Hallmark, Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Food Network, Animal Planet, Travel Channel & OWN

[rpcameron]

Hallmark went offline 20 November, and Discovery channels on 5 December. That's over a month for Discovery, and 7 weeks for Hallmark.

Are there any updates regarding the state of these missing channels, or have negotiations failed and the current lineup is final?

(As someone considering the switch from cable to OTA, Premium TV would be acceptable for many of the missing channels. While some of the channels watched in my household have never been available on Premium TV, most are. Of course, overall picture quality needs to improve, too.)

[cjwalkeriii]

I'm wondering the same. And to top it off the Food Network app stopped working in Kodi. The wife is getting a bit disgruntled.
Either way is fine but I need to know. Thanks.

[darcilicious]

Hallmark went offline 20 November, and Discovery channels on 5 December. That's over a month for Discovery, and 7 weeks for Hallmark.

Are there any updates regarding the state of these missing channels, or have negotiations failed and the current lineup is final?

I suspect that (as has been posted before) this is all in the hands of lawyers and as such, the update ultimately will be: channels will be restored or channels will not be restored. There won't be any "updates" before then. That's just how these things tend go...

[rpcameron]

Hallmark went offline 20 November, and Discovery channels on 5 December. That's over a month for Discovery, and 7 weeks for Hallmark.

Are there any updates regarding the state of these missing channels, or have negotiations failed and the current lineup is final?

I suspect that (as has been posted before) this is all in the hands of lawyers and as such, the update ultimately will be: channels will be restored or channels will not be restored. There won't be any "updates" before then. That's just how these things tend go...

Actually, they've stated other places (other topics, news sites, etc.) that they have no hand in getting the channels returned. SD is relying upon their upstream provider to negotiate the return of the channels. Some other providers using the same upstream provider have access to the missing channels, so what the status is seems to be unknown.

If anyone can offer some concrete or official answer it'd be much appreciated. However, I'd wager we hear nothing more until the channels are returned, or upstream gets tired of negotiating and the channels are permanently removed.

[NYPlayer]

For now best to assume they will not be back and signup for $25.... if they do come back then pay the additional $10. We have no control. It is still a good deal to be able to record the offered channels.

[ACraigo]

For now best to assume they will not be back and signup for $25.... if they do come back then pay the additional $10. We have no control. It is still a good deal to be able to record the offered channels.

Agreed.

Now if they could just make the channels they do have worth recording we'd have something. Right now we have squat - and are paying for it. If the going rate for squat is $25 a month, then we're getting what we're paying for, but personally, my expectations are a little higher. SD must be counting on some pretty low expectations from their user base because low expectations are absolutely what is required to find PTV a viable alternative to just about anything else.

Right now we're hanging on to record some awful stuff. Pretty soon (already happened - for those not paying attention) that jewel is going to become very cloudy.

[NYPlayer]

For now best to assume they will not be back and signup for $25.... if they do come back then pay the additional $10. We have no control. It is still a good deal to be able to record the offered channels.

Agreed.

Now if they could just make the channels they do have worth recording we'd have something. Right now we have squat - and are paying for it. If the going rate for squat is $25 a month, then we're getting what we're paying for, but personally, my expectations are a little higher. SD must be counting on some pretty low expectations from their user base because low expectations are absolutely what is required to find PTV a viable alternative to just about anything else.

Right now we're hanging on to record some awful stuff. Pretty soon (already happened - for those not paying attention) that jewel is going to become very cloudy.

Yep they have to offer a quality product … nothing worse than watching low quality video on a HD TV.

[ycavan]

There is something worse, not being able to watch tv.

As far as expectations? SD sold me access to channels and we appreciate those channels. Some jerk upstream decided to not like SD selling access to certain channels, so lawyers are involved now.

In all of this, SD IS A CUSTOMER as well as a provider. It's their first foray into the wide world of streaming tv. They're doing what they can with the resources available to them.

It sounds like your trying to force SD's hand by threatening to quit their service because they somehow owe you more than the access ( to the streams ) to watch tv. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

I don't know about other people, but I'm quite happy that SD is helping subsidize other options with their $10 credit.

Anyway, stay or go... You have the power to make your own choices based on SD's current situation.

[Riddler]

I am happy an content with the outcome. I shopped around and looked for providers that had the channels I watched. No one else out there had ESPN, CNN, FOX, Disney, Discovery and Food Network. For $35 and get something as close to a la carte as I could get was awesome. Then, this is all speculation mind you, someone noticed the package SD was providing and decided they had too much. It was going to kill thier bottom line so they took away some channels. So now you have a bunch of providers with all different channels. YouTube, ***** and ***** all offer different channels but you have to buy 2 different ones to get overlap to get what SD had. I appreciate the hard work you do and $25 for ESPN, Disney and CNN with the other channels is priced right.

[scubajwd]

I am happy an content with the outcome. I shopped around and looked for providers that had the channels I watched. No one else out there had ESPN, CNN, FOX, Disney, Discovery and Food Network. For $35 and get something as close to a la carte as I could get was awesome. Then, this is all speculation mind you, someone noticed the package SD was providing and decided they had too much. It was going to kill thier bottom line so they took away some channels. So now you have a bunch of providers with all different channels. YouTube, ***** and ***** all offer different channels but you have to buy 2 different ones to get overlap to get what SD had. I appreciate the hard work you do and $25 for ESPN, Disney and CNN with the other channels is priced right.

+1

[clarkss12]

I am happy an content with the outcome. I shopped around and looked for providers that had the channels I watched. No one else out there had ESPN, CNN, FOX, Disney, Discovery and Food Network. For $35 and get something as close to a la carte as I could get was awesome. Then, this is all speculation mind you, someone noticed the package SD was providing and decided they had too much. It was going to kill thier bottom line so they took away some channels. So now you have a bunch of providers with all different channels. YouTube, ***** and ***** all offer different channels but you have to buy 2 different ones to get overlap to get what SD had. I appreciate the hard work you do and $25 for ESPN, Disney and CNN with the other channels is priced right.

+1

+2

[freway01]

I recently dropped my SD subscription because of these lost channels. Currently subscribed to DirecTV Now and was about to pull the plug on Direct when the channels started dropping. We only watch a few cable channels and 5 of the dropped channels happen to be some of them.

When they get these back, I'll sign up again, but until then, I have to keep Direct.

[jbis]

I'm going to quit as well. I love the idea and what SD has done but losing those channels was the last straw. When they get them back and fix all the audio sync issues, I will gladly return.

[KingLear]

Sadly I have unsubscribed and switched to ***** now that they have an app on AndroidTV. Please keep pushing for your current projects (UI refresh, stage 2 picture quality and lost channels) and I will be gladly reconsidering. Ok, between you, me and this screen I will be back as soon as the F1 season starts on ESPN

[Sammy2]

Premium TV at at $25 combined with my phriend fill-o works quite well for me..

Is maybe this the reason for the loss of these channels?

...the (NBC Streaming) service will bring in content from other companies like Sony, Discovery and Warner Bros..."