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Hate The Cable Box? Comcast Has a Plan

T

TheBigA

A few weeks ago, the FCC was talking about allowing cable subscribers to own their cable box. Now Comcast is experimenting with a possible option.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...some-tv-customers-ditch-set-top-box/83296556/

In the past, I've compared paying a monthly fee for a cable box to renting your phone from AT&T. Obsolete idea. Get rid of those boxes. Get rid of the monthly charge. We all know the cable company will just increase the service fee anyway to make up for the loss. But it's the principle of the thing.
 
This sounds like what is already being done by Charter, Time Warner, and other cable systems of offering a package of channels through streaming devices like Roku. I have the TV in my daughter's room set up with the Roku stick with Charter's app and no cable box. It works for her because she only wants the Disney and Nick channels and Cartoon Network. Unfortunately the Roku app doesn't have local channels, ESPN, or The Weather Channel, which I want on at least the TVs in the living room and my bedroom, so I still need cable boxes there.
 
TheBigA said:
A few weeks ago, the FCC was talking about allowing cable subscribers to own their cable box. Now Comcast is experimenting with a possible option.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...some-tv-customers-ditch-set-top-box/83296556/

In the past, I've compared paying a monthly fee for a cable box to renting your phone from AT&T. Obsolete idea. Get rid of those boxes. Get rid of the monthly charge. We all know the cable company will just increase the service fee anyway to make up for the loss. But it's the principle of the thing.
Click to expand...

It's those tricky hidden increases that always frost me. As an early blu-ray adopter, I remember that Netflix added an additional fee for blu-ray over regular DVD. Within less than a year, blu-ray was the norm, so Netflix had effectively been able too increase their basic rate without the inconvenience of actually announcing an across-the-board increase and pi$$ing everybody off. IIRC, Comcast did the same for HD. Cable and satellite will always find a way to raise fees when customers "upgrade," even though the upgrade is just new technology that becomes the norm in a short period of time They will continue to do this unless and until there is a huge move toward cord-cutting. All the cord-cutting posts on this website used to annoy me, but now I'm looking into doing it myself.

I estimate I would save around $100 per month, because I would have to pay for some additional streaming services to take up the slack for programming I now receive from satellite.
 
My problem is that I haven't added anything in the last year, yet my cable bill has increased by 10%. No changes, no improvements in service, no nothing. Just another 10%.

It would be nice to drop the $2.50 a month for each cable box.
 
Your cable charges increase another 10% per year while the cable company's advertising on your equipment invites new subscribers to get 2 years for 70% less than you are paying; and each year the promotional rate remains the same while your rate increases. You and I are nothing to them as loyal customers subject to monopolization. As long as you remember that it makes it much easier to get rid of their services without having to deal with their undue influence tactics.
 
Silkie said:
You and I are nothing to them as loyal customers subject to monopolization.
Click to expand...

It's a regulated monopoly, which means they're allowed to screw you. But the monopoly is changing, as new competition is popping up. I think the new competition is why they're doing this.
 
Could be, except where they have sole franchise rights from local governments complicit in giving them the monopoly.
 
TheBigA said:
It's a regulated monopoly, which means they're allowed to screw you. But the monopoly is changing, as new competition is popping up. I think the new competition is why they're doing this.
Click to expand...

There may be a monopoly in some areas, but not all. In my area I have the choice of 4 different TV providers: Verizon Fios, Comcast, Directv, and Dish. When I had problems with Comcast I switched to Directv. When I had enough of Directv I switched to Fios.
 
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