dslreports logo
 story category
Time Warner To Charge Extra For 3DTV
Joins AT&T U-Verse by charging $10 for ESPN 3D
While on one hand, Time Warner Cable is paying lip service to customers looking for cheaper service, they're spending more time focusing on high end revenue wherever possible. Time Warner Cable recently unveiled a new premium "Signature Home" television, VoIP and broadband bundle that comes with the luxury option of your technician showing up on time -- for nearly $200 a month. Time Warner Cable's also now joined AT&T in charging an extra $10 a month to gain access to ESPN 3D, something that Comcast and DirecTV offer for no additional charge. Todd Spangler at Multichannel News puts it this way:
quote:
To me, charging extra for ESPN 3D seems like, say, a restaurant trying to sell you after-dinner mints. It’s early days and 3D programming amounts to a small taste: ESPN 3D’s lineup for the entire month of December includes a Harlem Globetrotters game, the Jimmy V Classic and SEC/Big East Challenge college hoops, and the Miami Heat at New York Knicks on Dec. 17. Why not give your biggest-spending customers an extra reason to keep their TV provider, by throwing in 3D for free? I’m sure Globtrotters v. Generals will look awesome in 3D. But it should be a lagniappe, not an additional course of the meal.
Adding an extra fee may further strain a 3DTV standard many people already feel they don't need, in part due to ridiculous glasses, but also because of the high cost of entry for what's essentially a gimmick.

Most recommended from 53 comments


Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

2 recommendations

Mr Matt

Member

New Pricing Strategy!

New fees and charges:

Viewable picture $10.00 per month.
Undistorted sound $10.00 per month.
High Definition $10.00 per month.
3D $10.00 per month.
Service available 24X7 (Not Guaranteed) $25.00 per month.