New Fee Coming To Basic Cable Subscribers

[landtuna]

If you have cable TV service, you probably have at least one set-top box in your house. On Monday, a federal rule change takes effect that could eventually force you to rent more cable boxes.


http://www.nbcnews.com/business/cable-subscribers-are-about-get-sneaky-fee-1C7476067

 

[Bengalsfan]

If 10-15% of a cable companies subscribers cancel the service they won't.

Hell, nevermind...I forget who I'm dealing with here. They'll pay it just so they can watch that damn Honey Boo-Boo. :-\

 

[KML0224]

(Comcast is the parent company of NBC Universal, which owns NBC News.)

Nice objective article there! Well...

 

[RadioMan203]

And these idiots are too dense to see the people cutting the cord? Well, this may make push a few more folks in that direction!

 

[Bengalsfan]

(Comcast is the parent company of NBC Universal, which owns NBC News.)

Nice objective article there! Well...

NBC objective? That is for to laugh.....ha, hahaha.

 

[KML0224]

Exactly! A television network owned by a cable giant shouldn't be publishing articles such as these!

 

[nomadcowatbk]

So what systems will have total encryption?

 

[crainbebo]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

 

[FreddyE1977]

Today (Monday, Dec. 10, 2012) I am officially predicting that an
"Obamaphone" program to pay cable bills for low-income people
will become reality in the not-too-distant future.

 

[quadraphonic]

Today (Monday, Dec. 10, 2012) I am officially predicting that an
"Obamaphone" program to pay cable bills for low-income people
will become reality in the not-too-distant future.

I agree. By April it will be here.

 

[kenglish]

I'm wondering how this and the analog/NTSC channel thing works together.

Right now, a lot of useful bandwidth is wasted, by carrying local stations in analog. There are also non-encrypted digital versions of those same channels, along with a few "bonus" channels (like shopping, C-NBC, C-SPAN, etc), and HD versions of the locals.
If the analog locals went away, it would simply mean more space for digitals...but you'd have to have their box if they are scrambled.

Last I heard, the NAB was still fighting to keep analogs "on".

 

[landtuna]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

They have the option, unless they live too far out in the boondocks, to buy a $10 indoor antenna from Target and go OTA. Better PQ and no cable bill.

 

[dhett]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

They have the option, unless they live too far out in the boondocks, to buy a $10 indoor antenna from Target and go OTA. Better PQ and no cable bill.

OTA isn't always an option. In many places, but especially in the Apalachians, topography makes OTA reception nearly impossible.

 

[landtuna]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

They have the option, unless they live too far out in the boondocks, to buy a $10 indoor antenna from Target and go OTA. Better PQ and no cable bill.

OTA isn't always an option. In many places, but especially in the Apalachians, topography makes OTA reception nearly impossible.

Wouldn't them folks be too busy a shootin' and a skinnin' to watch TV?

OK...getting serious now.....

The Bill permits cable companies to scramble their basic tier but doesn't require them to charge for a set-top box descrambler. I would think the company would consider their customer demographic before instituting a fee for a basic box but in any case it wouldn't be a huge amount. Chances are that folks in the mountains subscribe to satellite anyway and therefore are already paying for every box they have - basic service or not.

 

[Markxxx]

OTA isn't always an option. In many places, but especially in the Apalachians, topography makes OTA reception nearly impossible.

Don't forget us city people. I live in Chicago, three miles NW of Willis Tower, I went from 16 analog channels to ZERO digital channels. I don't know anyone in Chicago that can receive WBBM (RF12) OTA unless they have an antenna, not rabbit ears or silver sensors.

Oddly enough many suburbanites 30 miles away from Willis Tower can get WBBM RF12, with silver sensors and rabbit ears.

 

[LKellerIII]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

They have the option, unless they live too far out in the boondocks, to buy a $10 indoor antenna from Target and go OTA. Better PQ and no cable bill.

Easy for you to say. Some of us do not receive OTA signals adequately. Usually that means you live out in the boondocks, but I live in the heart of San Francisco. Unfortunately, I live on the southeast side of a hill with no sight-lines to Twin Peaks, where most of the TV transmitters are located. I am able to get our local NBC affiliate, because their transmitter is located a few miles to the south of me on Mt. San Bruno. I can also get the NBC station from Monterey, and the independent station from San Jose. But two NBCs and one mediocre indy station does not make for a lot of viewing choices.

