[whythis]

Has anyone called yet for a discount for these channels they cut? What is the etf I have 5 months left, with the high prices they charge I rather go to dish I could care less about their sports channels offered by direct-tv.

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

Sonofabitch,
I had to get a new DVR from them a few months back and I switched to High-Def.
Now I'm freaking stuck under their two year contract or pay the pro-rated equipment fee.
I wonder if there is a way to get out of the contract now that this has happened?
Sonofabitch.....

[LegendofJoe]

I convinced my fiancee to drop tv subscriptions all together last night because of this, it feels good man. I'll come back when there are sensical, affordable options again.

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I just recently cut the cord and cancelled my Directv subscription a few months ago and it hasn't bothered me at all, until now, but now that football season is right around the corner I'm getting a little nervous. All I need is ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX during football season and I would be set but I haven't found a cheap, non contract package that will get me what I need. (Over the air broadcast isn't possible where I live)

I think you can get NFL Sunday Ticket through the Playstation even without having a Directv subscription. It's not cheap but at least you don't need a sub.

[RadioActiveLobster]

I was discussing this with the wife last night I was under the impression that it's a 'breach of contract' similar to a cell phone provider raising rates (I've gotten out of cell phone contracts this way). She says that in our contract there is a clause with something to the extent of "Prices and availability is subject to change."

It's written into DirecTV's contract information that programming rates are subject to change, so DirecTV can increase programming costs of the base packages and other services at any time and there isn't anything you can do about it.

[The Albatross]

Nice work quoting the Viacom blog about this.

Viacom is making a power move on DirecTV asking for something like 30% of 40% more money to carry their channels. It's unfair, and they're doing it because of lost revenue in other areas. DTV has counter-offered with an increased payment, but not the 30% raise Viacom wants. Viacom says, "all they want is a few pennies more per day per customer." This amounts to something like $1billion increased demand from Viacom, per year. DirecTV countered and made numerous counters all week, which Viacom did not respond to, and then last night, Viacom ordered DirecTV to remove their channels from DTV.

Viacom doesn't pull this with Comcast or Cox because they can't, but with a smaller, more disparate subscriber base of DTV (spread around the country, not in single, consolidated areas like Cable), with less political sway, they can do this.

It's total bull shit. NBC did this last year right before a big NFL game in New England with the Patriots... tried to get higher fees from DTV and Dish and then bully them by saying that they didn't want to play the Patriots game for their customers. Massachusetts legislature stepped in and told NBC to stop being assholes.

[evilromero]

These programmers and channels are getting greedy. Why does everyone take Viacom's side in this? It's the same story as AMC. They want more money.

[Effect]

If things go up again I'm going have to try and convince the family to switch to something else. I doubt I could go as far as to go stream only. Wouldn't want to as I know they wouldn't be happy with it but the bill is already higher then I'd like after you tack on the taxes. I still wish you could just pick the channels you want and be done with it.

[Plinko]

I think you can get NFL Sunday Ticket through the Playstation even without having a Directv subscription. It's not cheap but at least you don't need a sub.

I heard it was an absolute disaster last year, though.

[Kosmo]

Sonofabitch, I had to get a new DVR from them a few months back and I switched to High-Def. Now I'm freaking stuck under their two year contract or pay the pro-rated equipment fee. I wonder if there is a way to get out of the contract now that this has happened? Sonofabitch.....

This thread may help you:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=460648

[Cornballer]

- Deadline.com: Does Viacom Have More At Risk Than DirecTV Does In Programming Standoff?

