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antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

2 edits

antdude

Premium Member

TWC hikes customer fees for sports channels, Internet modems

»www.charlotteobserver.co ··· mer.html from »www.avsforum.com/forum/4 ··· 30100946 ... Here we go again! I assume it is coming to everyone else soon.

kilrathi
Premium Member
join:2005-04-22
Rockaway Park, NY

1 recommendation

kilrathi

Premium Member

You would think that great lowering of fuel prices across the nation would allow TWC to save money on fuel costs for all the customer technician/plant technician vehicles across its area and thus allow not having to increase prices to the customer but one can guess they prefer to simply make more money.
AZinOH
join:2007-04-25
Swanton, OH

1 recommendation

AZinOH to antdude

Member

to antdude
Yabbut those 100-300 MB speeds make it all worthwhile, right? Right?? A little louder, please.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20 to kilrathi

Premium Member

to kilrathi
40 cents a gallon is a "great" savings?

Racerbob
Premium Member
join:2001-06-24
Webster, NY
·Frontier FiberOp..

Racerbob

Premium Member

said by Mele20:

40 cents a gallon is a "great" savings?

It has gone down by more than $.40 a gallon and yes, it is a great savings when you start doing the multiplication. $.40 a gallon for me is $6 a tank saved. Gas prices have gone down here closer to $.80 a gallon since the dive in prices began. And $.80 a gallon comes to $12 a tank for me saved. Take a fleet of vehicles that are on the road everyday and start doing the math.

But back on topic. Time Warner's rape of the consumer continues. Nickel and diming us to death with fees and extra charges. And when Comcast takes over, it is only going to get worse. And we here in my area are being held hostage when it comes to internet services because Frontier DSL is terrible and Time Warner knows it. Yes, I can go to DirecTV or DISH. Actually it would be DirecTV because DISH does not have some channels that we would watch occasionally. But then paying for stand alone internet on top of the TV charges from another provider is not a desirable thing when you are trying to hold the line on your household budget.
n2ubp
join:2007-07-13
Middletown, NY

n2ubp to antdude

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to antdude
Perfect timing, I just pulled the plug on TWC for internet.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

2 recommendations

maartena to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude
said by antdude:

»www.charlotteobserver.co ··· mer.html from »www.avsforum.com/forum/4 ··· 30100946 ... I assume it is coming to everyone else soon.

Nothing new under the sun. Although internet subscribers like me are slightly affected because of the increased modem rental, the bulk of these price increases come from increased programming costs, and with that especially sports.

Here in the Los Angeles market, we have to pay up for SEVEN major league sports teams and two major PAC12 universities. If you are like me, and really only a fan of ONE team, there is NO option for me to watch just that one team (Go Anaheim Ducks!) on cable or satellite, all providers force me to pay for, and watch all SEVEN major league teams. (And it will be 8 again in 2016 with the return of a 2nd MLS team).

Outside of TWC, providers are being charged around $4 for the Sportnet Lakers channel, around $4 for the Sportsnet Dodgers channel, the Anaheim Angels signed a deal with one of the Fox channels in 2011 or so worth around $3 per subscriber (the deal that made the acquisition of Pujols possible), and then there are deals surrounding the Clippers, Ducks, Kings, and LA Galaxy, although some are overlapping on the same station. All in all, just for sports alone (not including national networks such as ESPN which has a price tag of around $5 to $6 alone, depending on when the deal was signed) a Los Angeles customer is expected to pay around $20 a month for it, even if you have no interest in sports, but just want a package that includes good channels.

On top of that, TWC's Sportsnet Dodgers is hurting. With NO deals signed to other carriers, the channel is not doing very well financially. And although it is off-season for MLB, it doesn't appear likely they will sign a deal before the next season either, and channels in smaller markets (such as Comcast Sportnet Houston carrying the rights for both the Astros and the Rockets) have had to file for bankrupty after 2 years of no deals, and DirecTV scooped up those channels to convert them to their own Roots Sports channel, and now THEY sold the rights back to Comcast - And I got a feeling DirecTV is just waiting for the financial hurt to happen at TWC's Sportsnet.

Either way, the customer is paying for it, because if they don't sell the channel to other carriers, someone has to come up with the difference, and it ain't gonna be the cable exec bonuses that will get cut.

Glad I cancelled subscription TV a year ago.... my wife was reading me an article about how much of a rip-off cable TV has become, but people keep just shelling out more money because of sports and simply because they don't know any better anymore and want to turn on a screen and something appears without them having to think about WHAT to watch.

