Protest Ed Schultz Firing by DUMPING Comcast Cable and move to Satellite service NOW!

[cascadiance]

Those out there who have the ability to get a satellite service where they live should protest Comcast and MSNBC at the same time by dumping Comcast cable if that's what they are carrying and move to either Dish Network or DirecTV. Now I've been told that DirecTV is being acquired by AT&T, so if you have the choice, I'd say go for Dish Network first.

By doing so, you will gain access to other alternatives to MSNBC for liberal talkers through gaining access to channels like FSTV (Free Speech Television), LINK, RT, and Al Jazeera America.

Free Speech TV will allow you to get shows like the following on a regular basis:
Democracy Now with Amy Goodman on FSTV and LINK
Thom Hartmann's radio show on FSTV
Thom Hartmann's hourly RT show on RT America
Stephanie Miller's radio show on FSTV
Bill Press's radio show on FSTV
Mike Papantonio's Ring of Fire on FSTV
David Pakman on FSTV
Laura Flanders on LINK
Sonali Kolhatkar on FSTV
Karel on FSTV
Davey D on FSTV
Gay USA on FSTV

And many other regular shows that have progressive content such as:
Pirate Television on FSTV
Bioneers on FSTV
Fault Lines on Al Jazeera
DW News from Germany on LINK
France 24 on FSTV and LINK
Earth Focus on LINK
and so many other liberal documentaries, etc. on these channels.

If you've been thinking of making this move, why not do it now or perhaps go to a ROKU box for more internet streaming options, and you will be most likely to find where Ed Schultz winds up next, get a ton of more progressive content from alternative channels from the corporate media crap that now MSNBC seems to have joined at the behest of their Comcast owner.

If enough people do this, it will hit both Comcast cable and MSNBC in the pocketbook at the same time for this decision when they lose cable subscribers and MSNBC viewers at the same time and send the message to him that people will go to non-corporate media if MSNBC won't offer shows that give us something to watch. And you will gain a lot of other viewing options that you didn't have before. We all win and most importantly, if all done now, Comcast will be seen as a loser in this if we can do enough of this all at the same time and have it noticeable.

Perhaps if enough do it, maybe it will also pressure Comcast to add FSTV and these other channels to their offerings to expand their reach to others that can't switch to satellite service for whatever reason. And if done now, perhaps in time before the 2016 election when it will help get a lot more progressive coverage of that election available to everyone.

[onecaliberal]

1. I already did that 3 years ago.

[cascadiance]

4. As so many of us had. Just those on the fence should choose NOW to do it...

... where they both get the benefits from such a move and at the same time hopefully if enough do it all at once, send Comcast a visible message that they and so many in the corporate media need to have sent to them.

[onecaliberal]

12. I understand. I don't think they give a rats ass though.

[cascadiance]

14. You're probably right, but it's worth a try...

If enough were to move to satellite or somewhere else that they might notice, then they might start to be more concerned about making long term trends worse. And if any time were right when many things converged, it would be now as the time to do it. I wonder how many of the progressive crowd have gradually weaned themselves off of corporate media news over the year that still is a potential BIG market if reasonable news channels were available to everyone? I suspect it's a lot higher than many people realize, including their bean counters.

I know that I used to watch CNN all of the time when Ted Turner owned it and up through to Bushco's Iraq war or about the time when the media really got consolidated after the 1996 Telecomm bill.

[RKP5637]

2. I feel sorry for those that might be stuck somehow with Comcast. It's horrible. n/t

[RKP5637]

3. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. Isn't "getting hit in the pocketbook" what got him canceled?

[cascadiance]

6. So they claim...

I remember him being moved to a time slot that arguably couldn't get as much revenue or audience. If they aren't acknowledging that as part of the basis for loss of audience, then I don't think they are being honest on what was his fault and what was due to other circumstances.

This kind of protest move not only hurts MSNBC, but Comcast itself with its cable operations.

[rick-forMainetruth]

7. MSNBC firing Ed Shultz

I'm very disappointed in MSNBC!!! anyone have their phone no. or email address? We need to respond enmasse. Also would be nice to have a list of their sponsors,can anyone help with me with this?

