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The Monopolies get monopolier -- TWC buysout Comcast (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Run It Up
- Start date
Mr. Pickles
Footballguy
I had assumed they were the same already.
The General
Footballguy
All you TW folk out there here's what you are getting into: I have 2 HD cable boxes with DVR, HBO and Showtime, sports package that has NFL Network, Big10 network and some other sports stuff, and internet with Comcast. The service is actually pretty decent, they add new features from time to time, everything works well.
My bill is about $170 and that's with calling them up and haggling for about 20 minutes every 3-6 months as the bill always seems to creep up to around $200.
Seems crazy to me but it is what it is.
My bill is about $170 and that's with calling them up and haggling for about 20 minutes every 3-6 months as the bill always seems to creep up to around $200.
Seems crazy to me but it is what it is.
The General
Footballguy
the moops
Footballguy
so twc is not buying out Comcast?
mquinnjr
Footballguy
Seriously, I think the angle is making Comcast pay a small fortune for all of those channels that they have to offer to even compete, basically hold them hostage to hold them at bay. Also, even if Comcast were to outbid D* for exclusivity, I don't even think they have the bandwidth to do 15+ dedicated HD channels for this. All their seasonal sports packages like Extra Innings, League Pass, etc. are all in SD. One movie channel per premium network in HD.
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TwinTurbo
Footballguy
Yeah it reminds me of AT&T attempted acquisition of T-Mobile that regulators didn't approve. This one is even worse. It would be like if AT&T and Verizon merged.
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
Cable access, a true monopoly.
The last reliable statistic shows that a mere 2-percent of American markets had a choice of cable providers.
The last reliable statistic shows that a mere 2-percent of American markets had a choice of cable providers.
The Big Guy
Fear the Blitz
I don't see why this is a huge issue in that they don't service the same people. If you want to complain about there being no ability to choose which cable company rapes you monthly then sign me up.
Comcast xfinity service is generally ok until it sucks, which is often.
Comcast xfinity service is generally ok until it sucks, which is often.
snogger
Footballguy
My first impression of the $170/Month was
But I did see that included your internet.. Still, my guess is Cable alone is $100 a month or more for you?
We are tired of paying $90 a month and this fall will be "cutting the cable" << That thread there has enough information to cover 95% of what we watch..
The only thing I will "lose" is Monday night football and 8 Thursday Night games(CBS is airing 8 of the games).. But at a savings of over $800 a year it is worth it to us.. so many other things to spend that $800+ dollars on..
HellToupee
Footballguy
$170 = Cable/phone/internet but its easy to get kicked down to $99-129 bundlesMy first impression of the $170/Month was
But I did see that included your internet.. Still, my guess is Cable alone is $100 a month or more for you?
We are tired of paying $90 a month and this fall will be "cutting the cable" << That thread there has enough information to cover 95% of what we watch..
The only thing I will "lose" is Monday night football and 8 Thursday Night games(CBS is airing 8 of the games).. But at a savings of over $800 a year it is worth it to us.. so many other things to spend that $800+ dollars on..
If you are a TW customer this great news for you
bro1ncos
IBL Representative
Obviously you have never dealt with Comcast customer service.$170 = Cable/phone/internet but its easy to get kicked down to $99-129 bundlesMy first impression of the $170/Month was
But I did see that included your internet.. Still, my guess is Cable alone is $100 a month or more for you?
We are tired of paying $90 a month and this fall will be "cutting the cable" << That thread there has enough information to cover 95% of what we watch..
The only thing I will "lose" is Monday night football and 8 Thursday Night games(CBS is airing 8 of the games).. But at a savings of over $800 a year it is worth it to us.. so many other things to spend that $800+ dollars on..
If you are a TW customer this great news for you
Big Guy stated it perfectly before:
zamboni
Footballguy
Possibly, but I'm not so sure. Here is market share on cable companies: http://www.ncta.com/industry-data/item/217#.UTYWcjvjEhk (click on table).
Comcast is #1 by a smidge over DirectTV, and while TWC would clearly strengthen the #1 position, customers still have the option to go with DirectTV or Dish. Probably will come down to whether regulators believe that DirectTV/Dish are reachable in enough communities (satellite capability) to enable sufficient competition..
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The Kerminator
Footballguy
This can't be good for society in general. Too much cable TV will lead to shorter attention spans among our youth. Next thing you know our high school graduates won't even be able to write thread titles that match the stories.
phrozen
Footballguy
Zasada
Footballguy
Why does anyone care about this? Are there any homes in the US that can actually be served by both? I moved from a TWC-only home in Houston to a Comcast-only home in Chicago. I've been under a cable monopoly for the last 15 years, as such.
