NFL Sunday Ticket / NFL Network - Article - Page 2

DanGarion · 03-24-2009, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galaxy

With the new price that DirecTV is paying, I wonder how much NFL Ticket will go up.

I'm pretty sure they already pass some of the cost to their normal customers as well. I was really hoping this would be the time that the contract was exclusive, other then the people that just ultimately hate cable or a certain cable company, I feel this is one of the only things that gives DirecTV an advantage.

lordscarlet · 03-24-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

I'm pretty sure they already pass some of the cost to their normal customers as well. I was really hoping this would be the time that the contract was exclusive, other then the people that just ultimately hate cable or a certain cable company, I feel this is one of the only things that gives DirecTV an advantage.

That and the better picture and customer service. And more HD channels than many (most?) cable networks.

Oh, and the cheaper service. Did I miss anything?

gstelmack · 03-24-2009, 12:25 PM

You missed the $300 they wanted me to spend to get the MPEG-4 HD-DVR, after spending $400 + $300 on HD stuff over the prior 4 years. If they had just given me the upgrade then, I'd still be with them, rather than waiting until I called to cancel.

I also found their customer service to be slowly waning. With the price increases and decreasing service, they were fast becoming a cable company. So I jumped ship to my cable company to avoid the $300. I do miss them sometimes.

Honolulu_Blue · 03-24-2009, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

That and the better picture and customer service. And more HD channels than many (most?) cable networks.

Oh, and the cheaper service. Did I miss anything?

I know I am in the vast minority of people, but almost all of my customer service experiences with Comcast (both cable and internet) have been exemplary, while my few customer service run ins with DirecTV (some billing issue they messed up and cancelling their service due to a move) were nightmares.

I would like more HD channels. Not having any of the Center Ice Package channels in HD is a serious downer.

Ksyrup · 03-24-2009, 12:32 PM

About the only problem I have with DTV is that I still can't get locals in HD. I believe Lexington Is the largest city/surrounding area that still doesn't get locals in HD. Antennas are sporadically effective, at best.

DanGarion · 03-24-2009, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

That and the better picture and customer service. And more HD channels than many (most?) cable networks.

Oh, and the cheaper service. Did I miss anything?

All subjective upon your personal experiences. Read all the posts prior to mine, I was commenting based on what others were saying. My personal experiences with DirecTV HD services are pretty bad. I was at a friends recently and good portion of the channels would work intermittently and then scramble out. He said he's had that problem since the HD channels were activated, it would have annoyed the hell out of me. If I was a customer I would have called and had someone come out and fix it, just like I would with my cable TV services when I have problems with it.

DanGarion · 03-24-2009, 01:05 PM

Good and bad experiences with any service are subjective to the customer. For every customer that has any service we will always here about 10 times more bad experiences compared to the good services, regardless of the company. I've heard of bad experiences with DirecTV, U-Verse, Time Warner, Cox, FiOS, Comcast, etc, and I can relate to them all, because ultimately we are all the same service and the reason the companies are in business is because they are all doing something right.

Atocep · 03-24-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I know I am in the vast minority of people, but almost all of my customer service experiences with Comcast (both cable and internet) have been exemplary, while my few customer service run ins with DirecTV (some billing issue they messed up and cancelling their service due to a move) were nightmares.

I would like more HD channels. Not having any of the Center Ice Package channels in HD is a serious downer.

I've had the exact same experiences. Trying to cancel DTV (due to a move also) was the worst experience I've ever had with customer service. I ended up getting billed 2 additional months before they finally canceled me. Then to dispute a bill you have to mail them a letter giving the reason you're disputing the bill. They won't do it over the phone, they won't accept an email, and they will not take a fax.

I've had comcast for 2 years and its been nice. Not perfect by any means, but better than Directv and I've missed the sunday a ticket a hell of a lot less than I expected.

larrymcg421 · 03-24-2009, 01:17 PM

Comcast no doubt has terrible customer service. If you call in 5 times with the same problem, you will likely get 5 different answers that are all the official "policy".

However, the deal theyre giving me with the cable, phone, and internet package is way too good to pass up. I just hit the sports bar during football season.

Galaril · 03-24-2009, 01:39 PM

Yeah, I have direct tv but have refused to pay the ridiculous price of $250 for the NFL season ticket. If I notice my prices go up much and the season ticket price is not jacked up much it will be time to say fuck off Direct TV and go back to comcast.

