DISH, Texas: The town that changed its name for free cable TV

Russell Falcon
·4 min read
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(NEXSTAR) — With streaming prices becoming more and more expensive, there’s maybe never been a better time to wonder: What would you do for some free TV?

One Texas town you might never have heard of took this question to heart back in 2005. Welcome to DISH, Texas — formerly known as Clark.

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Originally established in 2000, the area is located about an hour’s drive outside Dallas. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, there were a total of 437 residents. But Clark’s population was even smaller (125) back in 2005, when the city made a deal with EchoStar Communications Corp, which operates the Dish Network satellite system, to change its name to DISH.

In it for the people of Clark? Ten years of free Dish service, which NBC News reports was estimated at the time to be worth about $4,500 per household. The city council, which consisted of two people, unanimously voted to become DISH.

And while then-Mayor Bill Merritt hoped a decade of free cable TV would help draw in potential residents or businesses, not everyone was happy about the decision. Mostly, the city’s previous namesake, founder L.E. Clark, who said, “I don’t especially like it. I worked my butt off a little over a year getting it incorporated.”

DISH city mayor Bill Merritt, left, stands with Michael Neuman, president of Dish Network, after unveiling a DISH City Limit sign, on Nov. 16, 2005, in DISH, Texas. The city of Clark renamed itself DISH, Texas, for a decade. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
DISH city mayor Bill Merritt, left, stands with Michael Neuman, president of Dish Network, after unveiling a DISH City Limit sign, on Nov. 16, 2005, in DISH, Texas. The city of Clark renamed itself DISH, Texas, for a decade. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

What’s more, though residents did receive what was promised to them, some would later question how much good the deal ultimately did. News of the partnership didn’t permeate nationally the way some similar deals (Half.com, Oregon, anyone?) did in the past. While DISH’s residency has grown over the years, it was likely not the influx officials had hoped for.

Moreover, some residents told the New York Times and other outlets about the fine print of the deal. While DISH city signs advertise “the home of free satellite TV,” the “free” part only applied to basic service, not premium channels like HBO. Residents said their monthly bills could be up to $80 with add-ons. Other residents told NYT they had difficulty setting up the service because customer service representatives didn’t believe these customers were meant to be receiving free service.

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The deal finally expired in 2015. Though then-Mayor William Sciscoe said at the time he hoped to extend the free cable TV agreement, no extension was ever put forth.

Nexstar reached out to the City of DISH to ask if city officials have considered changing the town name back to Clark — or something else — now that the Dish Network agreement has long expired.

“There have been several discussions on changing the name back or to something different,” a City of DISH representative told Nexstar this week. “But no action has ever been taken towards making a change.”

Other odd Texas town names

And while DISH stands out among little cities with weird names, the Lone Star State has more than a few of those. Here are a few others.

The strangest Texas town names: How to say them, and how they got there

Welcome to Bug Tussle Texas sign (south of Honey Grove, TX). (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Welcome to Bug Tussle Texas sign (south of Honey Grove, TX). (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

  • Bug Tussle — According to Texas State Historical Association, the most popular theory behind the Fannin County town’s name is a notorious insect invasion that reportedly ruined a local church’s ice cream social

  • Cut and Shoot — Local legend claims the name for this town originates back to a 1912 community discussion over some issue at the town’s sole church, wherein a local boy reportedly yelled, “I’m going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!”

  • Jot ‘Em Down — Although generally referred to as Bagley, this community got its name from locals’ nickname for a store built in the area in 1936, according to Fred Tarpley, author of “1001 Texas Place Names.” The store was colloquially called the “Jot ‘Em Down,” which was a fictional store in a popular radio program at the time. Later, an actual store called the Jot ‘Em Down Gin Corporation, was formed in town, leading the state highway department to use the name as the community’s official name

  • Nameless — Local nonprofit Friends of Nameless School previously told KXAN News that the name came about after early residents in the 1880s were frustrated after their proposed community names kept getting rejected because the name was already taken elsewhere. As the story goes, a joke about “letting it be nameless” developed into a reality and Nameless was born

Nexstar’s Caden Keenan and Kelsey Thompson contributed to this report.

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