@Racerbob: If you really think DirecTV and Dish aren't raping you in the same way, you are delusional. The only reason to switch is because you can get a better promo deal for 1 or 2 years, but they are raping you for content (sports especially with DirecTV) just as much as any cable company or any subscription TV. And indeed, you can't bundle internet with satellite.

You just have to realize that this is just how it is. If you want traditional subscription television, you just have to bend over a little more each year.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

1 recommendation

OpTiC to antdude

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to antdude
Thank god that I bought my own modem.

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

antdude

Premium Member

said by OpTiC :

Thank god that I bought my own modem.

I wished we could buy a cable modem that came with internal digital phone service and not having to have two/2 separate modems, splitter, and coax cables.

Racerbob
Premium Member
join:2001-06-24
Webster, NY
·Frontier FiberOp..

1 recommendation

Racerbob to maartena

Premium Member

to maartena
I am not afraid to switch back and forth between providers as much as needed to keep my costs low. I am pleased with what I am paying TW right now for the next year and I shall stay here where I am for now. But it is unfortunate that in order to try to stay at a certain level that we need to check for the promo deals at all. On Friday I was offered a very nice deal from DirecTV. $65 a month for year one and $104 for year two, including a $300 gift card. But my stand alone internet (and this is where TW has us all by our manhoods) price would go up quite a bit for the service that I presently enjoy.

A lot of this is all about greed and satisfying the investors and the bottom line. Time Warner makes a healthy profit.

I fully understand about the demands of the networks on the cable and satellite TV services.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

1 recommendation

maartena to OpTiC

Premium Member

to OpTiC
said by OpTiC :

Thank god that I bought my own modem.

There is advantage to that..... but also a big downside. I signed up in Feb 2014, and was issued a Ubee modem. If I had bought my own modem at the time, I would not have been able to buy a 16 channel modem.

The Ubee modem died in August of 2014. Now, no one can say whether my modem would have died if I bought one of course, but given the state of modern day, made-in-china mass produced electronics, any brand can fail at any time, and it would have been possible.

When TWC came to replace my modem, I was given a Arris TG1672, 16 channel modem. Of course it does have telephony, but I would not have been charged a modem fee if I bought my own modem for the internet part.

If I had to replace a bought modem however, I would still not have been able to buy a 16 channel modem, as the available 16 channel modems at the time (Arris 6183) were severely backlogged. I would have had to buy whatever modem I could buy to get internet again, and deal with a 16 channel modem later. Of course, I would have been able to just rent a modem at that time and wait till the 6183s were available which would have been the cheaper solution.

In October 2014 this year I got MAXX, so I would have to replace whatever modem I had at the time with a new one.

Now, up until today I have paid $6 for modem rental, which will become $8.

An Arris SB6141 would have cost me $90 retail, more or less. If I had bought that in February, I would have been "in the clear" after 15 months, so in May of 2015. BUT my modem broke and I needed to replace it. If I went the rental way for 3 months and then bought a SB6183 when available, (which would have been the smartest, cheapest route), and taking into account the fees would increase to $8 come January, plus the 3 months rental, and a $129.95 retail price I would have been "in the clear" around September 2016, taking into account having to "pay off" so to speak the first modem I bought as well, so the count started in May 2015. If I did not go with the rental for 3 months till SB6183 availability and just replaced the modem, and subsequently replaced it with a SB6183 when I got MAXX, it would likely take me into 2017, even WITH reselling the modem for about $50 on eBay.

Now, if my current modem fails before September 2016 for any reason, or I need to replace my modem for another one for whatever reason (such as implementation of DOCSIS 3.1 which is expected around 2016, perhaps even a 1 Gbit/s subscription if they introduce it around that time, all speculation of course), I think from a financial point of view..... I surely did the right thing by leasing the modem at this time.

If I were to buy a modem NOW, it would not be a wise choice financially. I would be much better off waiting till DOCSIS 3.1 modems are introduced and decide to purchase then.

The way I see it buying a modem is a gamble. You are gambling that it won't break, and gambling that you won't need to replace it for future network upgrades. That gamble will pay off some times, but other times it will not.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

OpTiC

Premium Member

I will be getting a Docsis 3.1 modem if TWC doesn't merge with Comcast or Verizon selling out my area to Frontier. There is a rumor about that.
Phroz
join:2005-11-23
Lewiston, ME

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Phroz to antdude

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I got the increase notice with my last bill

They cite the increased internet speeds, "up to 100 Mbps in most areas", and expanded wifi hotspot coverage as the reason for the extra cost.

