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Anything that calls for a contract and does not set some type of fix on pricing is the same old song and dance. You get a great price up front BUT then after a certain amount of time it goes back to regular price and THEN the price keeps going up at their discretion. All of this and still you are paying for channels you (will) never watch. Then, if you want out of the contract there is a termination fee or you ruin your credit or worse. There are a LOT of streaming options available now and frankly I wouldn't choose anything from DirectTV.
Dish Network was in my family for 15 years and I was happy with them. So when it was time for me to solely to assume the family account, I wasn't too happy with the pricing. I ultimately settled for their cheapest package. It didn't have ALL of my channels, but it did have majority of them. It was initially $55.00 a month. Then slowly and surely, the bill keep creeping up. It was 56.23, then 57.11, and so on and so forth. So finally, they hit me with a $64.00 bill. I told them WTF was going on? They replied that since I opted out of the price lock guaranteed package, they could technically raise my rates. And since the basic network provider's rates went up, they passed on those rates to the "unprotected consumers". In other words, broadcast systems like FOX, CBS, ABC, increased "their rates."
It didn't make sense to me. Those stations are free for me to watch, and yet, I'm being charged 8 additional dollars for channels that I can watch for free? Needless to say, I cancelled them and ate their ETO which was $220.00. I figured that I would make that balance up in six months, which I did. Oh yea, they charged me $45.00 for a restocking fee for me to send back their receivers back to them....
It didn't make sense to me. Those stations are free for me to watch, and yet, I'm being charged 8 additional dollars for channels that I can watch for free? Needless to say, I cancelled them and ate their ETO which was $220.00. I figured that I would make that balance up in six months, which I did. Oh yea, they charged me $45.00 for a restocking fee for me to send back their receivers back to them....
We pay $168 for triple play, but they would give us internet and phone for $90, so I think of it as $78 for TV (which includes $22 for equipment rental).
My local cable carries these sports channels on basic cable. Ideally they would be a $25 tier. Now Disney is going to sell ESPN as a streaming service in a few months, but they are not going to carry everything that is on ESPN on cable.
ESPN
ESPN 2
ESPNEWS
ESPN-U
CBS Sports
NBCSN
Comcast SportsNet
BTN
BTN (Alt1)
Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 2
Outdoor Channel
Tennis Channel
Golf Channel
We also have these news channels, but personally I can watch BBC News and they have pretty good reporting on American News without so many opinions.
No. Pinwheel Network started in 1977 and formally became Nickelodeon a couple years later when Warner Brothers bought the satellite transponder rights from the Bakker bible-thumpers. Pinwheel during that time was, well, an entire transponder that just carried that one show, "Pinwheel" all day long. Pinwheel did continue (reruns?) on nickelodeon well into the 80s during its golden age. I kind of vaguely remember seeing it on OPB in the mid 80s though I was a very small child then (so well within its demographic) so that was quite a long time ago.
Somehow, somewhere, there's got to be DVDs of it. I really hope Shout Factory people lurk on this site.
Quote:
Commercial free basic cable wasn't completely dead as MTV launched on August 1, 1981 where the revenue came from recording companies
No again, MTV has had commercials from its very first broadcast day.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuWDSnHWQbY[/url]
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1toVZvkcu4[/url]
All the new streaming options offer a 7 day free trial. Try them and see which one you like the best. Just be sure to cancel before day 8 or you'll be stuck paying for a month you don't want.
I have Sling TV and until tonight was very happy with the bandwidth speed. They are constantly signing up new members but not upgrading their system so on nights when something special is on, everyone and their mother is on there trying to view it. Needless to say, a lot of buffering goes on to the point you just want to throw a shoe at the TV.
I'm going to look at DirecTV Now because it has two stations that I watch regularly and it's offered in their lowest package. Also, they've worked out many of the bugs from their start up last November. People seem to be happy with it now.
I also learned that there's a new station called fuboTv. It's another standalone alternative to cable and satellite. I haven't really looked at the reviews but I would if I was thinking about trying them.
I also like the fact that I don't have to sign any contracts with any of these standalone options. I did that with DirecTV years ago yet they never wanted to lower my price when I called and asked. When I cancelled them, they were calling me every week, asking if I'd resign and offering me these great deals. I finally asked why they weren't making these offers when I was calling them asking for a lower price? <crickets> ... that's what I got. Finally said no thank you and please remove me from their phone list. Haven't heard a peep from them in months.
I recognize that it is impractical to have a streaming system that adds each individual channel a la carte. But I don't know why you can't add a corporation's products ala carte?
For example Turner Broadcasting System consist of
CNN
CNN International
HLN
TNT
Turner Classic Movies
Cartoon Network
Boomerang
TruTV
TBS
If I purchase YouTube Live TV I can't get any of these channels, because there is no contract with this company.
A+E Networks consist of
A&E
Crime & Investigation Network
FYI
History
History en Español
Military History
Lifetime
Lifetime Movies
Lifetime Real Women
Blaze
Viceland
Bio
If I purchase Play Station Vue I can't get any of these channels, because there is no contract with this company.
If I want to watch Discovery Channel, TLC, and Animal Planet I can't get Sling TV streaming.
I am not sure why we need a company that picks and chooses combinations of companies.
With the Video On Demand companies you buy them one by one.
Showtime charges $10.99/month or $109.90/year giving you a discount of two months for the up front payment.
Amazon Prime charges $10.99/month or $99/year giving you a discount of three months for the up front payment.
Acorn TV costs subscribers $4.99 a month or $49.99 for a year giving you a discount of two months for the up front payment.
Britbox charges $6.99/month with no annual discount.
Starz charges $8.99/month with no annual discount.
HBO Now charges $15.00/month with no annual discount.
Last edited by PacoMartin; 10-15-2017 at 03:58 AM..
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Needless to say, I cancelled them and ate their ETO which was $220.00. I figured that I would make that balance up in six months, which I did. Oh yea, they charged me $45.00 for a restocking fee for me to send back their receivers back to them....