Logan · 03-24-2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Good and bad experiences with any service are subjective to the customer. For every customer that has any service we will always here about 10 times more bad experiences compared to the good services, regardless of the company. I've heard of bad experiences with DirecTV, U-Verse, Time Warner, Cox, FiOS, Comcast, etc, and I can relate to them all, because ultimately we are all the same service and the reason the companies are in business is because they are all doing something right.

I really don't know if TW NYC does anything right. We've had a cable modem issue that we can't get a bit of help with.

gstelmack · 03-24-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

because ultimately we are all the same service and the reason the companies are in business is because they are all doing something right.

What they were "doing right" was providing TV better than an OTA antenna could do so. They also grabbed monopolies for the most part on doing so. This is like saying AT&T was "doing something right" right before it was broken up just because it was in business, when in fact telecomm options exploded quickly after they were no longer the only game in town and there was now incentive to innovate...

ISiddiqui · 03-24-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arles

I've also noticed a much better picture with DirectTV over cable on the few HD channels cable had.

*Shrug* Direct TV is notorious for overcompressing their HD Channels, even more than most cable providers.

Arles · 03-24-2009, 02:41 PM

The only reason I went DirectTV was I had to go to the Cox store 3 times and have 4 different techs out to fix my cable box. What was great about it was that the tech wasn't able to bring the right box on the 2nd time so the tech came out, verified my box wasn't working, had me drive across town to get a new box, then came the next day and had the same problem.

That and the fact that cox would go completely out once a month for no reason in our area. Since I've switched, I've had zero outages, paid almost the exact same per month ($10 more, but I have full DTV on 4 TVs, instead of 1 on cable) and get 90 more HD channels. So, I'd be hardpressed to knock DirectTV given the past 18 months and my dealing with our local cable company.

Oh, and my parents have the cable company I had and they've had two rate hikes in the past 24 months so it may be more expensive to have a digital cable box on 1 TV over full directTV on all 4 my TVs (w/ sunday ticket, but that's extra).

Ksyrup · 03-24-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galaril

Yeah, I have direct tv but have refused to pay the ridiculous price of $250 for the NFL season ticket. If I notice my prices go up much and the season ticket price is not jacked up much it will be time to say fuck off Direct TV and go back to comcast.

DTV just upped package prices this month, so I doubt they'll do it again that soon. But who knows.

Raiders Army · 03-24-2009, 03:22 PM

We have been with DirecTV for a long time. They just sent us a portable DVD player for taking the time to answer some questions on customer service. It was a total surprise and we didn't know we were going to receive the player or were going to be eligible to receive the player.

It's a cheapo one, but free is free.

albionmoonlight · 03-24-2009, 03:30 PM

I missed the fact that DirecTV pays the billion even if the NFL locks out.

Still worth it for them, IMO. But the NFL sure didn't let them get away cheap.

Samdari · 03-24-2009, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I missed the fact that DirecTV pays the billion even if the NFL locks out.

Still worth it for them, IMO. But the NFL sure didn't let them get away cheap.

I think the networks have similar provisions.

The players just have no leverage in their battle with the owners this time. The owners might profit more by not playing.

Daimyo · 03-24-2009, 04:23 PM

My parent's have had Directv for almost 15 years now and while their experience was really good at one point its gone down hill a lot in recent years. Their DTV Tivo finally broke a few months back and they had to get the directv DVR and it is absolutely horrible. They also had to get a box replaced because the first one they shipped was DOA and the customer service was laughably horrendous for something that should have been very simple.

I have Dish Network now (only because my wife is Chinese and Dish has significantly better international programming options than the other providers) and it is just OK. I like the HD options but the DVR is much worse than the Tivos I had used for years with cable (although much, much better than the Directv DVR my parents have). The picture quality for HD channels is probably trivially worse than cable, but the SD quality is actually better. The worse thing is that every now and then it "skips" similar to a scratched DVD.

I had Comcast before and I liked it okay.... never really had an issue and the price wasn't that bad. Before that I had RCN and really hated it.

Eaglesfan27 · 03-24-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

But, if I were DirecTV, I would pay Howard Stern level money to keep the exclusive Sunday Ticket rights. I really think that, without Sunday Ticket, DirecTV has no advantage over cable for most people who live in the city.

