Comments on: Cutting Cable: Companies Losing Customers

In Tough Economy, Pay TV Operators Face Stiff Competition From The Internet

[mbievtea]

$60 a month for (pretty) basic cable tv; and of the channels provided only about 1/2 are watchable. Subtract the spanish stations, children programming, and 2-3 channels of poker and weather ... and you really don''t have much. Not to mention -- as mentioned -- the rate creepy-crawl and it isn''t all that hard to understand that being smart just might be turning-off the TV and just see if life would be better after all.

[holalanemeir]

I remember when cable first started in the late 70''s and it was touted as commercial-free television. Now cable plays more commercials than traditional t.v. on top of that they get a monthly subscription to boot. I got sick and tired of the cable going out and having to pay higher and higher fees. I''m glad to say I''ve been cable&satellite free since July 2002.

[scienceman1-2009]

When cable companies say you have 200 channels you really have mabe 10 that you care to watch what BS.

[rhs648]

"Time Warner Cable, the nation''''s second-largest cable operator, lost 119,000 basic video customers in the fourth quarter"

It''''s not the economy Time Warner, it''''s your lousy customer service and that monthly $120 bill just for cable and internet. Get a clue.


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Posted by kevboom

A classic example of outpricing what the market is willing to pay. Most of us watched cable rates increase year after year. At some point, many consumers say enough is enough. In most areas, there is no real competition between cable companies. They often have exclusives in cities and counties. Perhaps the only way to drive down prices is for millions of people to drop their cable service.

[jetranger7]

January 1st 2009 I had my Time Warner Cable Cutoff, completely I asked them to, because it was getting just to Expensive for what they were giving you, keep in mind I had NO Movie channels, just Basic Expanded in which they billed me 47.50 a month something like that, not including internet or phone, so I chose to keep the internet and phone and get rid of the cable. I work a lot of hours anyway,, and I don''t get to watch much TV, but when I do its usually a movie I want to see , so I buy or rent one about once a month for 3 or 4 bucks,,also I don''t care to watch a dumb GOLF Channel or all those stupid sports channels and I sure don''t care for paying for a channel not in my language but was forced to pay for it anyway !! Tired of being ripped off by Greedy Clueless Corporate Figure heads !

[punkinpie1]

I feel there were a lot of wasted channels. Its really
too bad that customers couldn''t just chose the
channels and just pay for what they are using. Why is
it that companies like Directv and cable companies are
the ones who decide on what they want on their
offerings?

[punkinpie1]

I gave up on my satellite last summer. I couldn''t
afford it any more with my medical expenses. I found
all they did was repeat most of the programing any
ways. I really don''t miss it too much. Sometimes I do
miss some of the news channels. I think there will be
more people like me who can live without Directv.

[liberalme]

It''''s not the economy Time Warner, it''''s your lousy customer service and that monthly $120 bill just for cable and internet. Get a clue.

Posted by kevboom

Lousy customer service?? I have ATT==have you ever called your internet company and the person answering you call is a guy named "Bill" with a heavy India accent?
These companies think we''re all stupid---the worse the economy is --- the smarter we get!!

[pinewalker-2009]

Cable companies, incuding the satellite ones, have known for years that americans are hooked on tv like a drug addict needs his/her fix. They have been gradually increasing prices and inserting more commercials for a year or more. Has anyone else noticed higher monthly fees along with more commercials? Or is it just me. maybe I''m wrong...or maybe not. Hmm...I wonder.

[endrepubs]

Time Warner''s prices are way too high for what you get. They need to cut their rates in half to keep customers. They, like all the utility monopolies in America, have been ripping their customers off for decades because of no competition or little regulation.

[lemonskink]

Maybe people will start reading more, and learning to use their imaginations instead of the tube doing their imagining for them.

www.ronnierayjenkins.com

[johndevinejr]

One of the reasons cable TV started was to provide TV service in area that broadcast couldn''t reach, because of the surrounding terrain, or because of distance from the broadcast antenna.

[johndevinejr]

I have been in the cable business for more than 30 years. I am working as a consulting engineer in NYC. Cable TV will loose some customers, but it is basically recession proof. People will stop going out and stay home and watch TV.

Same as a bar. Bars do better in a recession, somehow everyone finds enough money to get hammered.

[spadeisspade]

I''d gladly pay for cable if it was an a la carte service. They are making Sirius XM do this for their subscribers, and it makes total sense. Why pay almost $200 a month for 500 channels if you are only interested in a few? Cable needs to flex with the times or they are going to be left in the dust. I haven''t had cable for years, and I have never missed it!

[cameraphone]

Oh Yeah, did I mention that with my "bundle" of cable and internet it comes out to $100 a month, or $1,200 a year! I''m choosing putting a roof over my head for several months for that amount.

[cameraphone]

I called my cable company. I said I was thinking of canceling and asked for ways to save on my bill. They pleaded with me not to cancel and offered to give me a free month of HBO. Now my bill is $10 a month higher. Cable has been canceled.

[tincup356]

Gee I guess they cant figure out......If the people don''t have money they cannot buy cable....DUHHHHH....Corporate America has killed themselves with nothing other than PURE GREED,,,,,they just want more and more,,,,,,the middle classes money will only go so far.....so when we are being gouged by corporate America from every angle,,,,,,someone gets left out when the money runs out.

If I''m paying for it, then I ain''t watching commercials!! The number one reason I don''t go to the movies anymore. I ain''t buying a ticket then sit there and watch 30 minutes of commercials before the movie.

[dovestar]

I wonder how many people still remember how cable began. Some enterprising folks found a loophole in the copyright laws allowing them to stick an antenna atop a mountain and sell the regular TV fare. This effort, called CATV for Community Antenna TV, gradually evolved into cable. Cable''s primary appeal in its early days was no commercials. For $5 per month you could get 25-30 channels commercial free. It doesn''t take a rocket scientist to see why that went south. Now we have commercials hawking male enhancement products back to back and anything else their little hearts desire. And they have the audacity to complain after soaking us for so long??

[labourboss]

After hurricane Ike flooded my town, time warner in their infinate wisdom kept charging me. I could never get throught to them on the phone to find out. When we did we told them what to do with the cable and they chaged me $20 to do that. Guess what the old rabbit ears work great. I can se desperate hosuewives and my wife can watch her soap opperas. Bye Bye time warer.