Thankfully I'm a DirecTV customer for TV. Have no choice but to go with Comcast for Internet because UVerse is so horrible at my house.
Thankfully I'm a DirecTV customer for TV. Have no choice but to go with Comcast for Internet because UVerse is so horrible at my house.
mquinnjr
Footballguy
Not if you live in the Philadelphia area and ever want to watch the Phillies, Sixers, or Flyers. They do not give the signal to their sports channel to D* in at least (AFAIK) Philadelphia and Houston markets. That is absolutely utilizing monopoly power.
Courtjester
The Town Drunk
Comcast Internet is fast and their alarm system has been a good addition for my family. Their customer service is :X
That being said--we have 2 HD-DVRs and 3 other digital boxes, all the movie channels, their blast tier internet, landline phone, alarm system and toss in a few PPVs and our bill hovers around $330.00 a month. Mind you, that is with a promotion-which expires next month and my bill will then go to close to $400.00
We are going to be shaving that down come March because that is like a car payment....
That being said--we have 2 HD-DVRs and 3 other digital boxes, all the movie channels, their blast tier internet, landline phone, alarm system and toss in a few PPVs and our bill hovers around $330.00 a month. Mind you, that is with a promotion-which expires next month and my bill will then go to close to $400.00
We are going to be shaving that down come March because that is like a car payment....
Johnny Rock
Footballguy
First they came for my cable company, and I said nothing. Then when they came for my DirecTv...oops they must've cut my signal. I'd block this if I was the FCC. But I have imperfect information. The banks are too big too.
Treynwreck3
Footballguy
This is me. DirecTV, Comcast (internet), AT&T (cell). Uverse was terrible, I'll never go back. The only reason that I have ATT is for cell service at the ranch. It's the only carrier that covers our little place in the desert.
The General
Footballguy
Calling Comcast Customer Service is usually one of the more painful, aggravating things there is. Using bundles to lower the cost used to be pretty easy and would save you significant amount of money from your bill in the neighborhood of 30-40%. Recently that hasn't worked as well. Not sure if they are cutting these back or just luck of the draw when I have called.$170 = Cable/phone/internet but its easy to get kicked down to $99-129 bundlesMy first impression of the $170/Month was
But I did see that included your internet.. Still, my guess is Cable alone is $100 a month or more for you?
We are tired of paying $90 a month and this fall will be "cutting the cable" << That thread there has enough information to cover 95% of what we watch..
The only thing I will "lose" is Monday night football and 8 Thursday Night games(CBS is airing 8 of the games).. But at a savings of over $800 a year it is worth it to us.. so many other things to spend that $800+ dollars on..
If you are a TW customer this great news for you
It's complete BS that you have to call up every 6 months or so to "rebundle" the exact same crap to lower your bill but whatever. Seems really fishy that they provide you with the exact same service but can somehow drop 30% off your bill with a few keystrokes.
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Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
I have basically the same deal with Comcast. Was 119.00 for 6 months, was going to jump to 188.00, I haggled and got it down to 124.00, that was going to jump to 190 something after 6 months..could not get it down much so I called to cancel. They put me through to a couple of problem solvers. After about 30 minutes on the phone I ended up with a 12 month deal for 114.99 minus Showtime. That is including my High Speed internet. Best deal I have landed in quite awhile.
@General. I really think it is the luck of the draw on who you talk to. Some people won`t budge..then other spend half an hour trying to make things work. The last one I had was some black dude from Detroit..we ended up talking MSU basketball and he kept saying hang on..let me take 50% off of this and 50% off your box. When he gave me 114.99 as the total for 6 months I said. "Can you make that for 12 months so I do not have to call back" he sure "12 months it is" I actually asked him if he had a direct line I could call him back on the next time.
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The General
Footballguy
That's awesome. Totally agree on the person you get. Used to have a person that was good but they don't work there anymore.
Last time I haggled, I got a person who spent about 20 minutes doing all the math, they are telling me we'll get the best deal, we were chit-chatting, I'm being nice, all is well. They finish up the math and the bill was now more by about 2 bucks.
