dierctv/sunday ticket question

[bg17]

does anyone have sunday ticket without subscribing to any total choice package? Can this be done?

[SDS]

does anyone have sunday ticket without subscribing to any total choice package? Can this be done?

186415[/snapback]

 

no - they stopped doing that this season.

[gsurdam]

Yes , you can. I did it this year. But , I think they are going to change it for next year. GO BILLS !!!!

[Fezmid]

Yes , you can. I did it this year. But , I think they are going to change it for next year. GO BILLS !!!!

186423[/snapback]

 

I'm still not so sure. OhBF says that's what the CSR told him, but there's been no official postings on DirecTVs site, and CSRs aren't generally told anything, especially not a year in advance. We'll see.

 

My question is, if you already have the dish and a receiver, why would you even WANT cable?

CW

[cåblelady]

My question is, if you already have the dish and a receiver, why would you even WANT cable?

CW

186425[/snapback]

 

You rang ?

[SDS]

I'm still not so sure.  OhBF says that's what the CSR told him, but there's been no official postings on DirecTVs site, and CSRs aren't generally told anything, especially not a year in advance.  We'll see.

 

My question is, if you already have the dish and a receiver, why would you even WANT cable?

CW

186425[/snapback]

 

I was told that they stopped that practice and would grandfather people in for one year (this season) who had that done in the past.

[Fezmid]

I was told that they stopped that practice and would grandfather people in for one year (this season) who had that done in the past.

186430[/snapback]

 

Interesting, I guess it is true then. It makes sense, since they're obviously using regular subscriptions to subsidize the low price of Sunday Ticket. I just didn't think that they'd really do it.

CW

[Fezmid]

You rang ? 

186429[/snapback]

 

When are you sending your resume to DirecTV?

 

CW

[cåblelady]

When are you sending your resume to DirecTV? 

 

CW

186434[/snapback]

 

When hell freezes over.

[Fezmid]

When hell freezes over.   

186439[/snapback]

 

So Monday morning, when Buffalo's in the playoffs? Everyone here was saying we'd go to the playoffs when Hell freezes over, so.....

 

CW

[joshfitz]

I was told that they stopped that practice and would grandfather people in for one year (this season) who had that done in the past.

186430[/snapback]

 

God I hope not. I've been subscribing to Sunday Ticket ONLY for the past four years. It doesn't really seem fair for them to force you to buy one of their packages considering they won't share the NFL package with cable.

 

My question is, if you already have the dish and a receiver, why would you even WANT cable?

CW

186425[/snapback]

 

Let's see -- cable has:

 

- Movies on-Demand (like having a Blockbuster in your living room)

- HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Comedy Central, Music Videos, and more -- ON DEMAND (watch whatever you want when you want) without the need of a DVR

- NO COMMITMENT REQUIRED

- No equipment to buy

- Customer support that shows up within a day or two to fix a problem -- even on holidays

- Bundled with a cable modem, you save even more (satellite internet sucks)

 

Why would you even want to sell your soul to DirecTV?

 

(edit :: that's what we have in Cincinnati anyways. I hear cable can suck in other cities though)

[Fezmid]

Let's see -- cable has:

 

- Movies on-Demand (like having a Blockbuster in your living room)

- HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Comedy Central, Music Videos, and more -- ON DEMAND (watch whatever you want when you want) without the need of a DVR

- NO COMMITMENT REQUIRED

- No equipment to buy

- Customer support that shows up within a day or two to fix a problem -- even on holidays

- Bundled with a cable modem, you save even more (satellite internet sucks)

 

Re: On-Demand:

I'd rather have a DVR than On-Demand. Why wouldn't you rather record movies/shows that you'd WANT to watch, instead of relying on what cable has prepared as "on-demand?" DirecTV frequently gives free HBO, Showtime, etc, over a weekend. Setup your DVR to record anything you want then and watch it later...

 

Re: Commitment

The commitment thing is overstated; it's easy to get out of with no penalty or anything, especially if you're moving.

