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AT&T, Dish, Comcast All Raising Cable TV Rates To Counter Cord-Cutting (dallasnews.com)

AT&T's DirecTV, Dish, and Comcast are all planning to raise their rates again in the new year, "a move that could boost revenue but risks alienating subscribers who have been ditching their traditional TV subscriptions in record numbers," reports Dallas News. From the report: Cable and satellite providers are hoping to squeeze more money from consumers who remain loyal to their packages with hundreds of channels, Philip Cusick, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst, said in a note this week, even though "this strategy could accelerate video sub declines." The latest price increases come as cord-cutting accelerates. In the third quarter, the TV industry saw its largest ever rate of decline, with subscribers shrinking by 3.7 percent, according to MoffettNathanson LLC. Consumers are dropping traditional TV for lower-cost online options like Netflix Inc. and slimmer TV options from Hulu and YouTube.

DirecTV is raising rates on all English-language video packages by $3 to $8 a month while hiking fees for regional sports networks by $1 to $1.90 in most markets. Dish said it's increasing prices for English-language video packages by $3 to $5 a month. Altice USA, the fourth-largest cable operator, recently raised rates by 3 percent on Optimum subscribers. Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, is raising its fee for regional sports networks by $1.50 on average and its fee for broadcast channels by $2 a month, according to Cusick. Charter Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. cable provider, recently boosted its monthly fee for a set-top box by about 50 cents and its broadcast channel fee by about $1. Charter operates as Spectrum in Dallas-Fort Worth.

184 of 283 comments (clear)

  1. Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A shame, but if they jack up my costs, I'll just pull the plug and get free HDTV from my HDTV antenna at 1080p resolution.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Atomic+Fro · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Local news is the only fact-based news left.

      Um, you might want to think about that a bit more.

      --

      ==================
      Hippie Logger Jock
      ==================
    2. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

      I like the side channels better than any of the main ones. They play old shows or other oddball programming.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    3. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by PPH · · Score: 1

      It's actually fun to watch my local Sinclair station screw with the must-run scripts.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    4. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by SpankiMonki · · Score: 1

      I think he's talking about weather & sports

    5. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      I donâ€(TM)t think fact based journalism is a thing anymore. There is too much competition and it doesnâ€(TM)t sell. People only want to hear what makes them feel special. I havenâ€(TM)t seen news in a long time that doesnâ€(TM)t exploit ego and sell opinion. And worse now than ever, the people selling this trash actually believe it now too.

      Iâ€(TM)m sure broadcast has something to watch, but itâ€(TM)s cheaper and faster to just buy it somewhere else.

    6. Re:Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Z00L00K · · Score: 2

      Effectively what will happen is that it will accelerate cord-cutting so they just try to squeeze the last out of the market before it dies a slow death.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    7. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      For Pete's sake, /. Fix unicode support!! Parent post stabbed my eyeballs.

    8. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you used standard ASCII instead of your proprietary, non-PC compatible formatting, it would work fine.

    9. Re:Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Agreed. OTA is often uncompressed 1080p and better than our neighbors get on cable or Fios. (Local news programming seems to be the highest picture quality.)

      However, digital TV works great until it doesn't. If you are in a marginal signal area, digital TV can become unwatchable. Where I am, if it's raining or the wind is blowing the trees around, the picture pixelates and stutters, the sound drops out - unwatchable. It makes me miss the snow of analog TV.

      I confess, when the weather's bad and the TV is unwatchable, I wish the TV stations just streamed their content - ads and all - OTI (over the internet). I don't want their app, I just want to watch their programming.

    10. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      By me we get LAFF. It shows old shows like Night Court, Third Rock from the Sun, and That 70's Show. Yes, I prefer streaming but when I'm in the mood to turn on live TV and see a random show, LAFF seems to always have something good on.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    11. Re:Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by doconnor · · Score: 3, Informative

      OTA is actually 1080i with MPEG2 compression, but on cable it is often recompressed with lower quality to save on bandwidth.

    12. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Shotgun · · Score: 1

      Dude, what have you got against re-runs of "Bonanza" and "The Golden Girls"?

      --
      Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
      Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
    13. Re:Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by jwhyche · · Score: 2

      All this will do is speed up the number of people "cutting the cord" anyway. It's the high cost that made me shoot my cable connection. I wasn't using it and why pay 80 bucks a month for something I didn't use? The only thing I was playing on it was foxnews, then I realized "I was paying $80 a month for foxnews."

      Hell, get a Ruko and call it good. 4,000+ plus channel apps, granted 90% of them are garbage but there should be something on there for everyone. One day I decided to find the weirdest thing I could find on a ruko. I found it. Some guy dressed in a silver suit with a honest to god tin foil hat on. He wanted me to listen 4 hours to why his version alien built the earth for a zoo and why the government was in on it. I think I made it 15 minutes...

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    14. Re:Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

      What has taken you so long? Only NOW costs have reached the critical point? Give me a break! Cable costs reached that point a decade ago, but most people just kept paying anyway. Don't wait for the rate hike! There's plenty of good programming on RoKu or Amazon or Apple TV, for a lot less money.

    15. Re:Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by torkus · · Score: 1

      It's very short term over long term...enough so that most children could understand the stupidity of it all.

      Providers will simply jack up broadband prices though. Be it via fees and surcharges or simply raising the service price, they'll eventually move to raise the minimum per-household spend back to where it was. Kind of stupid to think that though, as the US already has fairly expensive internet and this will just make us pay more for less once again.

      Go team USA .... /s

      --
      You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
    16. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my comcast then by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      Which IMO are the 2 most useless things to air on the news. I don't care about sports and I check the weather on the internet. I imagine anyone who does care about sports already has checked the scores and highlights of anything they care about. There are websites and even networks entirely devoted to weather and sports.

      What's worse is when international networks carry news and weather. Every half hour there's a weather update letting me know it's 43C in Alice Springs, Australia or something. And then there's the sports updates. Cricket, football, basketball, tennis, etc...I don't care. Why the hell is a network in Doha reporting about the Baltimore Colts? I don't know, but they are...but first the weather "brought to you by Qatar Airlines." Why would an airline want to bring you the weather? Some of it's always bad. And I just remembered it's not the Baltimore Colts anymore...that's how long it's been since I cared about the NFL.

      Is it just filler? But they hire people for these jobs...Well, I can think of one network that just shows weather maps with temperatures and music but presumably someone still has to produce it...or could it be automated?

      And that's my middle-of-the-night rant. I woke up way too early today. It's a terrible thing.

  2. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Great, this is excellent for short-term revenue, which is all that matters.

    Next, more commercials should be added.
    Selling more commercials will increase revenue
    Revenue will be increased with more commercials
    Increasing commercials will increase revenue.

    the ratio is too small.

    5 mins of content, should require 2 min of commercials.
    And the same commercial should be repeated at least twice.

    the rental fees should also be increased.

    also , pay per view fees should be increased.

    people should be required to rent the cable box, the cable card, and the remote control, and the batteries for the remote. only authorized batteries should be able to be used.

    heck, the tv should be rented as well, and should have a camera installed to ensure only authorized people watch, to prevent sharing.

    1. Re:Great! by bobstreo · · Score: 1

      At least we don't have a goon squad running around checking for oeoples television licenses (yet) /s

    2. Re:Great! by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I'm old enough to remember when long term profits mattered, and it was taken for granted that you treated your customer base with respect. I know it sounds like fantasy to some younger readers, but that's how it was.

    3. Re:Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      you just gave them too many ideas

    4. Re:Great! by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      It might not have applied to the cable companies though, even then.

    5. Re:Great! by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      Don't forget that other money maker: Reduce the advertised price of cable TV but more than make up for that with large increases in nonsensical fees that get added to the bill to cover normal business expenses. Expect to see "Office Toilet Paper Fee", ""CEO Wants A Yacht Fee", and "Electricity To Power Our Stores Fee." Also, they should call more of them "taxes" even though they aren't really taxes so that people get mad at the government and not at the cable company.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    6. Re:Great! by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      . Expect to see "Office Toilet Paper Fee", ""CEO Wants A Yacht Fee", and "Electricity To Power Our Stores Fee."

      But expect to see them disguised as "Environmental Fees", "Executive Transportation Subsidy" and "Energy Reclamation Fee" or something even more subtle.

  3. For the price and quality of cable by bobstreo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You can buy a nice antenna.

    If you want more content, you can get the slingtv app for way less than probably basic cable in your area.

    You can toss in Netfltx and Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

    The break even point is about 2 months of cable for all of the above.

    I shudder to think what the last person on cable tv will be getting charged to mae up for all the cord-cutters.

    1. Re:For the price and quality of cable by Spamalope · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a signal they figure they can block/degrade media streaming and get away with it, and that media properties are pulling out of the big streaming companies and that'll screw up the cord cutting value proposition.

    2. Re:For the price and quality of cable by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

      Not really. This is simply a signal that their remaining customers are people who won't consider switching to streaming, either because they're old or because they want live local sports. There's no point trying to compete with streaming on cost because that's a losing proposition by far, so may as well milk the cable customers before they die off.

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    3. Re:For the price and quality of cable by antdude · · Score: 1

      Not everyone can get OTA TV like me in the rural/boonie area with giant hills/small mountains. Ohters and I can't even get strong cell signals. :(

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    4. Re:For the price and quality of cable by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >"The break even point is about 2 months of cable for all of the above."