Absolutely. It was the only reason I got DirecTV installed as soon as possible when I got my house. I love DirecTV's service and have had much better care from them than I ever did with Cox Cable in New Orleans, but I never would have switched if it wasn't for Sunday Ticket. For me, the money is worth it to be able to watch every Eagles' game in the peace of my house on my big screen TV.

DanGarion · 04-08-2009, 12:21 PM

Back from the dead.

Poll: Comcast Slams The NFL For Pulling Their Football Channel

Quote:

On May 1st, the NFL is pulling its cable channel from Comcast's cable line-up over a dispute about the cable company's sports tier. As the deadline looms larger and larger, the company is taking their case to the people.

I haven't heard the exact $$$ on the MLB Channel but so far it seems like they are doing it the right way.

Honolulu_Blue · 04-08-2009, 12:33 PM

This story is growing as tiresome as the Comcast/Big Ten Network dispute the terrorized this part of the country for much of last year.

Comcast and the Big Ten Network finally got things worked out and the BTN was put on "basic" cable in both regular and high def. I watched some old Michigan games on that channel the first week and watched part of one actual game last season and haven't been back to the channel since then. Ever.

As for the NFL Network, I lost this channel over a year ago when they switched it to the sports package. I haven't missed it. At all. I like their pre-Draft stuff and draft coverage, but last year they streamed their NFL Draft coverage and that worked out just fine for me.

Still, I feel like for the price I am paying for just "basic" cable (no premium channels or anything like that), I should be getting pretty much every channel under the sun and everything in high def. My cable bill is out of control. This whole high def thing was the best thing that ever happened to them. It really gave them the perfect excuse to raise prices.

ISiddiqui · 04-08-2009, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

I haven't heard the exact $$$ on the MLB Channel but so far it seems like they are doing it the right way.

For me, the MLB Channel is on the Sports Tier... so, I'd still have to pay for that. Of course I'm sure their fees aren't as high as like ESPN or something.

Honolulu_Blue · 04-08-2009, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

For me, the MLB Channel is on the Sports Tier... so, I'd still have to pay for that. Of course I'm sure their fees aren't as high as like ESPN or something.

Same here. That's another complaint I have. I but the NHL Center Ice Package, but the NHL Network is not included in that. To get that, I need to buy the Sports Tier. That's super lame.

sooner333 · 04-08-2009, 01:30 PM

NFL Networks is on my sports tier, but I like having that tier. I wouldn't get it, but I need a digital box anyway for the DVR, so I get the package. I get NFL Network, MLB Network, ESPN U, ESPN News, Fox Soccer, ESPN Classic, Versus and a few others I don't really watch. It's a pretty good deal for $5/mo, especially considering I can get NFL, MLB, and Versus in HD.

Ksyrup · 04-08-2009, 01:31 PM

On DTV, MLB and NFL Networks on included with the Choice Package, which is a step above the most basic package you can buy. NHL and Tennis are on Choice Extra. Oddly, it appears that NBA TV is the only league network you have to buy DTV's Sports Pack to get.

DanGarion · 04-08-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

For me, the MLB Channel is on the Sports Tier... so, I'd still have to pay for that. Of course I'm sure their fees aren't as high as like ESPN or something.

I feel the MLB Channel gives more value because there are games everyday and they appear to have tons of live content because of that.

I think it's on our variety or sports tier here (can't remember since I get free services). But it's also in HD as well, which is a big plus to me.

DanGarion · 04-08-2009, 02:39 PM

Talking about the MLB Channel, here is a article about their launch and what they learned from the NFL's mistakes.

MLB Network Hits a Home Run: How baseball learned from football’s mistake and pulled off the biggest cable launch ever. | The Big Money

Quote:

For the past couple of weeks, Comcast (CMCSA) cable customers have been receiving a message on their TV sets from the ghost in the machine known as the cable executive. The message tells them that the NFL Network will disappear from their service starting May 1. Nothing unusual about that: Every few months, most cable companies go through a refresh; channels move, marginal ones are dropped, and some lineup additions are made. So why is Comcast breaking out the trumpets for the dropping of a single-sport channel during the offseason? In a word, baseball.