Short of mounting a big ugly exterior antenna on my roof (and I'm not sure it would help), I'm stuck with either cable or satellite.

 

[Tom Wells]

Antennas are not ugly any more than flowers are ugly.

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, as is beauty.

 

[landtuna]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

They have the option, unless they live too far out in the boondocks, to buy a $10 indoor antenna from Target and go OTA. Better PQ and no cable bill.

Easy for you to say. Some of us do not receive OTA signals adequately. Usually that means you live out in the boondocks, but I live in the heart of San Francisco. Unfortunately, I live on the southeast side of a hill with no sight-lines to Twin Peaks, where most of the TV transmitters are located. I am able to get our local NBC affiliate, because their transmitter is located a few miles to the south of me on Mt. San Bruno. I can also get the NBC station from Monterey, and the independent station from San Jose. But two NBCs and one mediocre indy station does not make for a lot of viewing choices.

Short of mounting a big ugly exterior antenna on my roof (and I'm not sure it would help), I'm stuck with either cable or satellite.

I understand that digital doesn't cover adequately as did analog and coverage issues aren't limited to the boondocks. I have the same problem here with one VHF channel even though I am 8 miles line of sight to the towers. I was merely commenting on dhett's post.

I left SF before they built that big tower on Mt. San Bruno but I thought that virtually all SF radio and TV was transmitted from there now. Not true?

 

[Nate Wesley]

Today (Monday, Dec. 10, 2012) I am officially predicting that an
"Obamaphone" program to pay cable bills for low-income people
will become reality in the not-too-distant future.

I agree. By April it will be here.

And seeing as how no such 'Obamaphone' program actually exists, let's sit back and ponder the collective time wasted posting that particular statement and its follow up agreement.

 

[LKellerIII]

That is going to affect a LOT of seniors and low-income families. Many of these families relay on the local channels for TV watching. Adding a sneaky charge will hurt them money-wise.

-crainbebo

They have the option, unless they live too far out in the boondocks, to buy a $10 indoor antenna from Target and go OTA. Better PQ and no cable bill.

Easy for you to say. Some of us do not receive OTA signals adequately. Usually that means you live out in the boondocks, but I live in the heart of San Francisco. Unfortunately, I live on the southeast side of a hill with no sight-lines to Twin Peaks, where most of the TV transmitters are located. I am able to get our local NBC affiliate, because their transmitter is located a few miles to the south of me on Mt. San Bruno. I can also get the NBC station from Monterey, and the independent station from San Jose. But two NBCs and one mediocre indy station does not make for a lot of viewing choices.

Short of mounting a big ugly exterior antenna on my roof (and I'm not sure it would help), I'm stuck with either cable or satellite.

I understand that digital doesn't cover adequately as did analog and coverage issues aren't limited to the boondocks. I have the same problem here with one VHF channel even though I am 8 miles line of sight to the towers. I was merely commenting on dhett's post.
also
I left SF before they built that big tower on Mt. San Bruno but I thought that virtually all SF radio and TV was transmitted from there now. Not true?

I thought it was only KNTV (NBC) that broadcast from San Bruno, but decided to google a bit before I made a fool of myself...not a rare event, BTW ;D

KTSF (Foreign Language Ch 26), KKPX 65, and a couple of other low-rent TV stations broadcast from Mt. San Bruno, as do a whole bunch of radio stations.

But Sutro Tower on Twin Peaks is still the home to KTVU 2 (Fox), KRON 4, KPIX 5 (CBS), KGO-TV 7 (ABC), KQED 9 (PBS), KOFY 20 (Ind), and KBCW (the CW).

And by the way - my inability to get these Sutro stations OTA started decads ago, way before digital, and I can only assume they are worse now...though I haven't tried since I went "digital."

So most programming I would want to watch is not available OTA for me. And I might add that a big percentage of my viewing time is now with the cable networks who run great drama series (FX, AMC, etc.), and I still find enough good programming on HBO to pay the extra $10 per month.

So I guess I'm like lots of viewers these days who couldn't really get by with just OTA.