      The problem is that most streaming video (outside of Netflix) either doesn't get the content I want, or has forced commercials. I won't do commercials- EVER. With cable, I get the content I want and with TiVo, nothing [like commercials] is forced. And I have the bonus of TONS of local content that is ready to play and skip around without any delays or streaming problems or dependency on a working Internet connection. AND I don't have to watch 5, 10, or 30 seconds of poor quality video while it figures out I have a lot of bandwidth available and scales up. AND I can instantly move forward or backward and slow-mo and frame-by-frame- things that rarely work well (or at all) with streaming. AND when I have something recorded- it is MINE. It won't disappear a day or month or year later when I am ready to watch or (or a series) as I have had happen with streaming (when, at a whim, something can be dropped or pulled). AND I don't have to deal with the typically HORRIBLE user interfaces that many of the streaming stuff use (including Netflix).

      I say all this because people on Slashdot often make the mistake of thinking that streaming is so perfect in every way compared to cable + DVR, and it is not. It has downsides too. Its best upside is (besides price)- if a program remains available, you can watch it NOW, without having to make sure it is recorded at some point (especially when you discover a new series too late and miss the first episodes).

      Now, perhaps this has changed since 2 years ago when I last checked... but I doubt it. So although I am pissed at paying so much for the 8 or so channels I watch consistently (out of the HUNDREDS of others I have to subsidize for others), it doesn't seem I have the alternative I want, yet.

    5. Re:For the price and quality of cable by o_ferguson · · Score: 1

      Nobody is saying the streaming is the perfect solution. They're saying that streaming plus piracy is the perfect solution.

      --
      - In Soviet Korea, only old people loose all their bases to Natalie Portman's petrified hot grits overlords.
    6. Re:For the price and quality of cable by Bert64 · · Score: 2

      Piracy is currently by far and away the best solution...

      Streaming providers are fragmented, impose arbitrary discrimination based on your source ip or what device you're using, use drm etc... People actually pay to subscribe to services which provide pirated media because these services offer so many advantages, so it's not that people are unwilling to pay or just looking for the cheapest option.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    7. Re:For the price and quality of cable by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >"Piracy is currently by far and away the best solution..."

      It just has that problem of being illegal. So it is only "best" for the consumer, not the producer, not for the economy. And the more people who get their content that way, the less content will be created. So content will be more expensive, created less, and of lower quality.

      Let's face it- while many people who pirate do so to be free of restrictions, many do it because they just don't want to pay for content. The interesting part, though, is that piracy does put price and restrictions pressure on content creators to help keep them in check.

    8. Re:For the price and quality of cable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Cable is worth paying for if:
      * OTA isn't available with a reasonably priced antenna setup (boonies)
      * You want content (usually sports) that's only available on cable
      * You don't mind restricted access to local channels, or arbitrary cutoffs when mega-cable-company has a disagreement with mega-network
      * You don't mind tons of commercials (what, you thought that paying for cable would avoid the commercials?)
      * You don't mind degraded (non-HD) picture unless you pay extra (OTA HD is full-HD, not compressed)

      Streaming is worthwhile if:
      * It has content you want at a reasonable price
      * You have adequate and reasonably priced internet service - unfortunately, adequate service is often only from the cable company, and reasonably-priced is relative
      * You don't need more than a couple of streaming services - beyond that, and you're back to cable-level monthly payments

      Satellite is rarely a better deal than cable, any more.

    9. Re:For the price and quality of cable by TomGreenhaw · · Score: 2

      TLDR; You can pay a little extra and get streaming quality internet and the good content is out of cable's reach.

      There is a lot of good content free over the air. We have a Tivo and record most of what we watch to skip over commercials we're not interested in. There is no way to degrade that.

      We do use AT&T but we pay $20/month extra for streaming video capability.

      I went on vacation and watched cable for a while and the content is laughably bad. Netflix is making their own content and it is vastly better. We also have Amazon Prime already and their content is fantastic too.

      --
      Greed is the root of all evil.
    10. Re:For the price and quality of cable by f3rret · · Score: 1

      There is a lot of good content free over the air. We have a Tivo and record most of what we watch to skip over commercials we're not interested in. There is no way to degrade that.

      Sure there is, all TV now a days is digital. So encode the TV signal in a proprietary format (to prevent clever opensource solutions), make it part of your proprietary format that commercial blocks are marked as unskippable by the TiVo.

      --
      Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
    11. Re:For the price and quality of cable by internerdj · · Score: 1

      Presuming you have more than one internet provider. I can't do better than 3Mbps DSL. More than one stream or some sort of update download destroys streaming.

    12. Re:For the price and quality of cable by o_ferguson · · Score: 1

      Did you learn nothing from TRON? The market and the producers don't matter at all. The User is king. Also, your argument that piracy is decreasing the variety and quality of shows has not been proven in the real world. At all. Piracy fuels creativity.

      --
      - In Soviet Korea, only old people loose all their bases to Natalie Portman's petrified hot grits overlords.
    13. Re:For the price and quality of cable by terrycarlino · · Score: 1

      The big streaming companies are Disney. As soon as they launch their own streaming channel we're into what people have been saying they've wanted all along, a la carte service. To see it all you'll have to pay Disney, which will have Disney channel stuff, Star Wars, Marvel, Fox, and ABC. To get Star Trek you'll have to get CBS streaming (Yeah, I know they're dead), to get Netflix your go there, Amazon Prime you go there, NBC and Disney stuff that's R rated you go to HULU. I don't know if BBC America has a streaming service that's available for cord cutters.

      So basically It'll probably cost you $159 a month to stream it all. Plus whatever your paying fro your internet connection. It will be so much better than cable.

    14. Re:For the price and quality of cable by terrycarlino · · Score: 1

      Most sports leagues have a streaming package. You pony up some money and you can stream sports.

    15. Re:For the price and quality of cable by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      It's not actually illegal everywhere, and in many instances is the only option available at all.

      So it is only "best" for the consumer, not the producer, not for the economy.

      As i said it's not just people unwilling to pay, many people would subscribe to a service which offered the flexibility and quality of piracy.
      Also excessively long copyright terms are bad for almost everyone too.

      And the more people who get their content that way, the less content will be created.

      Based on what evidence? The most heavily pirated titles tend to be those with the highest sales, some content can't be pirated (live shows), and countries with the highest piracy rates are often still producing local content.
      In fact it's just as likely that content producers would attempt to compete with the pirates by offering better services. I found cinemas to be both better and cheaper in countries with high piracy, as they have to provide a compelling experience to tempt people away from the pirate copies. In countries with low piracy rates, the cinemas are overpriced, uncomfortable, dirty and noisy with poor service.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
  4. Shouldn't they be... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Shouldn't they be raising Internet rates instead, since Internet service is needed by cord-cutters too? The other fees are avoided by cancelling cable.

    1. Re:Shouldn't they be... by turp182 · · Score: 1

      Bounce between providers if you have multiple ones.

      If you don't have this, I'm not sure.

      Data caps are the real issue. That's how they will get us. Charter claims to not have such in my area, I shall see.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    2. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Powercntrl · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't they be raising Internet rates instead

      Be careful what you wish for.

      --

      ---
      DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    3. Re:Shouldn't they be... by StormReaver · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't they be raising Internet rates instead, since Internet service is needed by cord-cutters too?

      If they're smart, then they know that's a problematic gamble. There are several companies planing to put satellites in low earth orbit to provide Internet access. By raising Internet rates now, the major ISP's would be setting into motion the wholesale slaughter of their businesses when these satellites become operational.

    4. Re:Shouldn't they be... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      they should be LOWERING rates to stop the bleeding, win back some customers, and re-build their customer base.

      Are you serious?

      Here is a full count of all the cord cutters that have ever changed their mind and gone back to paying for cable-TV: 0.

      Slightly lower rates are not going to change anything.

    5. Re:Shouldn't they be... by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      Comcast has set their data cap at (typically) 1TB. That's enough that few people will hit it today.

      This gets people to accept the idea of a data cap, in the knowledge that eventually large numbers of people will hit it. Once they hit it, what's the choice? Go back to cablefor your TV watching, or pay more for Internet service. Win-win for Comcast.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    6. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Darinbob · · Score: 2, Informative

      Then the real solution is to stop watching so much television. The reason cable companies are taking advantage of customers is that they are treating customers like a captive audience that has to subscribe. So the customers should be turning around and proving that they're not so addicted that they no longer have free will.

    7. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Obfuscant · · Score: 2

      Shouldn't they be raising Internet rates instead,

      They're not raising their prices, they're passing along the increasing costs they pay for sports and broadcast content. It's the broadcasters who are demanding more for their product, and sports channels paying ridiculous amounts for exclusive coverage deals. From TFA:

      It's common for pay-TV providers to raise prices in the new year. They are passing on the rising costs they pay to carry networks like CBS and ABC, as well as regional sports channels, which are shelling out more and more for broadcast rights.

    8. Re: Shouldn't they be... by negRo_slim · · Score: 1

      1TB is nothing with HD and higher streaming requirements.

      --
      On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
    9. Re:Shouldn't they be... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Here is a full count of all the cord cutters that have ever changed their mind and gone back to paying for cable-TV: 0.

      No, wait, back in 2012 there was that guy in North Dakota who couldn't figure how to plug his Amazon Firestick into the toaster, and he did in fact go back to cable. But aside from that guy, your list is complete.