Click the link for more.

Ksyrup · 04-08-2009, 02:57 PM

The MLB Channel is absolutely awesome. From the features they do, to the in-studio stuff, the players they have on to talk about different stuff (Jimmy Rollins' imitations on the night they started were hilarious, and last week I saw an interesting feature on Mike Marshall and teaching proper pitching technique that was above and beyond anything you'd see on ESPN), and even the hour-long season previews they did for each team...I can't believe it took them this long to launch. Great stuff.

DanGarion · 04-08-2009, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The MLB Channel is absolutely awesome. From the features they do, to the in-studio stuff, the players they have on to talk about different stuff (Jimmy Rollins' imitations on the night they started were hilarious, and last week I saw an interesting feature on Mike Marshall and teaching proper pitching technique that was above and beyond anything you'd see on ESPN), and even the hour-long season previews they did for each team...I can't believe it took them this long to launch. Great stuff.

Wow the MLB actually supported Mike Marshall and his crazy pitching ideas??? (not that I think they are crazy personally, I just know his philosophy is a lot different then those that coach in the MLB).

cthomer5000 · 04-08-2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tucker rocky

I also gladly pay for the Sunday Ticket on DTV, so I can pick and chose a game, instead of being forced to watch what a network exec wants me to.

This is a joke...right? Or is paying $250 a year your way of sticking it to the man?

DanGarion · 04-08-2009, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

This is a joke...right? Or is paying $250 a year your way of sticking it to the man?

I thought I heard it was going to be $350 this upcoming season, and still an extra $100 for HD...

Still don't understand why people should be paying extra for HD of anything...

Galaril · 04-09-2009, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

I thought I heard it was going to be $350 this upcoming season, and still an extra $100 for HD...

Still don't understand why people should be paying extra for HD of anything...

Wow well whether I could afford it or not that is abso-fucking-lutely prcing me out of the NFL GAMES if they even touch $300. I could maybe do $245 like it is now but if they jack it up in a RECESSION they can screw off. It is just like game systems now that come out at ridiculous prices as long as some sukcers keep paying they will keep charging I a sorry to say. (Me on my high horse.........without any NFL games except on Sunday

)

cthomer5000 · 04-09-2009, 12:20 AM

I waited on the Jets season ticket waiting list for 12 years only to buy the tickets then immediately re-sell them (at a loss) in order to hold my place... then pass on them entirely in year 14 because of the absurdity of the pricing for the new stadium ($95 per game for the cheapest seat).

Strangely the NFL actually lost me with their live game, in which i realized i was just the sucker paying nearly $100 bucks to be part of one of the world's largest televised studio audiences.

albionmoonlight · 04-09-2009, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galaril

Wow well whether I could afford it or not that is abso-fucking-lutely prcing me out of the NFL GAMES if they even touch $300. I could maybe do $245 like it is now but if they jack it up in a RECESSION they can screw off. It is just like game systems now that come out at ridiculous prices as long as some sukcers keep paying they will keep charging I a sorry to say. (Me on my high horse.........without any NFL games except on Sunday

)

They had better watch out. This recession is having an effect even among those it is not affecting. I have friends with (relatively) stable jobs and financial situations who have cut back spending and are basically acting like their income has been cut. Anyone with access to the news seems to feel almost . . . guilty about spending on excess items.

And paying to get the NFL in your house as opposed to the sports bar 20 minutes away is an excess item. If they raise the price, that could be just what people need to say, "thanks, but no."

And (here's the kicker for DTV), once people realize that they can live w/o NFL Sunday Ticket, then they will realize that they can live without DTV.

They have to play this carefully. I know that that billion/year has to come from somewhere, but they might have to wait at least a few years before they can really start to try to make it back. Not an easy pricing decision.

Ksyrup · 04-09-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Wow the MLB actually supported Mike Marshall and his crazy pitching ideas??? (not that I think they are crazy personally, I just know his philosophy is a lot different then those that coach in the MLB).

I wouldn't say they "supported" him, but they definitely gave him an opportunity to explain what he believes and had a demonstration with a pitcher showing proper arm angles, etc. It was quite interesting. Certainly more in-depth than you'd get on any other channel.