That’s what some analysts say this morning about the dispute that has left 20M satellite customers without Viacom’s 17 channels. DirecTV’s payments to Viacom — at an estimated $2.25 per subscriber each month — amount to about $550M a year for the networks company, or 14% of its revenue, Credit Suisse’s Spencer Wang figures. But even though Viacom says it’s the most popular programmer on DirecTV, Wang observes that it lacks the bargaining clout that its peers enjoy. Viacom doesn’t have a broadcast network and stations, assets that strengthen Fox, Disney, and NBCUniversal’s hands in re-transmission consent negotiations. Viacom also doesn’t have a popular sports network — also typically considered a must-have service. Indeed, another Credit Suisse analyst, Stefan Anninger, is rooting for DirecTV to hold out. “The end result of networks driving higher fees for channels, which distributors, in turn, pass along a portion of to their subs, could be a shrinking pay TV pie, particularly as online video alternatives grow,” he says. Even if DirecTV loses some subscribers “we hope that [DirecTV's] willingness to ‘just say no,’ is contagious.” But Nomura Securities’ Michael Nathanson says that Viacom has to dig in its heels. If it can’t add 60 cents to the $2.25 monthly per sub fee from DirecTV, then it might have to lower prices for other pay TV providers who have Most Favored Nation agreements which guarantee that they pay the lowest rates. If Viacom succeeds in getting DirecTV to increase its payments by 10.5%, then it could add 12 cents to Viacom’s earnings per share in the 2013 fiscal year. That would be “enough to offset any potential risk to a slowdown in advertising next year” related to the ratings weakness at Nickelodeon and MTV. He’s optimistic that Viacom will win a big increase for 2013, and then rate increases of “at least high single digits” a year for the remainder of its deal. No matter who wins this battle, Janney Capital Markets’ Tony Wible says both companies could lose the war to keep the current system intact. If cable and satellite prices continue to rise faster than inflation, then lots of subscribers may decide to cut the pay TV cord and rely on less expensive video sources — including over-the-air TV and Internet services such as Netflix. “Can [Viacom] afford to lose [DirecTV] at a time where ad revenue numbers are under pressure?” he asks. If people ditch traditional pay TV then it would hurt “all sources of network revenue.”

[smurfx]

I remember when I had DirecTV... ahhh... Team FiOS represent!

what makes you think the same won't happen to fios? broadcasting companies are trying to squeeze more money from cable/satellite and other providers. fios might just cave in and give them the money but they will raise your prices.

[Dreams-Visions]

what makes you think the same won't happen to fios? broadcasting companies are trying to squeeze more money from cable/satellite and other providers. fios might just cave in and give them the money but they will raise your prices.

this.

[The Albatross]

These programmers and channels are getting greedy. Why does everyone take Viacom's side in this? It's the same story as AMC. They want more money.

Because people watch Tosh and think he's speaking truth to power... When he's just a Viacom employee spreading their company bull shit.

I can understand Viacom wanting a new contract because the last one, in their words, "is seven years old." But, in the last seven years, the economy has collapsed, and Viacom has produced Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, and 15 And Pregnant. If they want a new contract then they should be taking a 30% cut, not asking for 30% more.

[Tallyho]

I've been considering dropping subscription TV over the past few months and this was the final straw. Just one more week left before the cord is cut for good. I'm planning on going to a fully streaming solution with Netflix and Amazon Prime. Also, I need to get a good OTA HD device. Does anyone have a good recommendation or are they all pretty comparable?

[Mr.Fresh]

Sonofabitch, I had to get a new DVR from them a few months back and I switched to High-Def. Now I'm freaking stuck under their two year contract or pay the pro-rated equipment fee. I wonder if there is a way to get out of the contract now that this has happened? Sonofabitch.....

Me too :(

[The Faceless Master]

a billion dollar increase split among 20 million subscribers is only 13.7 pennies a day!

[tyrone888]

I've been considering dropping subscription TV over the past few months and this was the final straw. Just one more week left before the cord is cut for good. I'm planning on going to a fully streaming solution with Netflix and Amazon Prime. Also, I need to get a good OTA HD device. Does anyone have a good recommendation or are they all pretty comparable?

The best OTA antennas are external ones. So if you can put one on your roof then you'll get the best signal. Otherwise, internal antennas work but can be frustrating. If one channel works well, another channel may not unless you re-position the antenna, so you have to move it back and forth all the time. Unless of course, you're lucky and are close enough to all of the broadcasting towers and have a strong signal for all local channels.

