Over the past couple of weeks, my husband and I have been discussing our finances, specifically where we can cut a couple of corners to save money for my brother-in-law's upcoming destination wedding. His immediate response when looking at what our monthly bills was to cut DirecTV, saying that we can easily re-subscribe to Netflix for about a tenth of the cost. I responded with "heck no!", namely because I love Food Network and a couple of other channels that I can't get through Netflix. But, this was before the dispute between Viacom and DirecTV came to the public's attention, and now that we all know what is going on, and we no longer have access to channels that we are paying for, let's just say I'm a little ticked!
Viacom is the company that offers channels such as Spike, Nickelodeon, MTV and VH1 to name a few, all of which have been "temporarily" dropped due to their dispute. What's the fight over? Well money of course! USA Today reports DirecTV has increased their prices very steadily over the past 7 years (52% total, tripling their income!), pocketing almost all of the increased revenue, instead of passing the buck on to its supporting companies, like Viacom. Viacom is demanding a 5% increase from DirecTV, and simply feels that it is what is due to them. Viacom says that they do not think that DirecTV has any right to raise their prices again because the money is already there.
To make matters worse, DirecTV thought they were being clever by stating online that their viewers could tune into several Internet websites to access their favorite shows that they are now missing out on. Viacom quickly responded by pulling their live streaming shows on Hulu and sites like Comedy Central.
What's the big deal? Well, subscribers aren't getting any kind of discount for starters. We didn't receive a notice in our mailbox, email, or anything other than a 48 hour runner on the now cancelled channels. How did DirecTV handle it you may ask? They gave all subscribers free access to eight Encore channels, but again, didn't bother to let us know. I found out when I read the USA Today article! How perfect that all of this happened the same week that we are learning about PR practitioners, because let me tell you, I think they need to get a new one!
In the past year and a half that we have had DirecTV, similar things have happened; but the disputes were settled before it really affected the viewer. But this one doesn't look like it's going to end quite as quickly, if at all - which is why viewers like me not happy. Just yesterday, I was watching CNN, and they were discussing how over just a decade ago, cable was a luxury: something that most homes in the US didn't have. I know my home was one of the many that had only the six local channels for entertainment, and it wasn't a big deal. Now, cable TV is a must have, because although it is common, it's exclusivity now reaches every member of the house, from ESPN for most Dads, to Food Network or Lifetime for the Moms, and of course Disney and Nickelodeon for all the kiddos. How did it get so out of hand, and so fast?
Needless to say, if somethings don't change, and I mean fast, they will lose one of their 20 million subscribers...
If you are a DirecTV viewer, you can call 1-800-531-5000 to help get these channels back.
This story with DirecTV is just one of a LONG LINE of stories with them and their unhappy customers. I subscribed to them back when you had the little machine with an activation card in it. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another with them from service being interrupted or mysteriously being charged for “new” services that I never even used. This all started more than a dozen years ago and I actually stayed with them up until about five years ago when I finally snapped. These companies need to remember that there is almost always a competitor out there just waiting for their in. I wouldn’t hesitate to cancel them and switch. I can’t believe you have to call to try to get your channels back!
ReplyDeleteCable TV is one of the predominant ways Americans receive the shows they want to watch in the comfort of their own living room. There are some disadvantages of cable TV that some do not think about when signing up for the service.
ReplyDeletePackage Deals- Cable TV companies offer package deals in which you can have your cable TV service, phone service and Internet service through the same company. If you are late paying your bill or if there is an interruption in the company's service, all three of these services are likely to go out as a result.
Cost-When compared to the cost of other types of TV service, like satellite TV, cable tends to be more expensive. This is especially true if you want channel packages that include premium movie channels like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and others.
Less Variety-Cable TV companies generally do not offer the variety of channels that other types of providers offer. With satellite TV, for example, people living on the West Coast can watch events live when they are only broadcast live on the East Coast.
Lower Quality-According to a recent article on MSNBC.com, some cable TV customers complain about the quality of their high-definition programming.
I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that some companies could be so greedy. First, they think about just themselves and not even the customers or subscribers that bring them the money they are fighting over now. If Direct TV have increased their prices to about 52% why wouldn't they just increase Viacoms' by just 5%. I mean i do not have cable but that just sounds reasonable to me. I think these companies should start thinking about their customers rather than just themselves before they loose the thousands of subscribers they have.
ReplyDelete