 

Re: No equipment to buy

Right, you just lease it for the rest of your life... My parents have Adelphia, and they're paying roughly $10/month for the receiver and $3/month for the *remote* Over the past four *years,* I've spent $200 on equipemnt; that's only $4/month. Plus, because I own it, I can do anything I want to it (for example, adding a harddrive and network card into the DVRs). Given the choice, I'd always rather own than rent.

 

Also -- cable charges installation fees (at least they did for my cable internet access - $50). At least the $50 you pay to get DirecTV equipment makes the equipment YOURS.

 

Re: Customer support

Let's see, DirecTV is ranked #1 in customer support every year. The cable companies? Well, it took Comcast over a *MONTH* to setup my cable internet connection. I was on the phone with them EVERY day for 4-8 hours a day, and they kept giving me the runaround. After they finally set it up correctly (it was all on their end, I know what I'm doing on my side), I asked for a free month of service. What did they say? "We can't do that, but we won't charge you for the month you were down." Wow, they're so kind!!!! As a point of comparison, DirecTV accidentally blacked out the first period of game 4 of the Wild vs Ducks. I called them up the next day to complain and she said, "What can I do to make you happy?" I asked for a $50 credit on my bill and without batting an eyelash, she said, "No problem." THAT'S customer service.

 

Re: Bundling

Don't get me started with that. A couple of months after I got my internet access ($45/month), they decided to raise the rate up to $65/month unless you subscribed to cableTV. That just seems very slimy to me. This ties into the commitment portion as well -- DirecTV won't raise your price at all while you're under a commitment. I've also only seen 3 price increases in 8 years or so, and have even seen TWO price DECREASES during the same time. Can cable say that?

 

Maybe your cable company in Cincy is better than others. We have Comcast here and they suck. DirecTV and Cincy Bell have an alliance now as well though, so you can get cheaper service if you bundle with them (instead of with the internet).

 

CW

[30dive]

God I hope not.  I've been subscribing to Sunday Ticket ONLY for the past four years.  It doesn't really seem fair for them to force you to buy one of their packages considering they won't share the NFL package with cable.

 

You have got to be kidding......Share the NFL package with cable? What!

 

DTV pays the NFL for this package, and the NFL gets a very nice control system for their product in Bars and restaurants.

[joshfitz]

I'd rather have a DVR than On-Demand. Why wouldn't you rather record movies/shows that you'd WANT to watch, instead of relying on what cable has prepared as "on-demand?"

 

I have both -- and together it works very well. My DVR captures what I WANT to watch, while On Demand has all the shows that I might enjoy available at all times. Who remembers to record every movie or every HBO series that they only might like? Not me.

 

Re: Commitment

The commitment thing is overstated; it's easy to get out of with no penalty or anything, especially if you're moving.

 

Once you get out of your commitment, your rates increase -- you even admit so yourself below. I am afraid of commitment.

 

Re: No equipment to buy

Right, you just lease it for the rest of your life... Given the choice, I'd always rather own than rent.

 

And what happens when -- like my grandparents this past month -- you suddenly need a new dish to receive your local channels because they moved them all to a new satellite? You have to buy a new dish for $200, that's what happens. What's the point in owning it when it becomes obsolete in a few years?

 

Also -- cable charges installation fees (at least they did for my cable internet access - $50). At least the $50 you pay to get DirecTV equipment makes the equipment YOURS.

 

No install fees here. For ANYTHING. I even have phone service from my cable company ($39.95 a month for unlimited local and long distance) and that install was free. The phone company charges anywhere from $50 to $100 for the same install.

 

Re: Customer support

Let's see, DirecTV is ranked #1 in customer support every year. The cable companies? ...

 

Just to complete your statement -- cable ranks #2 in customer satisfaction, according to JD Power and Associates, and not far behind satellite:

 

"Satellite receives an overall customer satisfaction index score of 723 (on a 1,000-point scale), compared to 659 for digital cable and 621 for analog cable, with strong performance across all measures of customer satisfaction. Despite this outcome, cable narrows the gap in overall satisfaction versus satellite, improving at nearly twice the rate of satellite (3.1% vs. 1.6%)" --Source

 

Re: Bundling

Don't get me started with that. A couple of months after I got my internet access ($45/month), they decided to raise the rate up to $65/month unless you subscribed to cableTV. That just seems very slimy to me.