I was fine with cutting the cord for 2 years because Hulu is like an online DVR. But when I moved into my new place, I decided to get DirecTV and enjoy the convenience of it more. I like to channel surf a lot of times so I won't be cutting the cord again anytime soon unless I really get fed up with all of the cable/satellite providers.

[Felix Lighter]

I think you can get NFL Sunday Ticket through the Playstation even without having a Directv subscription. It's not cheap but at least you don't need a sub.

Yeah I considered that but NCAA football is even more important to me. Directv is offering a decent deal but its a 2 freaking year contract. Other than football, I have 0 need for satilite/cable.

[Bgamer90]

Yeah I considered that but NCAA football is even more important to me. Directv is offering a decent deal but its a 2 freaking year contract. Other than football, I have 0 need for satilite/cable.

ESPN3 is really good when it comes to NCAA games.

Use it a lot to watch NCAA football games on my Xbox.

[DyTonic]

Hulu+/Netflix >>

[spindashing]

welp I guess I can't watch iCarly anymore woe is me

No, but seriously this does bite. I remember losing G4 a while back and I didn't mind that all too much, but 26 channels gone is a pretty significant amount of content that's gone.

Hopefully the parties can reach some sort of an agreement.

[Bgamer90]

Hulu+/Netflix >>

For now at least.

Things might be changing soon though. We'll see.

[Alligatorjandro]

Comcast better not let this happen.

[MatthewB92]

Comcast better not let this happen.

Ummm I'm pretty sure comcast will never have that problem.

Edit: Thought viacom and comcast were owned by the same people. Possible I guess.

[Patryn]

I heard it was an absolute disaster last year, though.

It was a disaster the first week (totally unwatchable) and it was merely ok the second (buffering issues constant but not overwhelming, often sub-HD quality). By the third it was pretty solid.

At no point would it replace watching something on the TV (you'd have occasional buffering issues, for instance), but it definitely worked if you were a fan of an out-of-market team.

[Marleyman]

Damn, I got DirectTV. If it wasn't for the wifey I would just use my xbox for everything.

[Bay Maximus]

I don't have DirecTV but if I did I would call just to secure a sweet discount. Also, the only channel I watch out of those listed is Comedy Central and I believe I could watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report online. In this game of expensive chicken, Viacom is going to swerve first.

[captive]

i wouldnt be that surprised if they did. May have to call and voice a complaint, almost guarantee they would then.

I've dealt with grande, time warner, comcast(still deal with them), att and directv by far has the best customer service and its really not even close imo.

and to all you "switchers, fuck directv" people, what makes you think they won't do this to other providers? They did it to netflix last year, and everyone got all pissed at netflix for raising their prices, like they were just going to eat the extra cost.

[Fantomex]

Wait till the internet companies start capping bandwidth, where is your Hulu now?

[Dosia]

I followed suit on the poster that said they called about when their contract expires. The lady said I am out of contract currently and she offered me $26.5 off my bill monthly for a year and gave me sunday ticket for free. I am glad I called and I didnt even have to ask for anything, it was all offered.

[LiK]

Wait till the internet companies start capping bandwidth, where is your Hulu now?

hmm? already done.

[Cat Party]

I followed suit on the poster that said they called about when their contract expires. The lady said I am out of contract currently and she offered me $26.5 off my bill monthly for a year and gave me sunday ticket for free. I am glad I called and I didnt even have to ask for anything, it was all offered.

DirecTV is awesome at customer retention. I tried to cancel once because I was moving and didn't have a job lined up yet, and they just gave me three free months so I wouldn't cancel.

[Marty Chinn]

ESPN3 is really good when it comes to NCAA games. Use it a lot to watch NCAA football games on my Xbox.

Except it has way worse picture quality and runs at half the refresh rate. It's terrible.

[Bgamer90]

Wait till the internet companies start capping bandwidth, where is your Hulu now?

If/when that happens, I will just further adjust my TV viewing to meet up with the changes and I'm pretty sure many others will as well.

They can never put a price on over-the-air/antenna HDTV viewing (major networks).

[Bgamer90]

Except it has way worse picture quality and runs at half the refresh rate. It's terrible.

