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Dish Network subscribers miss 'Walking Dead' season premiereYORK, Pa., Oct 18, 2012 (York Daily Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- April Lenhart and her 14-year-old son discovered something was missing Sunday as they flipped through their television channels. The Penn Township woman switched to Dish Network one month ago -- and, evidently, picked up an outdated channel guide. AMC wasn't there. Neither was the season-three premiere of "The Walking Dead," the most-watched drama series episode in basic cable history. The show was watched by 10.9 million people. Lenhart -- and others in York County who subscribe to the country's second largest satellite TV provider -- were left out of the fun. "We didn't even know we didn't have the channel," said Lenhart, 37. "We watched seasons one and two, so we were really excited." Earlier this year, Dish Network, which also carries "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," dropped the channel after its contract expired. The companies failed to reach a new agreement. Dish contended that the New York-based channel was charging too much. AMC offered Dish customers the first episode of The Walking Dead free online. The show's Twitter account, @Walking Dead_AMC, instructed followers to switch TV providers to view the rest of the season. But not many people took the suggestion, said Larry Bloom, owner of Springettsbury Township-based Freedom Wireless. Dish Network is the company's biggest business. Freedom provides about 1,500 people in the York-area with the service, Bloom said. "A couple people," he said, switched to DirecTV this summer when the dispute between AMC and Dish erupted. No one, he said, has switched since Sunday. "This has been going on for a while," he said. "It isn't something that just happened." Some local "Walking Dead" fans say they didn't switch providers, hoping that a deal to carry AMC would be reached. "We were keeping our fingers crossed the night before the premiere that they were going to put it back on," said Louie Davidson, 41, of Penn Township. "It never happened." Davidson switched to Dish Network several years ago after DirectTV eliminated the FX channel. On Sunday, he was frustrated, and resorted to streaming "The Walking Dead" premiere online after it was over. "Is there a way to black out Dish Network " he added. "People don't buy gas at certain times to boycott 'big oil,'" he said. "Is there something we could do to show customer concern over this " Timi Stump, 34, resorted to customer complaints to AMC. They referred her to the online streaming of the first episode of "The Walking Dead." Stump moved into her parents' York Township house about four years ago, and urged them to switch from Comcast to Dish Network. She wanted the Boomerang channel, which reruns older cartoons, such as "Powerpuff Girls." When she moves out -- which should be soon, she said -- she's calling Comcast. "As much as I'd like Dish, I won't get it," she said. "You pay a lot to not get your channels." [email protected]; 771-2062 Where's the zombies Pending a new contract, Dish Network dropped AMC, which premiered "The Walking Dead" season three on Sunday. We asked York Daily Record/Sunday News Facebook fans if the situation affected their television programming. Here's some responses: --- "My mother's boyfriend was heartbroken that he couldn't see his favorite show!" -- Kalida Landis --- "My husband wasn't happy." -- Amber Breneman --- "Oh yeah! But we were able to watch the live stream. Not sure what we are going to do now ..." -- Jenny Citterman Outten --- "My dad is bummed! And after reading everyone's status updates about how good it is, I am kinda bummed that I won't be able to check it out." -- Michelle Wheeler ___ (c)2012 York Daily Record (York, Pa.) Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at www.ydr.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |