“Effective with your March billing statement, price adjustments will be made to…reflect the overall value of our services”
Part of the value of services they’re talking about is snowy reception on select digital channels (how is this even possible) and the very real possibility that the digital provisions offered like OnDemand and PPV will probably fail altogether. But where Charter lacks in quality, they more than make up in quantity. Because networks are providing greater lineups of their programs for the coming seasons, it makes sense that the cable companies should be charging more for access to these shows (end sarcasm).
“Also, the price for the Movie View, which includes Showtime, The Movie Channel and Encore channels, will increase five dollars ($5), to $10 per month.”
Just so you know I’m not griping about chump change – the difference is 100%. I don’t actually subscribe to the Movie View, but if I did I’d be pissed that the price doubled while the value remained the same (related to the cable company’s provision therein).
Let me paint a grizzly picture of the future where consumers are happy and cable companies are out of business. The networks are lean (and mean) and the talent is looking for another day job accordingly. Enter the age of reason, a utilitarian Internet, and democratic majority. In the future, consumers will subscribe to the shows they want to see and ignore the rest. 60% of all programs available via traditional television will suddenly disappear. Networks will be forced to push their content in new imaginative ways – ways in which the Internet can facilitate. YouTube and other sites like it may become the new cable conglomerate, pushing vodcast feeds in a multitude of formats and resolutions for the hungry, gadget-happy consumer base to feed on. Prepare to experience the power of a majority effecting our entertainment culture. It’ll cost for those interested in unpopular shows and genres, but there will be a way for everyone to tailor the perfect channel lineup for their interests and pay accordingly.
These people are complete and total bastards with regard to their sales and marketing and completely inept with their customer support. I wish I had kept a record of a chat session I had with one of their customer service reps about a year ago. I discovered that one of their DNS servers was not functioning properly and decided to report it.
Yes, you guessed it – he wanted me to re-boot my cable modem!!! I repeatedly tried to explain how I could tell that the problem was on their end but the rep could not deviate from the script nor was he allowed to change his own DNS settings and ping me to test my claims. It felt like a very unfunny variant of the Monty Python cheese shop skit – “Is this or is this not an ISP?””Do you or do you not have any DNS servers?”
I have the perfect solution—no TV. Easy, cheap, and I find I have all manner of endlessly entertaining pursuits that keep me occupied from dawn to dusk and pre-and after, too.
A good book goes a long way for entertainment.
love,
Mom