      Personally, I dumped cable about 20 years ago and never missed it.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    10. Re:Shouldn't they be... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Then the real solution is to stop watching so much television.

      ^^^^^THIS. Television truly is the opiate of the masses.

      I don't understand people that spend every evening and every spare minute watching TV.

      I mean, don't you people have friends, hobbies, lives, outside interests, anything? Do you go on vacation and watch TV in your hotel rooms?

      And now, more and more, I see those mini-TVs hanging off the back of the headrests in cars, playing some animated shit or whatever to keep the kids quiet. Seriously, how fucking dependent are you people on television?

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    11. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      Once you hit your 1 TB data cap, what's the choice? Oh, I don't know, perhaps watch stuff in 1080p instead of 4K or 8K? Hmm should I pay $100 a month for cable or should I watch stuff at a slightly lower bitrate that I probably can't even see the difference of... tough choice.

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      This space intentionally left blank
    12. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Miamicanes · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If companies like Comcast were smart, they'd do two things:

      1. Allow customers to use their own antenna for OTA and get a $12-15/month discount. In other words, for each customer who puts up their own antenna, Comcast would save having to pay the local carriage fees for that customer, so it would be revenue-neutral for Comcast & would allow customers who are likely to bolt to rationalize staying around a little longer. This is EXACTLY what DirecTV used to do about 15 years ago... you connected your OTA antenna to the STB/DVR, and it seamlessly inserted the local channels into the lineup and treated them exactly as if they were from the satellite.

      2. Allow customers who don't care about Disney and/or sports to trade one or both for channels like HBO, Showtime, and/or Starz.

      We don't need literal "a-la-carte" pricing. Most of the channels on the mid-tier lineup only cost a few cents per month anyway. What we NEED is the ability to prune away the most expensive low-hanging fruit. ESPN, the RSNs, and Disney cost more per month per customer than HBO and Showtime. SlingTV has already proven that there's a market for people who'll happily sacrifice sports & Disney for other channels (Sling "Orange" allows one stream & includes ESPN and Disney, Sling "Blue" allows multiple streams, has more channels, and DOESN'T include ESPN or Disney).

    13. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      rising costs they pay to carry networks like CBS and ABC

      the 'networks' are OTA. 'retransmission agreements' are just as bad as the cable sports fees.

      if a 'network' or affiliate wants a fee to carry their OTA signal that the cable co or its subscribers could receive over the air, that station should be tossed off of the 'basic' cable package required to subscribe to other channels or packages (like hbo or espn), and put into its own. that would be enough to get most broadcast stations to choose 'must carry' vs collecting a fee per sub. if a cable/satellite subscriber is within the 'viewing area' or market of an OTA channel, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO FUCKING PAY TO GET IT, EVEN VIA A SERVICE.

      programming costs and markups need to be transparent and published by the providers, so a subscriber knows exactly what they're paying for and where increases come from.

      ala carte programming options would eliminate many of the channels that depend upon carriage agreements, and not viewership, to survive.. the ones that carry nothing but bullshit garbage and infomercials would disappear, no great loss. while those who want espn, will pay for it,and those that don't, won't.

      all we want here is an OTA signal we can actually use (we're in a valley, with bluffs and hills between us and the distant transmitters, unable to use even rooftop antenna), and like 3-4 channels off cable. we shouldn't have to pay eighty fucking dollars for that. $30 is more reasonable, including receiver or cable card, 'cost' of the connection to have the service, and any fees or taxes.

    14. Re:Shouldn't they be... by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't they be raising Internet rates instead, since Internet service is needed by cord-cutters too?

      Stop giving them ideas, you cunt. This is either a move designed expressly to push people to streaming media instead of cable or they are legitimately retarded, in the former case I don't care, in the latter case posts like yours could be extremely detrimental.

    15. Re:Shouldn't they be... by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      I have actually considered going back to a cable bill for one reason: ease of use; Cable "just works"

      Just the whole rigamarole of loading the DTVN app on the Roku Ultra, wait for the last loaded channel to buffer then go back to the menu and select the thing you want to watch then wait for that to buffer, then learn that the show didn't record right and/or won't play back correctly, then exiting out of the DTVN app and loading the stand-alone channel app in order to watch the show with unfastforwardable commercials.... it's a pain sometimes.

      But yeah, cable is a LOT more expensive than DSL+Hulu+Netflix+HBO GO+DTVN and the hassle isn't THAT much greater.... but still..... it can be annoying sometimes. Annoying enough for me to consider going back....

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    16. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Comcast would save having to pay the local carriage fees for that customer,

      It would never work that way. There is no way to audit who actually had an antenna and who didn't, and the carriage contracts would never include a nebulous "he said he had an antenna" exemption.

    17. Re:Shouldn't they be... by EnOne · · Score: 1

      The cable companies may be worried about the whole "Net Neutrality" fight going on. If they raise internet rates after the FCC removed the restrictions they said were too onerous to bear then they at least look like hypocrites and possibly liars.

      --
      Calvin:Do you believe in the devil? Hobbes:I'm not sure man needs the help.
    18. Re:Shouldn't they be... by oldosadmin · · Score: 1

      I've not used DTVN, but I find Sling TV + Roku to be vastly superior to any cable box setup I've been subjected to in the past.

      --
      Jay | http://oldos.org
    19. Re: Shouldn't they be... by Miamicanes · · Score: 1

      It doesn't have to. All cable channels are encrypted now and selectively unlocked box-by-box anyway. If the customer doesn't pay the "local channel" fee, don't show the local channels from the cable company. If the customer lies about having an antenna, they'll just have no local channels at all.

    20. Re: Shouldn't they be... by santathehutt · · Score: 1

      You suck as Batman, Ben.

    21. Re:Shouldn't they be... by jwhyche · · Score: 2

      Fortunately, most providers have a unlimited data rate that comes at a reasonable price. Comcast is now $25, it used to be $50. Having multiple providers seems to have helped too. My apartment was just wired for AT&T, last time I was on the phone with comcast I dropped that little bit of info. Amazing how just saying those words changed the tone of the conversation.

      Don't get me wrong, both AT&T are evil. I just stick with comcast because they are the devil I know.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    22. Re: Shouldn't they be... by jwhyche · · Score: 2

      1TB is plenty, if you don't watch more than 3 hours a day on one screen. With a family, forget it. 1 TB doesn't even begin to cover it. We use up to 3 TB a month at my place. A plan with no datacap is a must.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    23. Re:Shouldn't they be... by FloaterFlam · · Score: 1

      2. Allow customers who don't care about Disney and/or sports to trade one or both for channels like HBO, Showtime, and/or Starz.

      DISNEY doesn't allow this. Their contracts with the cable companies require ESPN & Disney Channel on the basic tier. If the cable co wants to offer ESPN to any customer, they must give it to every one.

    24. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

      Oh they are. Comcast recently raised my cable modem rates by $5 a month.

    25. Re:Shouldn't they be... by Miamicanes · · Score: 1

      Then the solution is for Congress to make it illegal for content providers to force cable companies into all-or-nothing contracts as a natural application of antitrust law.

      Truth be told, it wouldn't even affect ESPN or Disney's profits much. If ESPN went from being a $15 bundle of channels everyone had to pay for to a premium channel bundle that cost an extra $45/month, people who really care about televised sports will grudgingly pay it anyway. For Comcast, and even ESPN, it would be largely revenue-neutral, and merely represent a massive shifting of costs from "everyone" to "the subset of customers who really care about that particularly-expensive bundle of channels".

  5. Re:Fuck'n Shhh by wolfheart111 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Goddamnit man... lol

    --
    [($)]
  6. Choose: TV and data or neither by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    My U-Verse TV series gives me the benefit of unlimited Internet data usage. If I cancel the cable, I will have a data cap. Weasley shits.

    1. Re:Choose: TV and data or neither by DaFallus · · Score: 1

      My U-Verse TV series gives me the benefit of unlimited Internet data usage. If I cancel the cable, I will have a data cap. Weasley shits.

      You'll have a data cap, and the cost of your internet will go up $10. I know because I recently canceled my DirecTV service with AT&T.

      --
      No one cares what your captcha was

      Houston TX, USA
  7. Laugh it up now, but who is your ISP? by Powercntrl · · Score: 1

    As amusing as I find it that they're giving the middle finger to the basic laws of "supply and demand", by raising the price of services which are seeing diminishing demand, it will cease to be amusing once they start jacking up internet service costs.

    I'm already paying $50/mo for crappy internet-only service, which barely works most of the time. There's no other choice of land line ISP where I live, either. Yay capitalism, I suppose.

    --

    ---
    DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    1. Re:Laugh it up now, but who is your ISP? by Powercntrl · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, you'd get much better internet access under communism...

      Criticism of certain aspects of capitalism != advocating a switch to communism

      At least you had the sense to post A.C. to avoid owning your faulty logic.

      --

      ---
      DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    2. Re:Laugh it up now, but who is your ISP? by Watter · · Score: 1

      Yay capitalism, I suppose.

      I'm not sure how government sponsered monopolies = capitalism, but ok...

    3. Re:Laugh it up now, but who is your ISP? by strikethree · · Score: 2

      The scary thing is, that logical fallacy is the default mode for most humans.