[cascadiance]

8. It was interesting to read this comment about a conservative activist COMCAST shareholder...

... who was complaining in an earlier stockholder's meeting about how MSNBC was too liberal and that COMCAST would get hurt by conservative subscribers dropping COMCAST cable for other media services like satellite and internet, etc.

He was shot down by management pointing out that MSNBC was on all of the other services, so that they could be equally unsatisfied with liberal content on all of those other services too.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/activist-shareholders-target-msnbc-comcasts-523269

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/right-wing-anti-msnbc-campaign-612724

So this kind of activism has been tried/threatened by the right too. And it's different in our case, because Ed is being taken away from basically all venues. I don't bitch and moan to Dish about how we should leave Dish because they carry Glen Beck's The Blaze and want to go to another system where they don't carry The Blaze. I just don't watch that channel and watch all of the other good stuff they have instead.

Certainly Dish Network recently had to give in to a lot of Fox News demands when they had contract negotiations problems with Fox and were probably losing subscribers as a result of that. I say we put the same kind of pressure on COMCAST!

[appalachiablue]

16. You did a great outline of everything good about Dish. Have had it 3 years & very pleased

esp. with Free Speech TV, and all the programs and documentaries they provide. Thom H. has to use Comcast for some of his weekday program phone service and it's erratic at times. He's mentioned how conservative Comcast is, even compared to GE, MS/NBC's previous owner. People should switch now. T. also mentioned today that Ed might get an MSNBC afternoon slot, 3PM but not sure. That's a very bad time.

[mmonk]

9. Already did.

[AZ Progressive]

10. Do you think they care?

Look at Netflix, when they doubled the rate for both of their services, a whole bunch of people cancelled their subscriptions but in the end it was hardly a drop in the bucket and Netflix ended up losing only a relatively few subscribers but had a clear net gain in revenue.


You are not the center of the universe and that fact is clear outside of your own head. Boycotts only matter if you can get the critical mass needed, otherwise its a waste of time. Good luck getting that with a cable show that had been already dying.

[Vinca]

11. ????? I've had Directv for years. It's how I can watch MSNBC.

I've heard horrible things about Dish Network, so that's out. Unfortunately, I can't get signals from the HDTV satellite because of trees so I can't get Free Speech TV. We need to face facts. MSNBC and just about every other media outlet is corporate owned and, by and large, they don't like lefties. I'm completely pissed off by the changes at MSNBC, but I don't think they could care less what I think.

[meow2u3]

13. Fortunately, I don't like in Comcastville

Even more fortunately, I already canceled cable--6 months ago!

[B Calm]

15. Did that in 1982 when I went to a ten foot satellite dish and everything was free. I now switch

back and forth from Dish to Directv every few years. DirecTV is ten times better than Dish. Light rain doesn't effect the picture, but with Dish cloudy skies effect it.

[cascadiance]

17. I dumped direcTV when they got their "local coverage" of networks screwed up...

... from what the FCC wanted right about the time of the NCAA tournament during the year that my school last went to the sweet 16. Even when I bought the extra CBS package to get fringe games that weren't carried on the networks, I couldn't get the games I wanted to see as they were supposed to be aired by the local television stations, and DirectTV was messed up with their coverage and Dish Network was playing by what the FCC wanted them to do. Switched and never went back since.

DirecTV added FSTV recently and I was thinking of moving back to them when Dish for a while had Big Ten Network offline, but when they fixed that I stuck with them.

I think they're for the most part equivalent in terms of programming now, but I was looking at another's comment about the AT&T thing, which would have me worried if I was a subscriber of theirs.

Have been concerned about Sirius satellite radio too since they merged with XM too, and whether as a monopoly they'll cut back on liberal talk radio too, but so far it's been ok. Perhaps they realize that if they do that, many people like me will drop them and move to a car radio which can access wifi and cell streaming to get services like Tune-in, Pandora, and Slacker instead, which I'd do in a heartbeat if they did that.