???

Works fine for me. HD.

Though I do use it with a FiOS internet connection.

[Marty Chinn]

??? Works fine for me. HD. Though I do use it with a FiOS internet connection.

There's no way you're getting 60hz refresh because it's a limit of the stream unless ESPN3 has started streaming at 60hz now; wasn't the case a year ago. I've done a side by side comparison between ESPN3 via Xbox 360 and DirecTV, and the picture quality was a lot worse. This is running off an 18mbit connection so I would assume I'm getting the best picture quality out of the stream. Just because it's HD doesn't mean it's as good.

[Lhexh]

Im kind of glad about this besides south park I dont really watch anything else. All of their reality shows and the sort can go die in a fire. It's not like MTV plays music videos anymore.

[Jazzy Network]

I have been cable/satellite tv free for like 3 years and I rarely ever miss it. Only thing I miss is live sports, but there are alternatives to that. As far as tv shows go, the internet will always provide me with options on where to get them.

[Bgamer90]

There's no way you're getting 60hz refresh because it's a limit of the stream unless ESPN3 has started streaming at 60hz now; wasn't the case a year ago. I've done a side by side comparison between ESPN3 via Xbox 360 and DirecTV, and the picture quality was a lot worse. This is running off an 18mbit connection so I would assume I'm getting the best picture quality out of the stream. Just because it's HD doesn't mean it's as good.

Heh, maybe I'm not but it has been working fine for me and I'm more than satisfied with it.

Hard to complain when it's free.

[Nuklear]

Im kind of glad about this besides south park I dont really watch anything else. All of their reality shows and the sort can go die in a fire. It's not like MTV plays music videos anymore.

Those reality shows are cheap to make too especially when compared to a drama or other types of shows.

[Bgamer90]

Those reality shows are cheap to make too especially when compared to a drama or other types of shows.

Yep, those as well as "web video shows".

That's why there's so many of them.

[Marty Chinn]

Heh, maybe I'm not but it has been working fine for me and I'm more than satisfied with it. Hard to complain when it's free.

I just can't watch sports when it's not at 60hz anymore. I care too much about visual quality and smooth fast motion to let it slide. Internet streams are a no go for sports for the most part. The only time I've seen a good stream was the UFC pay per view which surprisingly ran at 60.

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I followed suit on the poster that said they called about when their contract expires. The lady said I am out of contract currently and she offered me $26.5 off my bill monthly for a year and gave me sunday ticket for free. I am glad I called and I didnt even have to ask for anything, it was all offered.

No kidding? I might have to call them up myself tonight.

[Plinko]

Meh, I just called and they only offered $5 off a month for the next three months. Lame.

[Wiz]

My little sister will be pissed at no Nickolodeon. DTV/Viacom better handle this nonsense.

[Aesthet1c]

This really blows.. I signed up in like January of 2011, so I'm pretty sure I've got like 6 monts left on my contract.

The only thing I use DirecTV for is Nickelodeon for my kids. I'm going to call them up and see what my options are, but I'm pretty sure they will just give me the finger.

[Marty Chinn]

Meh, I just called and they only offered $5 off a month for the next three months. Lame.

Say you want to cancel then, you'll get something better.

[Bgamer90]

I just can't watch sports when it's not at 60hz anymore. I care too much about visual quality and smooth fast motion to let it slide. Internet streams are a no go for sports for the most part. The only time I've seen a good stream was the UFC pay per view which surprisingly ran at 60.

Well, like I said, it's free and the quality isn't bad at all (imo).

Beats paying $80+ month to get the same (or better) in my opinion.

Between that and local stations in HD, I'm pretty much fine in terms of sports.

[Wafflecakes]

No kidding? I might have to call them up myself tonight.

Yeah I used to work in the retention department at DTV and (assuming you aren't a bitch who calls in for discounts every few months) most long term customers can get 10-20$ off per month of their bill. Not sure about Sunday ticket (when I worked there it was not a retention offer) but you may be able to get a few premium channel like HBO or Showtime for 3 months.