      If you say something nice about Trump, all sorts of people will suddenly be attacking you and claiming that you are a Trump supporter. What. The. Fuck. A stopped clock is correct twice a day, commenting that the clock appears to be accurate at this moment does not imply that I think the clock is accurate at all moments... but for some people, remarking on the coincidence is equivalent to closing your eyes, putting your fingers in your ears, and screaming "la la la I can't hear you! The clock is ALWAYS accurate!"

      It is like a mental disease or something. The weirdest part about all of it is that I see what appear to be perfectly normal people suddenly turning into "frothing at the mouth" idiots through the use of this logical fallacy. Just blows me away.

      Have a nice day. :)

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
    4. Re:Laugh it up now, but who is your ISP? by belg4mit · · Score: 1

      It's government lack of regulation of the natural monopoly that is associated with pernicious capitalism.

      --
      Were that I say, pancakes?
  8. YouTube TV FTW by turp182 · · Score: 4, Informative

    We have switched to YouTube TV. Not all of the channels, but enough. Local channels, bunch of news. Unlimited cloud based program storage (9 months). Sports channels (not a big concern but I watch some football, US and the rest of the world's definition, no Fox Sports for hockey though, dab-nab-it!).

    $40 per month. We have cable internet through Charter (supposedly unlimited, hasn't been an issue)..

    Combined with Netlfix (Bandersnatch!!!! we have 2 endings left and will cheat to find them) and Amazon Prime (already paid for), everything from the Roku, it works.

    Going to get HBO Go for a short time to watch Game of Thrones.

    --
    BlameBillCosby.com
    1. Re:YouTube TV FTW by dbrueck · · Score: 1

      That's what we did - YouTube TV has been great. A nice bonus is that each family member (up to 6 IIRC) gets their own separate archive/DVR.

    2. Re:YouTube TV FTW by mtmra70 · · Score: 2

      I receive Fox Sports (Detroit) on YTTV. Are you not in a regional area? It's great for hockey too, 60fps!

    3. Re:YouTube TV FTW by turp182 · · Score: 1

      Actually I just realized last night that I get Fox Sports Midwest so I can watch the Blues games. I was fine losing that, but it's nice to find that it's there.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    4. Re:YouTube TV FTW by MaryannG · · Score: 1

      Did pretty much the same when the kids were living at home. Once they moved off to college I considered dumping Comcast TV altogether and keep their cable internet. Turns out, if I dropped TV my bill would INCREASE something like $15/mo.

      Best solution was to scale it all the way back to basic cable (local channels and no fluff). Picked up and tried both Hulu and YouTube TV for a time. Liked them both but found we simply didn't watch much network TV. Dropped them both, went with Netflix and Amazon video (which we already had through our Prime account) and added HBO to that (which, honestly, I also don't watch all that much).

      What cinches it for me is the absolute abysmal quality of network television programming. I can hardly watch a few minutes of any of the "popular" shows without feeling like my brain is dying. Unfunny, not entertaining and chock full of political slant (that shit is everywhere these days).

      It would seem television companies learned nothing from watching what happened to the music industry.

      --
      Social Media Handywoman at Texas Boys Balloo
    5. Re:YouTube TV FTW by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      When I cut cable it was because my cable provider (Time Warner Cable at the time, now Charter) decided that I needed to pay $50 extra a month. For that, I'd get slower Internet speeds and some features that I didn't want or need. I asked for a better deal and was told that this WAS the better deal. They said that worse deal was that I pay hundreds more and me paying $50 more a month was really good. So I cut cable. Now, I save about $80 a month versus what I would be paying had I kept cable. If cable TV isn't giving people a good value for their dollar, they're going to cancel it. It's not some vital service that everyone NEEDS to subscribe to in order to assist everyone else out.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    6. Re:YouTube TV FTW by turp182 · · Score: 1

      The networks do completely suck. I don't see how they can spend so much money on such dreck. Gordan Ramsey is the best thing on the networks (I like his non-child based shows).

      But I need my fix of morning news, which, for 20 days per month is worth something.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
  9. That dumb or is there an angle? by Chewbacon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Exec: Customers are leaving... why?
    Marketing: They don't see the value in our service!
    Exec: Let's raise the prices!
    Marketing: What???
    Exec: It ain't cheap if it's valuable! Double the price, double the valuable!

    --
    Chewbacon
    The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
    1. Re:That dumb or is there an angle? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      You see this with the electricity industry when people put solar panels on their roofs, at least in some areas. The power company makes it so that the home owner is better off adding batteries and cutting the power cable. In response to the lost revenue the power company increases rates which makes more people think it's a good idea to install panels and batteries. It just ends up being a death spiral.

      It's also happening with public transit in some places including my city. They keep raising the fares and insist that the drop in ridership is due to the economy. Meanwhile with every increase more people decide to switch from the bus and go back to their car for the daily commute.

    2. Re:That dumb or is there an angle? by guacamole · · Score: 1

      That's entirely logical. Chief executives have an extremely short time horizon for making super profits. If the company does not generate above-normal net income within two or three years, then they get fired, and without a bonus. So now they saw a chance to milk the cord customers for more cash. It doesn't matter that this is not a good strategy in the long term. The CEOs driven by activist stockholders, like hedge funds, demand profits now.

    3. Re:That dumb or is there an angle? by Chewbacon · · Score: 1

      Doesn't a board decide the terms of an exec's bonus? If so that would make it a short-sighted decision by a group of idiots and maybe the CEOs aren't dumb, just meeting expectations. It would also be the expectation of stockholders - a stupid-people-in-general expectation.

      --
      Chewbacon
      The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
  10. For those customers looking for options by ArhcAngel · · Score: 2

    I recently discovered this site and it makes wading through all the choices so much easier.

    --
    "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
  11. Doesn't sound like a good plan by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Has any industry ever pulled out of a dip in demand by raising costs?

    1. Re:Doesn't sound like a good plan by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Sure, just have to use the profits to screw the competition. In this case, get rid of net neutrality and make streaming such a bad experience that people won't have a choice. Depends on being a monopoly or working closely with the other company.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    2. Re:Doesn't sound like a good plan by Pezbian · · Score: 1

      Plenty, but the best way is by moving upmarket. You can charge more for improved service over the competition. I know photographers who kept raising their prices because they hated doing weddings, for example. One became the only photographer in the area who would do a wedding because people were willing to pay the astronomical price instead of having "Uncle Joe with his low-end DSLR and smudged kit lens" do the job. The rave reviews led to even more business and being able to afford better and better equipment with immediate backup of all photos so nothing has ever been lost. If Uncle Joe's battery dies halfway in or his discount memory card gets corrupted and the photos are lost forever, that's too bad.

      I applied the same principle with electronics and computers. I originally believed in making computers less daunting for people in my community, but I ended up with a bunch of white trash customers expecting caviar service on a Tuna Helper budget (and they'd stiff the bill half the time). Bucky Threeteeth gets real irate when he can't get his porn fix at two in the morning. Then it turns out his computer is so clogged with cigarette tar and dust that the motherboard fried. Then he tries to pay you with meth or stolen painkillers after you fix it.

      I began to charge way more than the hoi polloi repair shops I was undercutting and ended up doing professional work for professionals. If downtime is costing you thousands of dollars an hour, you're not going to wait a week for a hoi polloi shop to get the job done, you're going to call someone who can get you back up and running ASAP.

      Business internet costs more than residential for the same reason.

      --
      In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
  12. Re:Buggy Whips? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    Don't abuse your horses, please use cordless buggy whips.

  13. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by orev · · Score: 4, Informative

    Uhm, what? USPS First Class mail prices are regulated by the government. They cannot raise prices without regulatory approval. And last time I checked, most Post Offices are falling apart, yet you make it sound like they're a bunch of fat cats living the sweet postage life.

  14. Definitely a Smart Move by jimbrooking · · Score: 1

    Falling demand? HA! We'll raise prices to fix that. With that mindset I suppose the last ICE-powered car will cost around 800 billion dollars. (From a new Tesla owner)

  15. Re:We need Obamacable by Spamalope · · Score: 1, Funny

    Basic cable will be redefined as Cable Gold whose cost will double. Plans with more channels will be dubbed luxury products and be assessed a couch potato tax. It will be marketed as a plan to stop excessive cable company charges.

  16. monthly_cost = target_revenue / num_of_subscribers by misnohmer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now I get why my Comcast bill (back in the days when I still used cable) kept increasing every months - it's all those cord cutters reducing the num_of_subscribers in the formula!

    I wonder how long before they hit Division By Zero exception?

  17. I was surprised how many channels over the air by raymorris · · Score: 3, Informative

    It really surprised me how many channels you can get with an antenna. Something like 40-60 here in Dallas. Growing up, there were four.

    1. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why do you assume he's only a monoglot like you?

      Most of the world speaks two or more languages fluently.

    2. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      I get a ton in Fort Lauderdale, every station from FTL, Miami, West Palm, and many from the west coast of FL.

      Theres a LOT of duplication though. 4 different ABC affiliates for one.

      ANd a shitload of religious and spanish programming that are of no use to me at all.

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    3. Re: I was surprised how many channels over the air by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You are right, learning a second language is not likely to help you.

    4. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by laffer1 · · Score: 1

      It is not like this across the US. Where I live, we're technically in the Detroit market but so far away that we only get 4 stations. If I were inside of detroit, I'd get more.

      I went streaming only some time ago.

    5. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by laie_techie · · Score: 1

      Why do you assume he's only a monoglot like you?