 

Slimy like forcing you to buy a DirecTV package to continue subscribing to Sunday Ticket? What's the difference?

 

This ties into the commitment portion as well -- DirecTV won't raise your price at all while you're under a commitment. I've also only seen 3 price increases in 8 years or so, and have even seen TWO price DECREASES during the same time. Can cable say that?

 

As long as you're under commitment, you get a decent rate. Once your comittment ends, your prices jump higher than cable's rates. The fact is that the average monthly expenditure for satellite vs. cable is almost identical ($49.08 among satellite subscribers and $50.98 among cable subscribers).

 

Maybe your cable company in Cincy is better than others. We have Comcast here and they suck.

 

I've never had Comcast -- just Time Warner Cable, and from what I've heard, we have better than average service here in Cincy.

 

I've heard horror stories from both sides of the fence. It's just interesting to see how some people insist that one side is OMG SO MUCH BETTER!!1 when in fact, they are very comparable in the grand scheme of things.

[Fezmid]

Re: Commitment

Once you get out of your commitment, your rates increase -- you even admit so yourself below.  I am afraid of commitment.

 

No, I didn't say that -- I just said that they DON'T raise prices while under the commitment. Did you see the part where I said I've had 3 price increases in 8 years and 2 price DECREASES in that same time? It's only a 1 year commitment...

 

And what happens when -- like my grandparents this past month -- you suddenly need a new dish to receive your local channels because they moved them all to a new satellite?  You have to buy a new dish for $200, that's what happens.  What's the point in owning it when it becomes obsolete in a few years?

 

Your grandparents got ripped off; dishes don't cost $200. Radioshack has it for $100:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...ct%5Fid=16-2610

 

Or, you simply call DirecTV and they give you one for free, including installation (at least they did for me). If I were you, I'd call DirecTV on their behalf and get a $200 credit on your account. Call, ask for customer retention, and they'll give it to you.

 

Re: Customer support

Just to complete your statement -- cable ranks #2 in customer satisfaction, according to JD Power and Associates, and not far behind satellite:

 

"Satellite receives an overall customer satisfaction index score of 723 (on a 1,000-point scale), compared to 659 for digital cable and 621 for analog cable, with strong performance across all measures of customer satisfaction. Despite this outcome, cable narrows the gap in overall satisfaction versus satellite, improving at nearly twice the rate of satellite (3.1% vs. 1.6%)" --Source

 

When there's only three choices, why gloat about being #2 and #3? Plus, DireecTV is 10% higher in rating, according to those stats... Sounds like DirecTV wins hands down on that one to me

 

Slimy like forcing you to buy a DirecTV package to continue subscribing to Sunday Ticket?  What's the difference?

 

The difference is that Internet has nothing to do with cableTV.

 

A more accurate question would be, "Can you buy MLB Extra Innings or NBA League Pass without subscribing to a cable package?" Of course you can't.

 

However, if you don't want to buy a DirecTV package, you could probably buy Sunday Ticket weekly ($40/week, so I don't know why you would want to)

 

As long as you're under commitment, you get a decent rate.  Once your comittment ends, your prices jump higher than cable's rates.  The fact is that the average monthly expenditure for satellite vs. cable is almost identical ($49.08 among satellite subscribers and $50.98 among cable subscribers).

 

So 10% better service for 5% less price? Sign me up.

 

I don't know where you get the "once your commitment ends, your prices jump higher than cable's rates," and then you quote how cable is 5% more expensive... You (generally) get much better picture quality with DirecTV, and more channels as well.

 

The only advantage I see to cableTV is if you have 4-5 TVs in your house, and you need to have different channels displayed on them at the same time. In that case, DirecTV is more expensive because of the $5/receiver cost; however, once you go to Digital cable, you run into the same issue, so it's only an advantage for analog cable.

CW

[Dante]

Absolutely no comparison. Price, product and quality of customer service, its all DTV. We tried digital cable for a month and I couldnt wait to get it out of my house. Went DSS and will never go back. As far as high speed internet is concerned, who cares about cable bundling it with thier crappy service bogging down at busy times? SBC offers DSL for $25 a month now and its a better connection. Cable has had it's way for so many years and they were always so arrogant knowing they had it all. It's nice to see competition come and show them how its done. Cable is doomed.

