I abandoned cable TV about two years ago. I was tired of the high prices and outages. But, I was particularly perturbed at the pricing. My cable bill was at $187. It seemed to rise each month. What really irked me is that I had to pay for channels that I never, never watched. Never. MTV being just one. In fact, if it was just one MTV channel, I could have ignored it. That isn't the case. They had several MTV channels. But, that is just one example. I was tired of it. I had DirecTV when was married back in 2004. I thought the picture quality was outstanding. I realized all the horror stories of satellite TV were just that; stories.

So, after being tired of the high cable bills, I thought of DirecTV. But, a friend talked me into the Dish Network. I am glad he did now. They have as many, if not more, HD channels that cable. Cable likes to tout they have more. But, the quality of programming (how many people actually watch the Golf Channel on a given day?) was subpar, in my opinion. Two years later, I can see it was among my best decisions in life. Yes, Dish has channels I don't watch also. But, not as many as cable. I am extremely pleased with the Dish Network. Some are saying that with the advent of internet subscriber networks such as Netflix and Redbox, cable and satellite are on their way toward extinction. I guess Dish Network didn't get the memo. They just recently acquired Hughes Communications, a broadband provider. The internet connection speed has always been a drawback to satellite providers. I'm not sure what they are up to now.

I do know Dish Network is hiring now, which is a rarity among American companies these days. In you live in El Paso, Texas, it is a good day. Dish is going to hire 30-50 people. Dish Network will pay $8.25-$9.25 an hour. That's not money that will make you rich. But, it is good pay for those that are unemployed. So, I'd have to say that, at least in the case of Dish, satellite subscriptions are not going to end anytime soon. That may be the case with cable. But, they really have to do something about their pricing and programming structure to entice me back.

(DISCLAIMER: I am not a paid endorser of Dish Network. Just wanted to make that known.)