      Most of the world speaks two or more languages fluently.

      I'm fluent in English and conversational in Portuguese. Unfortunately most of the non-English channels available to me are in Spanish. I would love access to Brazilian channels.

    6. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by bob4u2c · · Score: 1

      I was surprised as well, about 40 channels on an average day.

      The break down is something like:
      2 - NBC (SD and HD)
      2 - ABC (SD and HD)
      2 - CBS (SD and HD)
      2 - Fox (SD and HD)
      6 - PBS (Regular, Create, and something else; SD and HD)
      2 - CW (SD and HD)
      2 - Ion (SD and HD)
      1 - MyTv (random old tv shows: Gilligans Island, Hogans Heros, Twilight Zone, etc)
      1 - Movie (Odd random movies, usually nothing worth note)
      2 - Telemuno (SD and HD)
      1 - Analog channel (very fuzzy but old tv shows like Charles in Charge, Growing Pains, The Brady Bunch, etc)
      1 - Comet (scifi shows like Babylon 5, Space 1999, Lost in Space, etc)
      3 - Music channels (Blues, Rock, Folk)
      5+ - Religious channels
      1 - Stadium (Sports, not sure if current or even popular as I don't watch sports)
      3 - Infomercial
      3 - Always blank
      3 to 5 - Ones I don't even bother with.

      All this and I'm about 90 miles from a major city and I'm picking up stations from there (and I installed a 55 mile certified antenna; outside on the side of the house).

      I was only hoping for the major 5 (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and PBS), but surprised I got more.

      The FCC also has a search feature here: https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps. Take that with a grain of salt though as my zip code only shows 6 stations.

    7. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      I''m about 60 miles outside of the nearest big city where most of the transmitters are and picked up a $25 antenna at Walmart recently.

      If it's just right I can get just about any channel, but not all at once and it's not easily adjusted at the end of a 25 foot cable snaking up a vaulted ceiling to the window. I'm really just happy to get PBS and a couple of other stations, but I can just almost get the 2nd PBS station and most of the others if the stars are aligned just right.

      I'm reminded of Married With Children when they had to "assume Fox viewing positions" in order to watch Fox on their TV.

      QVC and the religious stuff come in just fine of course.

    8. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by raymorris · · Score: 1

      Do you know where the transmitters are? Often they are in a suburb or one side of the city, at a higher elevation than the original city, which tends to be in a river valley.

      Sixty miles should be borderline for most indoor antennas, no problem for most outdoor / attic antennas - if they are pointed at the transmitters. Basically, a longer range antenna is one that is more directional. More or less, every antenna of the same size will receive just as well. The question is to what degree they are directional, picking up signals in a specific direction rather than noise from other directions.

    9. Re:I was surprised how many channels over the air by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      I did look up the location of the 2nd PBS station...the one transmitter that I really wished I got better and pointed it as best as I could by just eyeballing the map and general direction.

      And you're right, it's not in the city, it's on a reasonably tall mountain (3500 meters) a few miles outside of it. But most of the time I can't get it at all and when I do it's heavily pixelated.

      According to Wikipedia:

      It is the highest full-power television transmitting antenna in the United States

      An attic antenna may be in my future.

  18. Directly intentional cash grab by the industry by Da+w00t · · Score: 2

    How many of those cable providers have a stake in Hulu, CBS All Access, etc already? This will further drive more consumers into the online streaming only services, which will get you fewer channels, and fewer choice in how to consume content. At least Star Trek: Discovery got released on DVD/Bluray now.

    Here's the thing: In the United States, cable companies are regulated federally. The cable box they rent out to you is *federally mandated* to use the same crypto card (cable card) that other devices like TiVos and some TVs have built in.

    Basically right now you can pay $160/month for phone+cable TV+internet and get an asston of TV channels, maybe 5% of which you watch religiously, and maybe an additional 20% that you watch infrequently. You benefit from this _some_ because the cable companies are merely distributors of premium content (e.g. HBO, Showtime, etc) and "extended digital basic" content (e.g. Discovery, History, Cartoon Network, ABC Family); and up until Netflix was streaming more content than shipping discs around everyone was clamoring for Cable TV a-la-carte.

    The reality is, we've got it now with CBS All Access, NetFlix, Hulu Originals, YouTube Originals, but ... the negotiation power of having 2.1M subscribers as a distribution company is lost, and consumers will (or already are) paying more for content a-la-carte.

    --

    da w00t. mtfnpy?
  19. That makes sense! by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 1

    Executive A: A lot of our customers are cancelling their subscriptions. What should we do?

    Executive B: Raise the price on the remaining customers!

    All: Great idea! Yeah!

    How does this compute in any way shape or form?

    1. Re:That makes sense! by Aighearach · · Score: 2

      How does this compute in any way shape or form?

      Maybe their data tells them what percent of their customers are addicted to individual shows and channels?

      The more of the non-addicts that leave, the less reason they have to keep prices reasonable.

      And these days, most content makes it to DVD eventually. Addicts really don't care, they can't even imagine waiting. But for other people, there is more content available than time anyways, the delay is meaningless. As the sum total of available video storytelling increases with time, there is less general value in fresh content. So things that are below movie quality will continue to decline, but they'll continue as a more expensive niche product.

      There exist people who have never seen My Sassy Girl (2001), The Pianist (2002), or Asobi ni Ikuyo (2010). All modern classics!

    2. Re:That makes sense! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Executive A: A lot of our customers are cancelling their subscriptions. What should we do?

      Executive B: Raise the price on the remaining customers!

      All: Great idea! Yeah!

      How does this compute in any way shape or form?

      Cable prices are ridiculous and have been for awhile, particularly when the majority of the channels have commercials. By accelerating the exodus, you might see some companies increase the customers they are selling internet to due to the demand, but likely only at the margins. Probably they will eventually settle out at a higher price and mostly be for people who can't get decent internet.

      I'd think I'd maybe like to see OTA channels perhaps repurposed for delivery of well video and audio files, more or less, at least for all the non live content. An end user would buy a box that stores whatever programs they want stored, likely with commercials. They could be broadcast at any hour of the day, and maybe released during certain times.

      Basically a lot of cable tv content is repeated many times. If you just showed it once and let people automatically DVR it all, then you could push a lot more through plain ota transmissions, likely with h264/h265. Certainly commercials don't need broadcast multiple times. That kind of approach would also be very nice in an emergency, since all you would need would be some electricity. Does a radio station need to transmit music over and over again, or just a playlist with commentary?

      Dump the really crap channels and implement this and you could probably deliver most cable tv information via OTA, particularly if you limited the OTA versions to say 720p. Encryption can handle any security required, maybe not perfectly, but good enough...

    3. Re:That makes sense! by misnohmer · · Score: 2

      You forgot:
      Executive B: According to my projections, my idea of raising the price by 10% will yield the company 10% more revenue. I'll take my performance bonus now.

  20. Re:For the price of ONE MONTH of cable by Obfuscant · · Score: 2

    That, and if you're in the city, get a simple unidirectional antenna;

    The word you are looking for is "omnidirectional". A "unidirectional" antenna points one direction.

  21. Brilliant by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    Other people don't want our service, so we'll charge you more. That will definitely make you want to stay with us...

    Is this from Retard Marketing 101, or the new book How To Drive Away Customers?

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  22. Re:Buggy Whips? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

    Bluetooth-enabled Wi-Fi buggy whips for the discerning customer.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  23. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my creimer then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Prices will increase until the cord cutting stops!

  24. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by Required+Snark · · Score: 4, Informative
    Additionally the USPS is required by federal law to provide service to everyone in the United States. The can't withhold service except for specific reasons, such as dog attacks. UPS/Fedex/etc have no requirements to provide service to any location. If you're too far off the beaten track they can ignore you or charge as much as they want. It's not a level playing field.

    The lowest cost for a letter from the USPS is under $.50 while UPS/Fedex is over $1.00.

    You're most likely a Conservative/Libertard. You have no legitimate criticism, you just trash the government because you can. You hate it when the government works. Hating the government is a stand in for hating the US. You're anti-American.

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
  25. How does raising rates counter cord-cutting? by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    I would think it would do just the opposite.

  26. How high will they have to raise rates by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    before they "counter cord-cutting" themselves right out of business?

  27. Monopoly in action by Required+Snark · · Score: 1
    The do this because they think they are monopolies. To some extent they are right. It shows there is very little competition in the cable/satellite market.

    It's just another example of the lack of a "free market" in the US. Our economic life is dominated by entrenched special interests.

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
  28. Amazing. by imperious_rex · · Score: 1

    Wow. We're only 1 week into 2019 and cable providers are already gunning for the "Stupidest Business Move of the Year" award. The most common-sense response to when you're losing paying customers in droves would be to either reduce prices or to increase value to current customers and have more enticing offers for first-time customers. But nope, they're going to shoot themselves in the foot instead and *raise* prices. Keep this up guys, and your shareholders will be the next ones looking for the exit door.

  29. Wait, what? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    So people are cord cutting, for stated reasons of high cost, lack of choice, and terrible customer service, and vendors are responding by *raising* rates. Do they really think this is a solution? Or just a temporary reprieve while they start shutting down branch offices?

    Or maybe they think this cord cutting is just a fad, and viewers will come back with tails between legs later?