[joshfitz]

Or, you simply call DirecTV and they give you one for free, including installation (at least they did for me).

 

Ha! Yeah... you think they didn't call them? Forcing them to buy another dish is outrageous, and DirecTV agreed that it was unfortunate, but they couldn't help out. That 10% better service must be hidden elsewhere.

 

The only advantage I see to cableTV is if you have 4-5 TVs in your house.

 

Let's go over this one more time ...

 

- No equipment to buy. If you think you're getting "free" equipment, try cancelling your contract and see how "free" that dish really is.

- On-demand service (NOT the same as DVR or Tivo)

- No commitment required. Just because you know how to massage the system and get out of your contract, doesn't mean regular folk do too.

 

And even more ...

 

- Local stations available in High-definition (satellite's answer? stick an antennae on your roof)

- More local stations available to you (satellite only has a few major local stations in the large cities)

- When you call customer service, you're calling your friends and neighbors (like Cablelady). When you call satellite, you're calling some centralized national corporation. That might not seem like a big deal, but try to get DirecTV to sponsor your kid's little league team and see what happens. Many cable companies are heavily involved in their local communities.

 

Sorry -- I'm not saying DirecTV is bad. In fact, I think it's a great service and offers some great deals... but generalizing that all cable is bad without looking at the facts is a little short-sighted.

[Spiderweb]

no - they stopped doing that this season.

186421[/snapback]

 

I did it this year (as I have for the past couple), but I was recently advised (again) that I won't be able to do it again for the 2005 season. So, I've already had DirecTV turned back on so I will still get the early bird special price (save $20.00 approx).

[Spiderweb]

No, I didn't say that -- I just said that they DON'T raise prices while under the commitment.  Did you see the part where I said I've had 3 price increases in 8 years and 2 price DECREASES in that same time?  It's only a 1 year commitment...

Your grandparents got ripped off; dishes don't cost $200.  Radioshack has it for $100:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...ct%5Fid=16-2610

 

Or, you simply call DirecTV and they give you one for free, including installation (at least they did for me).  If I were you, I'd call DirecTV on their behalf and get a $200 credit on your account.  Call, ask for customer retention, and they'll give it to you.

When there's only three choices, why gloat about being #2 and #3?  Plus, DireecTV is 10% higher in rating, according to those stats...  Sounds like DirecTV wins hands down on that one to me

The difference is that Internet has nothing to do with cableTV.

 

A more accurate question would be, "Can you buy MLB Extra Innings or NBA League Pass without subscribing to a cable package?"  Of course you can't.

 

However, if you don't want to buy a DirecTV package, you could probably buy Sunday Ticket weekly ($40/week, so I don't know why you would want to)

So 10% better service for 5% less price?  Sign me up.  

 

I don't know where you get the "once your commitment ends, your prices jump higher than cable's rates," and then you quote how cable is 5% more expensive...  You (generally) get much better picture quality with DirecTV, and more channels as well.

 

The only advantage I see to cableTV is if you have 4-5 TVs in your house, and you need to have different channels displayed on them at the same time.  In that case, DirecTV is more expensive because of the $5/receiver cost; however, once you go to Digital cable, you run into the same issue, so it's only an advantage for analog cable.

CW

186610[/snapback]

 

 

For my 2 cents, DirecTV wins hands down. Better overall price (TWC just bumped their rates another $10.00 a month in Nov !!!), far better PQ as well even with the very high compression of the signal. TWC's digital is seriously inferior (at least in our area) with constant pixelation issues, freeze ups, etc., and their equipment (their didgital box) is years behind DSS.

 

And the issue of multiple TV's (we have 7) is a non-issue with a simple two receiver set up and modulation, coupled with our antenna for locals. We may even get a third receiver in the near future just to please my older daughter. We'll still be ahead of cable then too.

 

My experience with cable is almost all negative. They got their negative press the old fashioned way, they earned it.

[Tom]

I was told that they stopped that practice and would grandfather people in for one year (this season) who had that done in the past.

They told me the same thing when I upgraded to Tivo..... I have Regional Sports & Locals... Plus the 'Ticket'.