Comcast stoops to new low!

[raccoonradio]

A friend and his elderly parents are complaining about the loss of EWTN/Boston Catholic TV. They are
paying a low rate for just a few basic channels but were told they'd have to shell out $60/month or so
if they want to see masses, Mother Angelica, etc. I pay about $60 for my Comcast cable (plus another
$50 or so for internet) but for those on limited incomes, etc., they're gonna lose some of their
fave channels. Unless they pay up...
I believe I lost MSNBC and Tru TV, myself, though I still have EWTN (not that I watch it)

 

[BRNout]

Yes, these cable systems are predatory and nasty. And the reason they get away with it is because - by and large - they have NO competition. Why do I say NO competition? Here's why:

1) Direct TV/Dish is not reasonable competition to cable. Anyone reading this who has a wife and/or kids knows that you don't want to be stuck with all the TVs in the house being on the same channel. Nor is it cost effective to have more than one dish/transponder setup. Nor can you get broadband internet from these guys. At least not REAL service.

2) Verizon Fios, AT&T U-Verse, etc. could pose widespread competition to cable - but still cover far too small of a footprint. For work, I've had to do some moving around in the last 2 years. Where I lived in southern NH, there is no Verizon Fios service, nor will there be anytime soon. 40 miles from downtown Boston. Where I now live in a suburban section of PA's wealthiest county (Chester), Fios is not available. And, where I am about to move, in a nice suburb of Chicago right by the Lake-Cook County line, there is no AT&T U-Verse available. That's unbelieveable to me, yet it's true. AT&T really needs to get serious

So, from where I sit, these ersatz competitors have a long-long-long way to go before they pose a reasonable threat to the likes of Comcast, Time-Warner, etc. If affluent suburbs in the 20-40 mile range from massive cities cannot get these services, what of smaller cities and towns?

No, comparing cable companies with these "competitors" ends up being akin to comparing Macintosh apples with crab apples. At least for now.

In the end, Comcast knows that they can basically bully everyone and get away with it. After all, what will you do? Pull the plug? Then what? Sure, you can use an antenna and kiss the Discovery Channel goodbye. And your internet service too. Or, you can go with the dish - where you'll still have to cobble together some sort of a plan for your internet service that still is inferior to what Comcast offers. So, they treat us like crap and all we can do at this stage is vent on a message board.

Until folks like AT&T and Verizon get it together and offer their service packages to a wider geographic area, we're stuck. I know that I fully intended to switch to AT&T until finding out that their service is not yet offered in my new area.

Unless you live in, or very close to, a big city OR you want to live like the Unabomber, you're at the mercy of the cable companies. And they know it.

 

[Markxxx]

The phrase you're looking for is "REAL competition"

)

I too hate Comcast

 

[RadioMan203]

1) Direct TV/Dish is not reasonable competition to cable. Anyone reading this who has a wife and/or kids knows that you don't want to be stuck with all the TVs in the house being on the same channel. Nor is it cost effective to have more than one dish/transponder setup. Nor can you get broadband internet from these guys. At least not REAL service.

Well, with my DirecTV I can watch different channels on all the different televisions in my household, so I don't understand how you can make this statement. A single Dish Network or DirecTV dish can support multiple receivers - usually without any additional hardware with the exception of an additional set-top receiver for each television. My former neighbor had Dish Network and was able to use multiple receivers on his dish, so I know that's possible as well.

 

[CrankyYankee]

Re: EWTN...If I recall correctly, they provide the service to systems at no charge. (If that has changed, I didn't know about it.) However, with that in mind, it would appear that a cable company that puts a service that they get for free(excluding the electronics used to pull it down and send it along) on a tier that requires subscribers to pay an extra charge for the gadget to obtain it is making money at the expense of the free service. Granted, cable companies need to charge something to ensure they get the box back and to help out on wear and tear of the unit.

 

[BRNout]

1) Direct TV/Dish is not reasonable competition to cable. Anyone reading this who has a wife and/or kids knows that you don't want to be stuck with all the TVs in the house being on the same channel. Nor is it cost effective to have more than one dish/transponder setup. Nor can you get broadband internet from these guys. At least not REAL service.

Well, with my DirecTV I can watch different channels on all the different televisions in my household, so I don't understand how you can make this statement. A single Dish Network or DirecTV dish can support multiple receivers - usually without any additional hardware with the exception of an additional set-top receiver for each television. My former neighbor had Dish Network and was able to use multiple receivers on his dish, so I know that's possible as well.

Perhaps that's something that has developed in the years since I had such a system. Either way, I would think that it would cost a few bucks to install the infrastructure.

Can they provide you high-speed internet service?

You see, realistically, the dish providers do not pose REAL competition to cable. (Thanks Mark! )

 

[RadioMan203]

I don't know about Dish, but DirecTV installs up to a 4 receiver system for FREE when someone signs up. That's how I got my system. I've had it for years, moved several times and they will install/reinstall a new dish for a move. I've been very happy with it.

While I don't use it, DirecTV offers HughesNet, their high speed over satellite internet service. It's a bit pricey and I opted for DSL from the local phone provider.

So it depends on how you define "real" competition to cable - I know many people who have dropped cable and moved over to satellite television.