DanGarion · 04-09-2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I wouldn't say they "supported" him, but they definitely gave him an opportunity to explain what he believes and had a demonstration with a pitcher showing proper arm angles, etc. It was quite interesting. Certainly more in-depth than you'd get on any other channel.

Damn that sucks that I missed it, would have loved to see it.

Galaril · 04-09-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

They had better watch out. This recession is having an effect even among those it is not affecting. I have friends with (relatively) stable jobs and financial situations who have cut back spending and are basically acting like their income has been cut. Anyone with access to the news seems to feel almost . . . guilty about spending on excess items.

And paying to get the NFL in your house as opposed to the sports bar 20 minutes away is an excess item. If they raise the price, that could be just what people need to say, "thanks, but no."

And (here's the kicker for DTV), once people realize that they can live w/o NFL Sunday Ticket, then they will realize that they can live without DTV.

They have to play this carefully. I know that that billion/year has to come from somewhere, but they might have to wait at least a few years before they can really start to try to make it back. Not an easy pricing decision.

Great post i hundred percent agree a lot of folks are cutting back just since the recession and the whole decadence is bad thing. I know now that i am back to work and even with a 10% pay increase to boot I will not be going back to pre-2009 spending numbers.

Samdari · 04-09-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

And paying to get the NFL in your house as opposed to the sports bar 20 minutes away is an excess item.

Paying full retail price ($450) over 17 weeks comes to $26.47 per week. Who can watch football for 7 hours in the local sports bar and not have that high a bill?

The Ticket is still cheaper than the sports bar.

sooner333 · 04-09-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samdari

Paying full retail price ($450) over 17 weeks comes to $26.47 per week. Who can watch football for 7 hours in the local sports bar and not have that high a bill?

The Ticket is still cheaper than the sports bar.

I can...it's called not drinking beer and giving a bigger tip than usual. They usually don't care because we're in there every week and they don't lose out on business for the 3pm games because the tables weren't usually full after lunch anyway.

Galaril · 04-09-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samdari

Paying full retail price ($450) over 17 weeks comes to $26.47 per week. Who can watch football for 7 hours in the local sports bar and not have that high a bill?

The Ticket is still cheaper than the sports bar.

I keep hearing this argument. What if like me you don't go to sports bar's anyways. I will just not see the games I want as in the past years. When at some point they offer the games like MLB.COM on the internet for streaming at a more reasonable rate I will watch them then. I mean look at MLB'S extra innings 160 for the whole season that is 6 months of games EVERYDAY for half the half the price of the Sunday Ticket.

Logan · 04-09-2009, 01:16 PM

The NFL will never stream games online, at least as long as the DTV deal is in place.

DanGarion · 04-09-2009, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan

The NFL will never stream games online, at least as long as the DTV deal is in place.

Actually I think part of the new deal gives them the leverage to stream games online and do lots of stuff with their digital content regardless of DTV...

albionmoonlight · 04-09-2009, 02:48 PM

I think that you can only get online access if you can prove that your location cannot access DTV. That was smart b/c it takes away the argument that the DTV "monopoly" is unfair b/c only certain people can get DTV.

Now anyone with access to DTV or a high speed connection can get Sunday Ticket.

But those us of who can get DTV are still not going to be able to stream.

Eaglesfan27 · 04-09-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samdari

Paying full retail price ($450) over 17 weeks comes to $26.47 per week. Who can watch football for 7 hours in the local sports bar and not have that high a bill?

The Ticket is still cheaper than the sports bar.

My thinking as well. However, if they really go up that much, it will be the first time that I pause and think about if I really want to see every Eagles game that badly.

DanGarion · 05-19-2009, 02:12 PM

From NYT.

Comcast Reaches Deal on NFL Network - NYTimes.com

Quote:

Comcast Reaches Deal on NFL Network
Comcast and the National Football League on Tuesday ended nearly three years of vituperative hostilities with a deal that will make the NFL Network available to 10 million of the cable operator’s subscribers at a significantly lower price than the league has long demanded.

Here is to hoping TWC follows suit!

gstelmack · 05-19-2009, 02:30 PM

TWC has bandwidth now that they are dropping HDNet and HDNet Movies, they need something to put in those slots.

DanGarion · 05-19-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gstelmack

TWC has bandwidth now that they are dropping HDNet and HDNet Movies, they need something to put in those slots.