And $2.75 for a DTA is a joke. The crappy ones they have here don't even support HD.

Rick4769
join:2012-11-21
Buffalo, NY

1 edit

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Rick4769 to antdude

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to antdude
I am glad I switched to Verizon Fios last February. Those prices are ridiculous for premium channels, an additional outlet and the digital adapter. TWC employees will think the prices are just and reasonable to insure their job status. If the merger goes through with Comcast, you will see even more increases and less service.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude
At least with the prices they are making VERY clear why the prices are raised. Broadcast TV networks are screwing us, so we are screwing you.
Sports networks are screwing us, so we are screwing you.

Now, the digital adapter lease price increase.... that IS a price increase that is purely about profit. Those DTA's probably last many many years, and they probably get them at $20 a pop wholesale.

I feel for Sports lovers. They have no alternative besides forking over more and more money each year.
maartena

1 recommendation

maartena to Rick4769

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to Rick4769
said by Rick4769:

I am glad I switched to Verizon Fios last February. Those prices are ridiculous for premium channels, an additional outlet and the digital adapter. TWC employees will think the prices and just and reasonable to insure theit job status. If the merger goes through with Comcast, you will see even more increases and less service.

Verizon isn't a hair better. You usually aren't affected by price increases during a promotional price, so you will be on the cheap end for 1 or 2 years. Once the promo is up, examine your Verizon bill a little better, and you will see you will get screwed just the same. There really is no difference between cable, satellite, or telcom based television, in the end the programmers demand more money, and the carriers simply have to pass it on.

Case and point:

»October Price Increases

See there what price increases will come to you after your promo is up. Those prices went active in October for non-promo customers.

OpTiC
Premium Member
join:2014-03-08
West Covina, CA

1 recommendation

OpTiC

Premium Member

This is what America is all about American corporation charging more for the same service.
OpTiC

1 recommendation

OpTiC to Rick4769

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to Rick4769
Verizon isn't better with pricing. Verizon is now charging a router lease from 4.99 to 9.99 and tv is going up too. Do more research before you say.
kingfisher
Premium Member
join:2007-07-17
Webster, NY

1 recommendation

kingfisher to Phroz

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to Phroz
I reviewed my bill for the upcoming month and find that the schedule of fees for Rochester, NY would seem to be increasing by the same amounts that Phroz has posted from his Lewiston, ME bill. Of particular irritation to me is the new "Sports Programming Surcharge" of $2.75 per month up from NO charge previously. Our household watches 0 (zero) sports programming, so I find it difficult to sympathize with costs imposed for a service which is being provided for me and for which I have no desire or utility.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

1 recommendation

maartena to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude
Here is why subscription TV is simply becoming a rip-off:

»www.multichannel.com/new ··· 5/386412

kilrathi
Premium Member
join:2005-04-22
Rockaway Park, NY

1 recommendation

kilrathi to antdude

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to antdude
At same time many of these companies use many tax law loopholes to avoid paying a lot of taxes in the usa. Priceless.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

1 recommendation

maartena to kingfisher

Premium Member

to kingfisher
said by kingfisher:

I reviewed my bill for the upcoming month and find that the schedule of fees for Rochester, NY would seem to be increasing by the same amounts that Phroz has posted from his Lewiston, ME bill. Of particular irritation to me is the new "Sports Programming Surcharge" of $2.75 per month up from NO charge previously. Our household watches 0 (zero) sports programming, so I find it difficult to sympathize with costs imposed for a service which is being provided for me and for which I have no desire or utility.

And you have to remember that that is just the SURCHARGE, not what you already pay for sports. With ESPN going for about $5 to $6 already, add to that the current regional sports teams you receive. You appear to be closer to the Buffalo market, but I don't know if you receive the teams from New York city too.

Here in the Los Angeles area I have estimated the sports part of any TV package that has sports channels to be $20-25. And yeah, that is a hard pill to swallow for people that don't watch Sports. And cable companies don't give you ANY choice in the matter. There is one basic package that has no sports, but it is also lacking MANY other channels.

