Items tagged with Cable TV
It’s a Christmas miracle! A law that will be going into effect on Sunday will make it so customers no longer have to pay rental fees for their own networking equipment. Also, ISPs will be required to delineate and itemize everything that goes into a bill. This is a big win for consumers everywhere and a step forward in tackling the issues with the telecommunications business. For the legal nerds among us who want to read up on the law, you can find it under Public Law 116-94, 133 Stat. 3200-3201. If you are like me and do not want to scroll through everything, here are a few vital abbreviated excerpts from the law: CONSUMER RIGHTS IN SALES.— ‘‘(1) RIGHT TO TRANSPARENCY.—Before...
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In the new year, Comcast seems to be trying to milk their customers of every last penny when it comes to their internet and cable TV packages. Earlier this week, new data caps were sneakily added by Comcast for some customers. Now, Comcast will be increasing cable and internet fees and standard prices nationwide starting in January; the same time the data cap takes effect. TV customers will be particularly hard hit, as they will see a yearly increase of $78 due to a $4.50 a month Broadcast TV fee and a $2 a month Regional Sports Network (RSN) fee. Ars Technica found that this will affect all customers, as when it reached out for comment, Comcast stated that even for subscribers with promo...
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Anyone who pays for cable television knows that the low rates that big cable companies advertise aren't the rates you end up paying over the long haul. Cable TV bills commonly get inflated when it comes to the myriad of fees that are tacked on in your billing statement. Thankfully, new legislation has made it past the House and Senate in the U.S. and is now heading to President Trump's desk for his signature. A new bill has been lobbied for by Consumer Reports that's called The Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019. The act was stuffed inside an appropriations bill, but the cable TV industry was aware and was able to pull some last-minute shenanigans and have a key provision in the bill changed....
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Hidden fees, inconsistent pricing, abysmal customer service, and limited content have all become hallmarks of the satellite television providers. T-Mobile hopes to change this and is reportedly “one step closer to taking on Big Cable later this year”. T-Mobile plans to launch its own cable television solution, TVision Home. TVision Home is “an upgraded, rebranded version of Layer3 TV”, which T-Mobile acquired in 2017. Layer3 TV was an internet-based TV platform and it offered 275 HD channels, DVR support with the ability to record 8 shows at once, and access to over 25,000 on demand titles. TVision Home will offer more than 150 channels, 35,000 On Demand movies,...
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After decades of ruling the roost, pay TV services have been hemorrhaging customers in recent years, thanks to the increasing availability of broadband connectivity and the advent of streaming services. Millions of pay TV subscribers have now cut the cord. Cable and satellite TV providers should be worried, though there is also evidence to suggest that the worst losses are behind them. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the terminology, cord cutting simply refers to ditching traditional pay TV services via cable or satellite, and adopting a streaming solution. Services like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, Sling, and YouTube TV all offer streaming options that in some cases can be more affordable...
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Cable and satellite TV providers are losing customers, and it's not because any of the services are lacking in content. That is not the issue. Instead, an increasing number of customers are 'cutting the cord' and going with one or more streaming services. The primary reason for going that route is because streaming solutions are generally cheaper. This has been a threat to cable and satellite TV providers for a long time now. However, as services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and others add more content and options, the threat of losing customers to the cord-cutting movement gets bigger. The same holds true for broadband extending its reach into more areas, with faster speeds. What's...
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Are you one of the millions of Americans that are sick and tired of paying high rates for cable TV and satellite packages? Many are paying outrageous prices for dozens (or even hundreds) of channels that they probably don't even watch. Given the rising costs of TV packages, more and more people are cutting the cord. Just how expensive have cable and satellite TV options become over the years? Well, according to Kagan, S&P Global Market Intelligence, the average monthly cost for premium TV packages has increased 74 percent since 2000 from just under $60 to nearly $100. Given that median wages of U.S. workers [obviously] haven't increased at the same rate, it should come as no surprise that...
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The FCC has another battle on their hands. On Thursday, the “Future of TV” Coalition, a group consisting of mostly of the top TV providers, released plans for their “Ditch the Box” campaign. The pay-TV industry would commit to creating apps to allow consumers to watch programs without needing to lease a box. The FCC could implement regulations enforcing the commitment. This legislation would potentially affect roughly 50 million subscribers. A trade group supported by Google, Netflix, and Amazon has criticized the plan for being a ploy to delay negotiations. INCOMPAS, a law firm that represents communications and technology companies, has also accused the industry of making apps-based promises...
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Much to the chagrin of every major TV network out there, Netflix continues to rise at a solid rate and eat into its wary competition. According to research conducted by Michael Nathanson, of MoffettNathanson, cable TV viewing dropped 3% in 2015, and half of that is directly attributed to Netflix. It's being predicted that by 2020, 14% of household TV viewing will be through Netflix, highlighting that the service's growth isn't about to slow down. Nathanson's research hits on some rather specific stats regarding how much airtime Netflix subscribers give to network giants. During 2015, those subscribed to Netflix watched CBS 42% less than non-subscribers, and it's not just The Big Bang Theory host...
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It should strike no one as a surprise that digital video has become big business. Let be more accurate; it's a huge business. When Google purchased YouTube almost ten years ago, there were few people who truly understood what it'd become. Today it's one of the most popular websites on the planet, ranking 3rd globally (behind Google.com and Facebook.com). It's also no doubt responsible for a lot more bandwidth than most other sites out there, so it's of little surprise then that the company's Chief Business Officer sees a bright future. At CES, Robert Kyncl reiterated a couple of predictions he made four years ago, which he still believes will hold true. At that event in 2012, he claimed...
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Given the proliferation of online video streaming, you could say that it's taking quite some time for cable companies to "get with it" and begin offering us their wares online. It's no secret that the number of cord-cutters is steadily increasing, and it's no wonder why: services like Netflix have made it easy to watch content online in very good quality, and through a number of different devices. Well, it seems like Time Warner is going to be one of the first out the door with an online version of its cable TV service, and at first, it's just going to be using New York City as the testing ground. Unfortunately, the company is keeping mum on a lot of details right now, including what kind of...
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Anyone who goes without cable TV but still loves popular content is no doubt aware of the limitations that cutting the cord can introduce. Often, networks will offer to broadcast their shows online, but then put it behind a paywall in the form of a required cable TV subscription. That's about as nonsensical as it gets, since most people who want to watch online are trying to work around not having that. Well, two major content producers this week announced their plans to get into the digital subscription game, in effect giving people the option to access their content legally, and without a cable TV subscription. The first of these is HBO, a company that's tired of having such a massive part...
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