    Or maybe vendors have something up their odious sleeves -- the next step being, to stop providing internet-only options? If you want internet, you *must* also subscribe to cable?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  30. Between a rock and a hard place... by erp_consultant · · Score: 2

    The cable companies are well and truly screwed. Caught up in a wave of cord cutting they are at the very same time beholden to shareholders that can't see past the next quarterly earnings report. If they drop prices to try and attract new customers (or stop the bleeding of those leaving) their revenue will drop in the short term and the shareholders are pissed. Not to mention that senior executives hold a lot of stock and will also feel the pain.

    So the easiest thing to do in the short term is raise prices to increase revenue. The danger, of course, is that they will piss off even more customers and further accelerate the cord cutting. They are banking on the fact that some people are simply addicted to cable and won't leave no matter how much they charge. The number of people in this group is probably vastly overestimated by the cable companies. I suspect it's in the 10-20% range. A perhaps equal number of people are on the fence and a price increase will force their hand.

    What is really working against the cable companies is that not only are there viable alternatives - those alternates are cheaper and better than the slop they are serving up currently. Couple that with the traditional horrendous customer service that the cables companies have, um, earned and you have a recipe for disaster.

     

    1. Re:Between a rock and a hard place... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They are not screwed and they are not short-sighted. They know that the days of linear TV are counted. It doesn't matter how cheap they make it. As the demographic that still watches linear TV ages and dies off, their product is going to be on an accelerating decline. At the same time, the people who watch linear TV have the disposable income and don't want to switch to IPTV, so they will keep paying, despite the rate hikes. If you are considering cord-cutting, you are not in that demographic. Meanwhile the cord-cutters still need an internet connection in order to be able to "cut the cord", so they don't actually cut the cord, because that's also their internet connection. What are they gonna do? Switch to DSL? Please. Cable companies just need to make sure that they remain the only worthwhile ISP for the cord-cutters, and they've hooked the next generation. But even if the latter part fails, their strategy of milking the people who can't or don't want to leave linear TV behind is correct. People who are suggesting that they should try to rejuvenate that product by lowering prices are actually the ones who are short-sighted and acting out of a false belief that a product which has thrived for decades must be a good investment.

    2. Re:Between a rock and a hard place... by misnohmer · · Score: 1

      It's not cable addiction that keeps most customers with cable - it's routine and not wanting to put the effort into finding an alternative. I've known some people who whine and complain about cable prices continuously rising (literally, Comcast bills rise every month by $0.10-$1.99) but even though they watch ~3 channels total, they don't want the hassle of finding an alternative. Funny thing, I watched few of them motivate themselves to cord-cut when they were moving to new residences, or because their financial situation worsened and the cable bill started sticking out like a sore thumb when they looked at they monthly budget. After switching, they all wish they had done it earlier, and none of them want to go back. I asked if they would get cable again if offered cheap, and they say no, because they are now used to whatever streaming services they use, and are not willing to give those up for cable.

    3. Re:Between a rock and a hard place... by Eravnrekaree · · Score: 1

      Increasing prices will fuel another round of cord cutting and damage them certainly. Its a huge mistake.

  31. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

    Mail volumes haven't dropped because of the raise in prices. They've dropped because of technology. The drop in mail volume and requirements for the pensions is driving the rise in stamp prices.

  32. Nope, that dumb by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

    Other channels have done similar idiotic things. Viewership is down so they just add more commercial time into programs. I've seen half hour shows that now take 36 minutes. They were already running 21 minutes of show to 9 minutes of commercials. Now add six minutes onto that.

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  33. Not to counter: because TV is price-inelastic. by Angelwrath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cable companies are increasing prices to maintain revenue growth, not to counter cord-cutting (the title is illogical), and they can do it because TV is mostly price inelastic. Consider the markets Cable companies are in:

    TV - Mature, saturated, declining
    Landline Internet - Mature, saturated (as far as they are concerned), declining slightly (and possibly declining significantly if 5G can provide 20-100 Mbps fixed Internet for good prices)
    Landline Phone - Mature, saturated, declining
    Mobile Phone - Mature, mostly saturated
    No real competition; in some cases single companies have monopolies over local territory like counties; elsewhere there's a choice of just 2 companies, so an oligopoly situation where 2 choices have 100% of the market.

    All those declining markets means one thing: cable companies have a hard time keeping revenue positive and keeping shareholders happy. Their solution? Increase prices on their services; in Canada in particular, they increase the price of TV and Internet every single year. They have wireless "sub brands" that charge $45 for a plan that the "premium brand" service charges $85/mo for. In short: the cable companies want to keep increasing revenue and 2% per quarter isn't good enough, so they are gouging people who won't abandon these services, and they have so little competition they can get away with it. If people want to solve this issue, I recommend making the jump to competitive services, such as online streaming, smaller Internet providers, and also writing to their elected representatives. Big Cable and Phone has a stranglehold on communication services and is doing everything to keep them priced at ridiculously high levels relative to many other markets (Europe being a perfect example). We get much less value from these companies than we should be. And without government intervention and active, vocal consumers the price of cable will continue to rise.

    1. Re:Not to counter: because TV is price-inelastic. by misnohmer · · Score: 1

      Cable companies are increasing prices to maintain revenue growth, not to counter cord-cutting (the title is illogical), and they can do it because TV is mostly price inelastic. Consider the markets Cable companies are in:

      TV - Mature, saturated, declining
      Landline Internet - Mature, saturated (as far as they are concerned), declining slightly (and possibly declining significantly if 5G can provide 20-100 Mbps fixed Internet for good prices)
      Landline Phone - Mature, saturated, declining
      Mobile Phone - Mature, mostly saturated

      The title is not illogical. The price increase is to increase revenue, which is to counter the decline in revenue, which is caused by decline in the markets, which is caused by the cord cutters. So, simplifying, the price increase is countering the effect cord-cutters have on the revenue.

  34. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my creimer then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Cord cutting will increase until price increases stop

  35. Cable Pricing is Already too G'd Damn High! by WindowsStar · · Score: 1

    WTF, So the cable companies are too stupid to understand that we DO NOT want to pay so much for TV with a 1000 commercials! The commercials have gotten out of control, and on top of that now they play the beginning of the TV show with the end of the last show together in boxes, just so they can show more commercials. On top of that you get these nearly 1/4 screen bottom banners with even more commercials and if the show you are watch has subtitles you are screwed! NetFlix and others have found that a fair price to have content on demand is very popular without commercials, but the cable companies want to price themselves out of business. What kind of stupid company thinks "Hey if we raise the prices we will get more subscribers!" " We will just keep raising the rates and ram TV down their throats." All they are doing is forcing hold outs to be cord-cutters! Cable companies need to be very careful in their safe markets where they are the only game in town for Internet, 5G is coming and these new companies that are running their own fiber are now going to take away the $150 a month for internet ONLY customers. I had a door hanger the other day saying 1GB fiber to your door 4K streaming ready: $500 install $75 a month no data caps. Hummmm that is sounding very good!

  36. Greed by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    The greed of the pay television industry will be its undoing. Mark my words .... they should be reducing prices to try to attract and retain customers, not raising prices. It will be funny when they all start bleeding money like a stuck pig.

  37. Lol. Yes, of course by raymorris · · Score: 1

    Yeah my brain was ahead of my typing. I was going to say in the city get omnidirectional, if you're further out get a unidirectional such as a log-periodic (often combined with a yagi).

    Then point being you don't need to spend a ton of money.
    Obviously exceptional circumstances exist - being very far from a city, or halfway between broadcast markets, where you might use an antenna rotator.

  38. Lol there is some truth to that by raymorris · · Score: 1

    When I was a kid, if my brother and I were fighting over the TV station, I'd switch check it to Univision and hide the knob. I would pretend to be enjoying it.

    I'm not sure why my brother never questioned the fact that I *only* claimed to know Spanish when watching TV. He never hears me speak any Spanish when we were kids. These days I know enough to have a conversation, and to order fried dads because I confuse papas and papa`s. (Best I can write it without UTF16 support).

    1. Re: Lol there is some truth to that by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Funny

      Seems like you totally won that battle. Reminds me of this one time I put cyanide on the pizza and pretended like I loved being starved of oxygen so that nobody else would eat it. Unfortunately Little Joe thought I was bluffing, so his last meal came with a healthy dose of crow. Not enough to counteract the cyanide, mind, but enough for me to notice his regret before we both succumbed to drowning out of water. Some things you gotta teach the hard way.

  39. just wait for internet to come forced with ESPN / by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    just wait for internet to come forced with ESPN / Disney fees.

    Seeing how must of the big ISP's also have TV this can happen and who will want to be first TV system with no Disney, No ABC, No ESPN?

  40. canada has Pick-and-pay TV system with basic max by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    canada has Pick-and-pay TV system with basic max price and is most cases YOU CAN BUY THE BOX with outwith outlet or mirroring fees.

  41. internet price can go up + overages by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Will you pay $70/mo for internet + $50/mo unlimited with out an cable tv sub?
    Or pay $299/mo + $1000 install for 2G/2G + $15-20/mo forced hardware rent (no caps) with out an tv plan limed areas can get this.

  42. The beatings will continue.. by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

    ..until morale improves!

  43. Basic economics by Tomahawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The very first class you take in Economics in school will explain, very simply, that increasing the price will reduce demand.

    If they are trying to fight against cord cutters, then surely the correct way is to increase demand on their own services. This can be done in a number of ways, one of which is REDUCING the price. The other is to pump some money into improving the product at the current price (i.e. give people what they want, not what you want to give them).