Hah, I just heard about that today from our internal email, sort of sucks, I like the HDnet channels...

gstelmack · 05-19-2009, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Hah, I just heard about that today from our internal email, sort of sucks, I like the HDnet channels...

Right now I'm getting ripped off to the tune of $6.95/month for HDNet, HDNet Movies, MGM HD, and Universal HD (from the "Home of Free HD" no less). If they are dropping two, will they cut the price, make it free, or keep charging me $6.95/month for half what I was getting before?

And yes, I know it's been stupid of me to pay for it, but not too long ago I wasn't getting all that much HD to begin with.

DanGarion · 05-19-2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Right now I'm getting ripped off to the tune of $6.95/month for HDNet, HDNet Movies, MGM HD, and Universal HD (from the "Home of Free HD" no less). If they are dropping two, will they cut the price, make it free, or keep charging me $6.95/month for half what I was getting before?

And yes, I know it's been stupid of me to pay for it, but not too long ago I wasn't getting all that much HD to begin with.

Yeah those are "premium" channels because they charge us more or something like that. But you'll be getting Mav and Smithsonian soon!...

03-24-2009, 12:25 PM	#53
gstelmack Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cary, NC	You missed the $300 they wanted me to spend to get the MPEG-4 HD-DVR, after spending $400 + $300 on HD stuff over the prior 4 years. If they had just given me the upgrade then, I'd still be with them, rather than waiting until I called to cancel. I also found their customer service to be slowly waning. With the price increases and decreasing service, they were fast becoming a cable company. So I jumped ship to my cable company to avoid the $300. I do miss them sometimes. __________________ -- Greg -- Author of various FOF utilities

03-24-2009, 12:32 PM	#55
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	About the only problem I have with DTV is that I still can't get locals in HD. I believe Lexington Is the largest city/surrounding area that still doesn't get locals in HD. Antennas are sporadically effective, at best. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

03-24-2009, 01:05 PM	#57
DanGarion Coordinator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Great Northwest	Good and bad experiences with any service are subjective to the customer. For every customer that has any service we will always here about 10 times more bad experiences compared to the good services, regardless of the company. I've heard of bad experiences with DirecTV, U-Verse, Time Warner, Cox, FiOS, Comcast, etc, and I can relate to them all, because ultimately we are all the same service and the reason the companies are in business is because they are all doing something right. __________________ Los Angeles Dodgers Check out the FOFC Groups on Facebook! and Reddit! DON'T REPORT ME BRO!

03-24-2009, 01:17 PM	#59
larrymcg421 Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Georgia	Comcast no doubt has terrible customer service. If you call in 5 times with the same problem, you will likely get 5 different answers that are all the official "policy". However, the deal theyre giving me with the cable, phone, and internet package is way too good to pass up. I just hit the sports bar during football season. __________________ Top 10 Songs of the Year 1955-Present (1976 Added) Franchise Portfolio Draft Winner Fictional Character Draft Winner Television Family Draft Winner Build Your Own Hollywood Studio Draft Winner

03-24-2009, 02:41 PM	#64
Arles Grey Dog Software Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL	The only reason I went DirectTV was I had to go to the Cox store 3 times and have 4 different techs out to fix my cable box. What was great about it was that the tech wasn't able to bring the right box on the 2nd time so the tech came out, verified my box wasn't working, had me drive across town to get a new box, then came the next day and had the same problem. That and the fact that cox would go completely out once a month for no reason in our area. Since I've switched, I've had zero outages, paid almost the exact same per month ($10 more, but I have full DTV on 4 TVs, instead of 1 on cable) and get 90 more HD channels. So, I'd be hardpressed to knock DirectTV given the past 18 months and my dealing with our local cable company. Oh, and my parents have the cable company I had and they've had two rate hikes in the past 24 months so it may be more expensive to have a digital cable box on 1 TV over full directTV on all 4 my TVs (w/ sunday ticket, but that's extra). __________________ Developer of Bowl Bound College Football http://www.greydogsoftware.com Last edited by Arles : 03-24-2009 at 02:42 PM.

03-24-2009, 01:39 PM	#60
Galaril Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2004	Yeah, I have direct tv but have refused to pay the ridiculous price of $250 for the NFL season ticket. If I notice my prices go up much and the season ticket price is not jacked up much it will be time to say fuck off Direct TV and go back to comcast.

