People Still Don't Like Their Cable Companies, ConsumerReports' Telecom Survey Finds (consumerreports.org)

Larger cable providers once again take a beating for perceived value -- even when it comes to bundled plans. ConsumerReports: Unhappy with your pay-TV company? You're not alone. Dissatisfaction with the perceived value of pay-TV service was once again high among the 176,000 members who participated in Consumer Reports' latest telecommunications survey. When we asked for feedback on their experiences with pay TV, home internet, home telephone service, and bundled plans, they shared their displeasure. In fact, most of the larger cable companies -- Optimum (Cablevision), Comcast, and Spectrum (Charter, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks) -- earned low scores in multiple categories, settling into the bottom half of the 25 providers in CR's new telecom service ratings.

Only 38 percent of pay-TV subscribers were highly satisfied with their service, meaning they were "very" or "completely" happy with the offerings. Armstrong, a smaller cable company that operates in Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, earned the second-place slot behind Google Fiber, in part due to favorable scores for technical support, reliability, and customer service. Verizon and the two satellite-TV companies -- AT&T's DirecTV and Dish Network -- also rated better than Cox Communications, Comcast, Spectrum, and Optimum.

Top-rated EPB, a municipal broadband service run as a public utility in Chattanooga, Tenn., was one of the few bright spots for internet service. It was the only company to receive a top mark for value. It also got top marks for speed and reliability. Google Fiber was a close second in the ratings, the only other company to get a favorable mark for value.

Nearly three-quarters of the survey respondents who have a bundled plan -- TV, internet, and phone -- said they got a special promotional price when they signed up. And 45 percent were still enjoying that rate when they answered our survey.

Comments

The problem is too many channels

[Vermonter]

The cable companies are under this false impression that it was a good idea to provide as many channels as possible. My biggest issue with TV now when I go somewhere that has cable, is it takes me a while to even find one of the channels I might want to watch. Maybe their idea what to increase the odds that a show you like is currently airing on one of the 800 channels, but in an age of on demand programming, this strategy is insufficient. The only saving grace for them now is to offer Netflix-style on demand programming for all their content.

Re:The problem is too many channels

[Actually, I do RTFA]

That wasn't the cable companies, it was the providers. Disney said, "If you want ESPN, you also have to carry these other 30 channels". Because they were all owned by Disney. And more Disney channels means it's more likely you'll watch a Disney-owned channel.

Re: The problem is too many channels

[peragrin]

Which is why we need local loop unbundling so the last mile fiber and wire can be hooked up by lots of people.

Not disimmialar from electricity. I pay one company for distribution and another for usage.

I am also not againist usage metering as long as the meter is publicly visible to me, and all data is the same. Att Comcast all don't count cettian services againist your data use

Re: The problem is too many channels

[Anonymous Coward]

Problem is, most (if not all) got decades worth of subsidies and tax breaks in order to pay for that last mile infrastructure. I even know of cities where the municipality directly paid to have it installed. One way or another that "capital investment" you're so worried about came from the taxpayers, and what do they have to show for it?

As usual in the U.S., not a goddamn thing except corporations and their sycophants complaining that all the free money they've been raking in isn't enough.

hidden fees and some times forced hardware rent

[Joe_Dragon]

hidden fees and some times forced hardware rent.

Comcast may force people to rent there gateway when they move to IPTV.

That's unpossible!

[Nidi62]

Top-rated EPB, a municipal broadband service run as a public utility in Chattanooga, Tenn., was one of the few bright spots for internet service. It was the only company to receive a top mark for value. It also got top marks for speed and reliability.

But we've been told there is no way a government service could give better performance at a lower price than a private company! Fake news!

Re:I do. LOVE FIOS. Love. Love. Love.

[Oswald McWeany]

Spectrum is always down in my area too! When you live in an area with precisely 1 fast broadband provider (which is common across the US); and you cut cable TV only to find a few years later you're now paying the same for internet that you once paid for cable- because they use internet consumers to subsidise their cable TV customers... yeah, I hate my cable company ISP. I hate monopolies in general because they can do precisely this... abuse the consumer.