    They are basically just slitting their own throats here, and will cause more people to cord cut. Those people who can't or won't (probably the elderly) are left to suffer with crippling rates that they struggle to pay.

    I suppose, however, this sort of behaviour will just lead to the company ultimately failing and going bankrupt. And for some of these companies, that can only be a good thing...

    1. Re:Basic economics by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      The very first class you take in Economics in school will explain, very simply, that increasing the price will reduce demand.

      If they are trying to fight against cord cutters, then surely the correct way is to increase demand on their own services. This can be done in a number of ways, one of which is REDUCING the price. The other is to pump some money into improving the product at the current price (i.e. give people what they want, not what you want to give them).

      They are basically just slitting their own throats here, and will cause more people to cord cut. Those people who can't or won't (probably the elderly) are left to suffer with crippling rates that they struggle to pay.

      I suppose, however, this sort of behaviour will just lead to the company ultimately failing and going bankrupt. And for some of these companies, that can only be a good thing...

      I looked at cord cutting last year. Did a price/value comparison between Sling and Hulu. Ended up sticking with Comcast because the wife wanted certain channels, but we only barely hit our monthly payment target, and only through buying a wireless gateway, using a roku instead of a cable box for one TV-roku has the comcast streaming app, and not springing for DVR. Saved about $25-30 a month between those 3 things. If prices go up again when the contract is up, I'll probably be able to talk the wife into cutting the cord this time.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    2. Re:Basic economics by dj245 · · Score: 1

      The very first class you take in Economics in school will explain, very simply, that increasing the price will reduce demand.

      Not in all cases. Luxury goods for the highest priced brands are an example of this. Especially in middle east countries.

      --
      Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
    3. Re:Basic economics by strikethree · · Score: 1

      The very first class you take in Economics in school will explain, very simply, that increasing the price will reduce demand.

      That rule assumes a Free and Open market. In this situation, it is about monopolies and the occasional oligopoly. In this case, the value proposition is in whether or not you want to watch TV, not how much you want to pay. Clearly, there is a line at where a normal person will say to themselves, "This is too much to pay to watch TV.", but the cable execs all appear to be misjudging that limit.

      Thankfully, I have not been a TV "addict" for over 30 years now, so the only thing I care about all of this is how it will affect the price I pay for Internet.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
  44. Overpaid athletes and actors by ruddk · · Score: 1

    Maybe it is time to cut down on the ridiculous salaries for actors and athletes?
    Unless of course, the remaining subscribers think that it is still a good deal.

  45. Re:Doesn't happen in the UK either. by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    They'll badger you by letter and eternally send out "Will you be in on Wednesday? We have authorised a checkup" but never bother to come. And if they do, you can just tell them to come back with a warrant.

    Or they will tell you their super secret, massively high tech, definitely exists TV detector vans will be in your area.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  46. Re:For the price of ONE MONTH of cable by Miamicanes · · Score: 2

    > That, and if you're in the city, get a simple unidirectional antenna; if you're far from the city get one that you can point toward the city.

    And $150-300 for an OTA DVR. And unless you're seriously masochistic, don't even THINK about buying a $22-50 Mediasonic "DVR" -- they're a pain to use, have a UI straight out of the early 2000s, and the one I bought literally died for no apparent reason 5 days after the warranty ended. On the other hand, if you have an old PC with Windows 7 and a HD-Homerun, Windows Media Center is STILL awesome as a DVR.

    Seriously, losing your DVR is the absolute worst part of cord-cutting. Even when streaming services offer "cloud DVR", it totally sucks compared to the experience of having a real DVR that doesn't refuse to let you skip commercials, or take 10 seconds to recover when you fast-forward by 20 seconds.

  47. Firestick 4K FTW by CoreDreamStudios · · Score: 1

    I have successfully converted 6 people to Firestick 4K w/ Netflix, Amazon Prime, Tubi, Pluto.TV, and Mobdro. Customers are very happy. And I plan to buy more sticks and give them away to even more people locally soon.

  48. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Opposition to the government is what made USA. Founding fathers, revolutionaries, did not like British king and associated governance. This is what made America. Sorry to say, you are not correct. Criticizing the government is as American as American apple pie.

  49. maybe it's what they want? by sad_ · · Score: 1

    Aren't the cable companies the same ones who also provide internet? You probably get them in a bundle, TV + Internet. (don't know, i'm not based in US, but it's how it works where i live)

    Anyway, perhaps they actually want everybody to 'cut the cable', and have all the people on Internet instead. I recon it would be better for them.
    And since you don't have net neutrality anymore, well, you can connect the dots, but let's just say this can end up being way more costly for you if you want to watch TV over internet compared to cable now ($8/month is nothing!).

    --
    On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
  50. The Spiral of Death by SPopulisQR · · Score: 1

    Raising fees will increase the number of cord cutters and will reduce the number of subscribers. Because of the reduced number of subscribers they will raise cable prices again, which will further reduce the number of subscribers. It is not simple, but Comcast knows what will happen when their prices, guaranteed. They simply ride the wave of squeezing most of the revenues from the people who would not cut the cord and switching to other revenue sources at that time.

  51. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  52. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

    Opposition to the government is what made USA. Founding fathers, revolutionaries, did not like British king and associated governance.

    That's not hating the government, that's hating a government. specifically one where they felt they were no longer represented. The colonies, and the founding fathers, would have been perfectly content simply having representation in the UK government(the US would still eventually have gotten independence, just as every other British colony did). It was only when every available recourse failed that revolution became an option.

    So, the US was built on trying to go to every length possible to try and preserve government. To use reason, civil discourse, and legal means to redress grievances and maintain peace. For as the Declaration of Independence says, "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  53. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    "Additionally the USPS is required by federal law to provide service to everyone in the United States. The can't withhold service except for specific reasons, such as dog attacks."

    You'd better tell the postal service about that, then. They don't deliver to my address, or several other addresses where I live at the end of my 7.57 mile road, even though they are literally at the other end of it. I don't think you know what you're talking about. They literally won't even come out as far as the pavement.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  54. Thats not the reason for rate increases by Revek · · Score: 1

    The article is just plain wrong as to the reason. Cable companies can't raise rates but one time a year. The reason it goes up every year is that every time contracts have to be renegotiated with the content providers they raise their rates. It funny how no one bothers to really find out why they go up. The company I work for is considering dropping video completely. The local TV stations are the worst. They charge us to carry their stations that we have no choice but to carry them. At the same time we do that they still have ads on their stations. We drop video and we will actually save money in the long run. No more theft of service means we have fewer problems with ingress noise on our plant. Reduced RF flowing through our plant further eliminates noise that causes problems with the plant. Increased channel space means we can use that part of the spectrum for increasing speeds. When that happens get ready to pay more for content since we will just be transport and you will be dealing with multiple content providers eager to make up the loss of revenue.

  55. MSNBC and C-SPAN by tepples · · Score: 1

    Neither Sling Blue nor Sling Orange nor the News add-on appears to offer either of the two channels that my roommate actually watches: MSNBC and C-SPAN. The Rachel Maddow Show and Washington Journal respectively are her two biggest excuses to keep cable TV.

  56. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

    Also, the only reason that the USPS is experiencing financial difficulty is that it is forced to finance pensions far further out than anyone else. This was done by Republicans to intentionally sabotage the USPS and make UPS/FedEx look like viable alternatives.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  57. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my creimer then by MitchDev · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Until they jack up the Internet access costs to cover people getting just internet and subscribing to streaming services...

  58. Sports and politics by tepples · · Score: 1

    And these days, most content makes it to DVD eventually.

    Except sports and political talk shows. Or do only addicts ever watch those in the first place?

    1. Re:Sports and politics by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Only addicts want to watch political talk shows when they're not immediately available.

      When they're sitting in front of a screen, people often feel like they should watch something important, and so they get suckered into watching that shit. But non-addicts are also disgusted and horrified at the idiocy of the content, and generally regret having been exposed to it.

      They certainly wouldn't go for a walk in the park and be thinking, "oh golly, I wonder what [talking head with a bad writer] is speculating right this very moment?"

      Most of the TV sports are "professional" sports that aren't even sports. They're just a type of "reality TV." All those sports even have systems to normalize team quality from year to year by trading players around; the idea of a "team" is meaningless. And most of the addicts are also doing even more absurd "fantasy sport" nonsense, which are just role-playing games for gambling. They're not even sports roleplaying, they're strictly roleplaying acts of bookmaking.

      A person whose hobby is playing sports is unlikely to see their sport on TV; even if it is nominally the same sport, it will have different rules, and actually be a business not a sport at all. None of the people competing are even doing "competition" in the sense that people in the Olympics are competing.

    2. Re:Sports and politics by tepples · · Score: 1

      I ask because I'm trying to convince my roommate that it's worthwhile to trim our cable bill. She doesn't play fantasy sports, thank God. (If she did, I'd try to get her into Games Workshop's tabletop game Blood Bowl instead.) And she watches a lot of NCAA football, whose student athletes don't get traded in the same way that professional athletes do. The idea of a "team" in this case largely draws from the schools that her relatives attend(ed). She admitted to me that she watches pro football in order to be able to make small talk with her client. And she disputes that MSNBC's talking head Rachel Maddow has "a bad writer".

