and has placed it’s money there.
DISH does not have to BUY anything. When AT&T shuts DirecTV DOWN and files for the inevitable bankruptcy it WILL have to do, DISH if it wants to, be will BE THE ONLY “survivor” and you can believe that they will NOT pay anyone because they DON’T THAVE TO.
You either buy your couch potato a** habit from THEM of go back to riding a bike for pastime. YOU are a TOTAL IDIOT and know absolutely NOTHING about the satellite and TV business.
Sad to see this company go out of business, it was perfectly priced.
I was considering becoming an Orby installer
Only had service for less than 2 months. I would like a refund on equipment, at the least. That was a total rip-off!!!!