And don't worry. Expect to bend over next year too. In my opinion, subscription TV is simply no longer worth it. But I do understand that many people will have difficulty letting go of television. In some households the TV is on 6-8 hours a day, just because it's what they are used to. Having to think about WHAT you want to watch via an online on-demand service such as netflix or amazon requires a slightly different mode of thinking. I am, however, glad I made that switch. I took a-la-carte beyond picking and choosing channels, I am a-la-carting on individual programs instead.
maartena

maartena to kilrathi

Premium Member

to kilrathi
said by kilrathi:

At same time many of these companies use many tax law loopholes to avoid paying a lot of taxes in the usa. Priceless.

Most of the money is directly passed on to media companies like CBS, Turner, Disney, Viacom, etc, etc.... And in the case of sports channels, the flow of money goes something like this:

Customer Paying for Television --> TV Carrier Paying for Sports Content --> Sports Network paying for Sports Broadcasting rights to a Major Sports team --> Sports Team paying HUGE salaries to pro players --> Their private jets and houses.

So the next time A-Rod buys a new house, boat, or fancy sports car.... you, yeah YOU helped paying for it by simply paying for TV.

hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY

2 recommendations

hobgoblin to Rick4769

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to Rick4769
said by Rick4769:

I am glad I switched to Verizon Fios last February. Those prices are ridiculous for premium channels, an additional outlet and the digital adapter. TWC employees will think the prices are just and reasonable to insure their job status. If the merger goes through with Comcast, you will see even more increases and less service.

I am assuming that you are on a promotional rate from Verizion FIOS. Customers on a current promotion with TWC will not see these increases until their promotion expires.

Not entirely sure why you focus on TWC employees, most of us are just here to help oiut when we can.

Thanks.

Hob

motorola870
join:2008-12-07
Arlington, TX

motorola870 to Phroz

Member

to Phroz
said by Phroz:

I got the increase notice with my last bill

They cite the increased internet speeds, "up to 100 Mbps in most areas", and expanded wifi hotspot coverage as the reason for the extra cost.

And $2.75 for a DTA is a joke. The crappy ones they have here don't even support HD.

I am pretty sure TWC has HD DTA's now in Maine you just have to ask for one. TWC has Motorola/ARRIS and Technicolor HD DTA's now in motorola headends and Cisco HD DTA's in Cisco headends.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20

Premium Member

TWC leaves off all good channels (the channels women like such as Hallmark, Lifetime, etc) on the DTA's so those are not worth even 99 cents. I returned the one I was given. They are junk.

My promotions have ended so I have to go back to 15/1 or maybe 20/2. They cite TWCTV as one reason for price increases. I cannot get it to work and I am not going to go back to Fx 15 which is what TWC corporate told Oceanic was the ONLY browser supported besides IE. TWC also said another reason was expanded wifi which I don't use, and never will, as I do not carry around playtoys to access the internet as I am way, way too busy doing other things when I am away from home. I want to access it from home only. So, the increases are for things I can't or don't use.
Phroz
join:2005-11-23
Lewiston, ME

Phroz to motorola870

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Click for full size
said by motorola870:

I am pretty sure TWC has HD DTA's now in Maine you just have to ask for one. TWC has Motorola/ARRIS and Technicolor HD DTA's now in motorola headends and Cisco HD DTA's in Cisco headends.

They do in parts of the state, but not here specifically. They don't stock them in the office and you can't order online. I asked a tech about it once and he said the HD ones weren't compatible with the system here. No idea why, I'm guessing it's the same reason we can't get whole house DVR.

Racerbob
Premium Member
join:2001-06-24
Webster, NY

Racerbob to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude
$2.75 a month for the DTA is absolutely and positively outrageous.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena

Premium Member

said by Racerbob:

$2.75 a month for the DTA is absolutely and positively outrageous.

Well, it's cheaper then the $6 per box DirecTV will be charging you.

Subscription TV has become a luxury I can easily live without.

Get charged extra for broadcast networks.
Get charged extra for sports with a surcharge.
Get charged extra for other TV's you may want to watch on.
Get charged extra for DVR service.
Get charged extra for DTA's you didn't even need a year ago.
Get charged more and more and more each year for the same channels.

Ka-ching, Ka-ching....

And it's the same with DirecTV, Dish, AT&T, Verizon, and all other cable companies.

If it wasn't for the carriers clinging on to sports coverage, I think they would lose a lot more customers.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude
That is crap. Since the sports fee looks like it is a "surcharge" does that mean they can sneak it in on all users without affecting bundle pricing?

Also, where is the StopTheCap article. He is slacking.