Mr.Pack
Footballguy
I have all that with DirecTV for about $70/mo, add in my $34/mo internet from TW and I'm paying roughly $105/mo.
snogger
Footballguy
It's calledCalling Comcast Customer Service is usually one of the more painful, aggravating things there is. Using bundles to lower the cost used to be pretty easy and would save you significant amount of money from your bill in the neighborhood of 30-40%. Recently that hasn't worked as well. Not sure if they are cutting these back or just luck of the draw when I have called.$170 = Cable/phone/internet but its easy to get kicked down to $99-129 bundlesMy first impression of the $170/Month was
But I did see that included your internet.. Still, my guess is Cable alone is $100 a month or more for you?
We are tired of paying $90 a month and this fall will be "cutting the cable" << That thread there has enough information to cover 95% of what we watch..
The only thing I will "lose" is Monday night football and 8 Thursday Night games(CBS is airing 8 of the games).. But at a savings of over $800 a year it is worth it to us.. so many other things to spend that $800+ dollars on..
If you are a TW customer this great news for you
It's complete BS that you have to call up every 6 months or so to "rebundle" the exact same crap to lower your bill but whatever. Seems really fishy that they provide you with the exact same service but can somehow drop 30% off your bill with a few keystrokes.
and traps suckers.. like myself a few years back.. 
We had Dish Network for 5 years and never once thought about the fact that once the two years were up I was no longer under contract and one simple call could have lowered my bill..Instead, for over 3 years I paid the inflated cost and then switched to DirectTV to get the lower bills.
Had we decided to stick with DirectTV this fall when my contract is up I'd be on the phone getting all the benefits of a new customer.
Instead we've decided to "cut the cable" and go with a OTA, Roku, Google Chromecast with Netflix + Hulu Plus and save the $800+ for other things.
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Sarnoff
Footballguy
While they don't compete directly against each other in the individual market, they compete against each other in the city-wide market. You may not have a choice of which cable company you get service from, but, Topeka, Kansas as a whole does.
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
What has worked for me when all else fails I ask "When am I paid up till?" " They say March 5th or whatever" I then just say "Ok on March 5th I want everything disconnected" That is when I am transferred to a couple of different people up the chain. The thing that sucks is that I really do not want to leave Comcast. I am so used to the DVR and channels and love their HS internet.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
I live in a Manhattan building with RCN, TWC and Verizon. The former is unreliable but I play the other two off each other. My 75Mb FiOS is $84 per month but the VoIP and cable are relatively cheap (I forget the numbers but it's double play at triple play pricing).
Mr.Pack
Footballguy
Exactly.
I ditched DirecTV last June for TW. In August I ditched TW and went back to DirecTV.
No comparison really. DirecTV is better in every way.
That said, TW's internet is good.
Rayderr
Footballguy
<--comcast shareholder
HellToupee
Footballguy
same here , down 3.77%
Rove!
Footballguy
Black Box
Footballguy
Ok, ok, you winComcast Internet is fast and their alarm system has been a good addition for my family. Their customer service is :X
That being said--we have 2 HD-DVRs and 3 other digital boxes, all the movie channels, their blast tier internet, landline phone, alarm system and toss in a few PPVs and our bill hovers around $330.00 a month. Mind you, that is with a promotion-which expires next month and my bill will then go to close to $400.00
We are going to be shaving that down come March because that is like a car payment....
mquinnjr
Footballguy
http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/13/technology/comcast-time-warner-cable-evil/Calling Comcast Customer Service is usually one of the more painful, aggravating things there is. Using bundles to lower the cost used to be pretty easy and would save you significant amount of money from your bill in the neighborhood of 30-40%. Recently that hasn't worked as well. Not sure if they are cutting these back or just luck of the draw when I have called.$170 = Cable/phone/internet but its easy to get kicked down to $99-129 bundlesMy first impression of the $170/Month was
But I did see that included your internet.. Still, my guess is Cable alone is $100 a month or more for you?
We are tired of paying $90 a month and this fall will be "cutting the cable" << That thread there has enough information to cover 95% of what we watch..
The only thing I will "lose" is Monday night football and 8 Thursday Night games(CBS is airing 8 of the games).. But at a savings of over $800 a year it is worth it to us.. so many other things to spend that $800+ dollars on..
If you are a TW customer this great news for you
It's complete BS that you have to call up every 6 months or so to "rebundle" the exact same crap to lower your bill but whatever. Seems really fishy that they provide you with the exact same service but can somehow drop 30% off your bill with a few keystrokes.
Rayderr
Footballguy
cstu
Footballguy
Don't waste your time talking to anyone besides the cancellation dept. Immediately say you want to cancel and they'll transfer you to someone who can help you.
HellToupee
Footballguy
best advice is that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Be nice & retention will probably really help you out. Be a jackass & probably not so much. Remember when you call they see every time you've called previously & why you did.