      Any tips for converting the addicts in the lives of many of us?

  59. Re:Doesn't happen in the UK either. by f3rret · · Score: 2

    Those vans actually exist (Or existed anyway), old school picture tube TVs put out a lot of RF and you could pretty uniquely identify the type of radiation as coming from a TV.

    Accuracy was no higher than the antenna on your scanning gear, so if you were checking single family houses you could pretty easily scan to see if the family had a TV running. For large multi-family housing estates, you were pretty much boned though, best you could do was come to a conclusion that one of the several appartments in your reception cone had a TV, which is not very useful if you wanna send out invoices.

    Also, I doubt the technique would work with modern flatscreen TVs since those don't have large RF sources. Although with most modern "Smart "TVs having WiFi and Bluetooth support (No idea why, but they do), you could just pull MAC addresses out of the air and even more uniquely identify people's TVs.

    --
    Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
  60. Get the biggest antenna you can by bagofbeans · · Score: 2

    I picked up an RCA ANT3038XR for under $130 inc. shipping, took an hour to assemble, is enormous... and gets 80 channels.

    Yup, most OTA is not of interest, but sometimes it's fun to observe the selective opinion masquesrading as news.

    Also... the Channelmaster DVR is not free to buy, but there's no program guide subscription, and it's easy enough to set up to record half an hour on news every day that you can watch anytime or ignore at your convenience.

  61. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by doconnor · · Score: 1

    It is also what made America have the highest poverty rates in the developed world.

  62. Re:For the price of ONE MONTH of cable by Mr.+Competence · · Score: 2

    For windows (and soon Linux) use NextPVR with a couple of HDHomerun devices attached to your antenna. Add the Kodi plugin and you have a full DVR with scheduled recordings and live, pause-able TV. Pay $25/year for reliable schedule feeds from Schedules Direct. Total cost $500 for the server, between free and $50 for any client TV, $50 for HDHomerun. $25/year for SD, annual donations to Kodi & NextPVR are my reoccurring costs.

    --
    Those who open their minds too far often let their brains fall out.
  63. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by eth1 · · Score: 1

    Additionally the USPS is required by federal law to provide service to everyone in the United States. The can't withhold service except for specific reasons, such as dog attacks. UPS/Fedex/etc have no requirements to provide service to any location. If you're too far off the beaten track they can ignore you or charge as much as they want. It's not a level playing field.

    I would totally support regulations to level the playing field. The USPS yearly revenue is usually between $60-70 billion. Simply require any delivery company competing with the USPS (accounting for any related subsidiaries/contractors to avoid stupid games) making 80% or more of the USPS's yearly revenue to deliver to any address that the USPS does, with rates defined by package size/weight instead of delivery location.

    (UPS and FedEx are currently around $75B and $65B respectively, so they have no excuses for not being able to provide similar service/pricing to USPS, other than wanting more profit)

  64. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    There is a physical post office you can go to in both cases and retrieve your mail.

    Yes, I have to go get it, and then I have to pay for the privilege (on a monthly basis.) How wonderful! Even more wonderful, they photograph flats but not packages, so I never know when I really want to go in!

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  65. Costs increases encourage cord cutting by LazarusQLong · · Score: 1

    so, in effect, they are accelerating cord cutting through their own actions. What fucking morons.

    --
    "Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy" true in
  66. Re:Doesn't happen in the UK either. by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

    Those vans actually exist[d]...

    But did the cat-detector van actually exist? And would it matter how happy the cats were?

    --
    Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  67. Car companies missed the mark just as badly by Pezbian · · Score: 1

    Before the economic meltdown circa-2008, were making decisions that were just as boneheaded.

    "Sales numbers are slipping. Why not try something new like one of the concepts we've had on the shelf for years?"
    "Oh sweet summer child. We're going to give the world what it really needs: Another front-wheel-drive, V6, four-door sedan."
    "What the fuck? That's what we've been doing for the past ten years."
    "You're not paid to think. Our focus groups consisting of boring soccer moms and cubicle droids know what they want."
    "Why not cater to customers who aren't boring?"
    "Good idea! We'll change the body panels a bit, slap on some chrome, sell it under our premium brand, and double the price."

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
  68. A sound business plan by r1348 · · Score: 1

    Customers are leaving in droves, so punish those who stay.

  69. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my creimer then by Millennium · · Score: 1

    If they were ever going to figure this out, they'd have done it by now. A five-year-old could have told them that.

  70. Re: Guess I'll be cancelling my creimer then by torkus · · Score: 1

    You hit on the key, and fear, of cable tv providers: They're petrified of becoming just data pipe providers.

    To get any kind of incremental, or additional/up-sell/usage-based income, they'd have to impose data caps that aren't otherwise in place or needed today. People will see it for exactly what it is - monopolies taking direct advantage of their position to price fix in order to generate additional profit. Hopefully that will equally get their hand slapped or the monopolies broken somehow.

    The other risk, with net neutrality dead, is they start charging data fees specific to applications. Which, while also scummy and obviously a revenue generation scam, more aligns with the actions of the politicians that the telecom industry bought lately.

    --
    You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
  71. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by terrycarlino · · Score: 1

    Every company that has pension liability should be paying into its employee pension funds in a manner that will not cause them to default. Congress has a particular interest in entities like the USPS because in the case of default it is reasonable to suppose they will be pressured to use taxpayer money to make up for that pension money the USPS didn't properly put aside.

    This is the reason private companies have dumped pension plans for matching contributions to employee funded pensions. Since the USPS is prevented from doing that by law and union contracts it is only reasonable that they be forced to meet their pension liabilities by contributing to the pension plan of their employees.

    The fact that other entities are badly managed is not a reason that USPS should be allowed to offload that liability on the taxpayers.

  72. Re:Ex-USPS execs? by jwhyche · · Score: 2

    Have you thought it might be your personal hygiene? What kind of soap do you use?

    --
    I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
  73. Really? by sirpwn4g3 · · Score: 1

    This is what they believe will solve their problems? "People are unsubscribing in droves! Quick let's jack up the pricing so people will come back!" Even small discounts would save them more subscribers than this. They're playing the drums in their own death march.

  74. Portuguesa y Espanol are almost the same by raymorris · · Score: 1

    Once read about three paragraphs of Portuguese before I realized i wasn't reading a dialect of Spanish. If you already know Portuguese reasonably well, you can pick up Spanish easily.

    1. Re:Portuguesa y Espanol are almost the same by laie_techie · · Score: 2

      Once read about three paragraphs of Portuguese before I realized i wasn't reading a dialect of Spanish. If you already know Portuguese reasonably well, you can pick up Spanish easily.

      I studied Spanish 4 years in high school and spent 2 years in Brazil (plus I married a brasileira). Portuguese and Spanish are roughly 80% cognates, but pronunciation greatly varies (especially Brazilian Portuguese). After living Brazilian Portuguese for 2 years, whenever I try to speak Spanish I end up with a Portunhol (Espangues?) dialect. You must be extremely careful of false cognates (eg. embaraçada and embarazada are not the same thing).

    2. Re:Portuguesa y Espanol are almost the same by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      (eg. embaraçada and embarazada are not the same thing).

      But if I were to become pregnant I imagine it would be quite " tangled (messily intertwined), confusing or complicated" which is what some website tells me embaraçada means.

      I've joked before that Portuguese just sounds like drunken Spanish.

  75. I think I saw this in a movie once. by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

    "The more you tighten your grip, the more viewers will slip through your fingers."

  76. Interesting by raymorris · · Score: 1

    That's interesting. I've only read Portuguese (getting the gist of what is written); I wasn't aware the pronunciation is so different.

    1. Re:Interesting by laie_techie · · Score: 1

      That's interesting. I've only read Portuguese (getting the gist of what is written); I wasn't aware the pronunciation is so different.

      ti is pronounced "chee", di is pronounce "gee". The initial r and rr are almost pronounced like "h". Soft g (eg. ge and gi) and j almost sound French. ch makes the "sh" sound (except tch sounds like the English "ch"). S sounds like "z" between two vowels. C-cedilla (c with a comma) always makes the English "s" sound. X varies by context and region (x, s, z, or sh). Also, initial or terminating syllables can be dropped (many people say instead of está)

  77. Re:Doesn't happen in the UK either. by f3rret · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't always matter, at least in this country you pay a "media license", which means just the fact you have access to the internet (or even just own a radio) means you gotta pay up; because you are technically paying for the content you could potentially recieve, and since the national TV station here also streams a lot of content (Pretty much all the content produced by themselves) you gotta pay up just for having internet.

    --
    Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
  78. Re:Doesn't happen in the UK either. by f3rret · · Score: 1

    I feel like you are referencing something, but I don't get it.

    --
    Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
  79. Re:Doesn't happen in the UK either. by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

    Then you are missing a classic bit of comedy. Check out Monty Python's Fish License skit.

    --
    Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  80. Wow by kenh · · Score: 1

    So now rising cable & satellite TV bills are "News for nerds, Stuff that matters"?

    What's next - rising gas prices?

    --
    Ken
  81. You forgot the happiness by tepples · · Score: 1

    Reminds me of this one time I put cyanide on the pizza and pretended like I loved being starved of oxygen so that nobody else would eat it. Unfortunately Little Joe thought I was bluffing, so his last meal came with a healthy dose of crow.

    Perhaps you were missing an ingredient. Did you try putting both cyanide and happiness on the pizza?