03-24-2009, 03:22 PM	#66
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	We have been with DirecTV for a long time. They just sent us a portable DVD player for taking the time to answer some questions on customer service. It was a total surprise and we didn't know we were going to receive the player or were going to be eligible to receive the player. It's a cheapo one, but free is free.

03-24-2009, 03:30 PM	#67
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	I missed the fact that DirecTV pays the billion even if the NFL locks out. Still worth it for them, IMO. But the NFL sure didn't let them get away cheap.

03-24-2009, 04:23 PM	#69
Daimyo College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Berkeley	My parent's have had Directv for almost 15 years now and while their experience was really good at one point its gone down hill a lot in recent years. Their DTV Tivo finally broke a few months back and they had to get the directv DVR and it is absolutely horrible. They also had to get a box replaced because the first one they shipped was DOA and the customer service was laughably horrendous for something that should have been very simple. I have Dish Network now (only because my wife is Chinese and Dish has significantly better international programming options than the other providers) and it is just OK. I like the HD options but the DVR is much worse than the Tivos I had used for years with cable (although much, much better than the Directv DVR my parents have). The picture quality for HD channels is probably trivially worse than cable, but the SD quality is actually better. The worse thing is that every now and then it "skips" similar to a scratched DVD. I had Comcast before and I liked it okay.... never really had an issue and the price wasn't that bad. Before that I had RCN and really hated it.

04-08-2009, 12:33 PM	#72
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	This story is growing as tiresome as the Comcast/Big Ten Network dispute the terrorized this part of the country for much of last year. Comcast and the Big Ten Network finally got things worked out and the BTN was put on "basic" cable in both regular and high def. I watched some old Michigan games on that channel the first week and watched part of one actual game last season and haven't been back to the channel since then. Ever. As for the NFL Network, I lost this channel over a year ago when they switched it to the sports package. I haven't missed it. At all. I like their pre-Draft stuff and draft coverage, but last year they streamed their NFL Draft coverage and that worked out just fine for me. Still, I feel like for the price I am paying for just "basic" cable (no premium channels or anything like that), I should be getting pretty much every channel under the sun and everything in high def. My cable bill is out of control. This whole high def thing was the best thing that ever happened to them. It really gave them the perfect excuse to raise prices. __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

04-08-2009, 01:30 PM	#75
sooner333 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Norman, OK	NFL Networks is on my sports tier, but I like having that tier. I wouldn't get it, but I need a digital box anyway for the DVR, so I get the package. I get NFL Network, MLB Network, ESPN U, ESPN News, Fox Soccer, ESPN Classic, Versus and a few others I don't really watch. It's a pretty good deal for $5/mo, especially considering I can get NFL, MLB, and Versus in HD. Last edited by sooner333 : 04-08-2009 at 01:31 PM.

04-08-2009, 01:31 PM	#76
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	On DTV, MLB and NFL Networks on included with the Choice Package, which is a step above the most basic package you can buy. NHL and Tennis are on Choice Extra. Oddly, it appears that NBA TV is the only league network you have to buy DTV's Sports Pack to get. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

04-08-2009, 02:57 PM	#79
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	The MLB Channel is absolutely awesome. From the features they do, to the in-studio stuff, the players they have on to talk about different stuff (Jimmy Rollins' imitations on the night they started were hilarious, and last week I saw an interesting feature on Mike Marshall and teaching proper pitching technique that was above and beyond anything you'd see on ESPN), and even the hour-long season previews they did for each team...I can't believe it took them this long to launch. Great stuff. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

04-09-2009, 01:16 PM	#92
Logan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NYC	The NFL will never stream games online, at least as long as the DTV deal is in place.

04-09-2009, 02:48 PM	#94
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	I think that you can only get online access if you can prove that your location cannot access DTV. That was smart b/c it takes away the argument that the DTV "monopoly" is unfair b/c only certain people can get DTV. Now anyone with access to DTV or a high speed connection can get Sunday Ticket. But those us of who can get DTV are still not going to be able to stream.

05-19-2009, 02:30 PM	#97
gstelmack Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cary, NC	TWC has bandwidth now that they are dropping HDNet and HDNet Movies, they need something to put in those slots. __________________ -- Greg -- Author of various FOF utilities

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