How long can a cable channel run commercials before viewers forget what they were watching and — literally — tune out? That’s the question that the folks at Spike TV appear to be tacitly asking their audience, as it stretches the length of some of its commercial breaks well past existing standards — some to as long as 10 minutes. [More]
cable tv
Time Warner Cable & Disney To Kiss And Make Up Before Football Season Starts
By 8.30.10
With only days to go before the NCAA and NFL football seasons kick off, many Time Warner Cable customers have been worried that their cable provider wouldn’t be able to hash out an agreement with Walt Disney Co. and that they’d be without ESPN when they needed it most. But it looks like that crisis will be averted and the companies will work out their differences soon. [More]
Comcast Charges $2 For You To Deliver Their Cable Boxes
By 8.11.10
Comcast may have sent you a shiny new digital cable box for free, but that doesn’t mean that you can give it back for free. If you want to de-clutter your house and bring your box back, you’re going to have to pay up. An anonymous reader tells the Consumerist phone tipline that Comcast charged him $1.99 to take his spare cable boxes off his hands. [More]
I Can't Afford Cable Anymore. How Can I Revive My Analog TV?
By 8.5.10
We hear the same exhortation everywhere: cut the cable! Save money! Ditch your cable company and live free! But if you had cable TV during the great DTV switch back in 2009, you probably didn’t think to send away for any government-subsidized converter boxes. If you’ve recently dropped your cable subscription out of rage or frugality, what are your options? Karen wants to know, and hopes that Consumerist readers have some ideas. [More]
AT&T U-Verse Customers Could Miss New Season Of Mad Men
By 7.10.10
In just over two weeks, Emmy-winning AMC drama Mad Men is slated to begin its fourth season on the basic cable channel. But with negotiations between its parent company and AT&T U-Verse over carriage fees, the cable and internet provider might force subscribers to relocate their premiere parties to the apartment of someone with Comcast. [More]
Verizon Blocked Me From Switching To TWC For A Year
By 5.12.10
Donald chuckled at yesterday’s post about someone whom TWC blocked from switching to Verizon because Verizon did the same to him when he tried to leave it for TWC. [More]
ABC7 Cuts Off Cablevision Customers Just In Time For Oscars
By 3.7.10
Oscar is being held hostage in the latest battle between the New York City-area ABC affiliate and cable provider Cablevision. At midnight last night, ABC7 cut off their feed to Cablevision, leaving millions Oscarless. This caught our attention not only because it was a spectacularly obnoxious negotiating ploy on ABC’s part, but also because local media are giving Cablevision customers some pretty bad advice. [More]
Sorry, You Only Get DirecTV Referral Bonus If You Call Special Referral Number
By 3.6.10
David referred a friend to DirecTV. The satellite provider has a pretty neat referral program, promising a discount to both the new customer and the person who referred them to DirecTV. Well, theoretically. David writes that he and his friend learned that in order to get their referral discounts, the new customer has to either sign up on the Web or call a special number. He didn’t know this, and now neither he nor his friend will get their discounts. [More]
Cablevision Produces New Bitchy Video Loop Aimed At ABC
By 3.4.10
New York City area cable provider and ISP Cablevision is in a contract renewal fight with yet another content provider. This time, it’s ABC’s flagship broadcast station WABC that wants more money, and Cablevision has raised the stakes in the passive-aggressive public service announcement wars. They’ve redirected customers’ cable boxes to a special channel where a looped announcement plays, and have started a YouTube channel to get the word out to any non-customers who might happen to care. [More]
Scripps And Cablevision End Food Network/HGTV Standoff
By 1.22.10
The long regional nightmare is over: Cablevision and Scripps have ended their passive-aggressive standoff and come to an agreement that put Food Network and HGTV back on Cablevision customers’ TVs. The secret ingredient: an undisclosed amount of cash. [More]
Hey, Time Warner Customers, Ready To Pay For Fox?
By 1.4.10
Customers of Time Warner Cable may consider themselves the victors in the battle between their cable operator and the Fox network. After all, the two sides came to a last-minute agreement on New Year’s Day guaranteeing that TWC customers will still be able to catch up with Homer Simpson, Walter Bishop and Jack Bauer. But guess who’s gonna pay for that? Here’s a hint: It’s not Rupert. [More]
Cablevision Replaces Food Network And HGTV With Passive-Aggressive Announcement
By 1.2.10
Cablevision subscribers woke up yesterday to discover that Food Network and HGTV were gone from their television screens. GONE! What now runs on the space where those stations used to be is a slightly rewritten version of Cablevision’s statement about the situation. It strikes us as a little passive-aggressive. [More]
$40 Fee For Tech Not Showing Up
By 10.19.09
Michael and his family waited for four hours for a Time Warner Cable repair rep to pay him a visit, but says he got stood up, and stuck with a $40 cancellation fee for his troubles.
Comcast Tells Customer On Demand Doesn't Work For Many Chicagoans At Night
By 10.8.09
Mike writes us to say Comcast’s On Demand service in Chicago is suffering from dropsies reminiscent of Bears receivers. He says a CSR admitted as much when he called to complain. He writes:
Why Commercials Sometimes Aren't Perfectly Synced With The Shows
By 8.29.09
Zac read our recent post about Comcast randomly throwing advertisements in the middle of cartoons and other programming. He let us know that the errant commercials can be explained by science. Broadcasting technology science, that is!
Comcast Won't Let Me Watch Cartoons!
By 8.26.09
According to reader Chris, Comcast in South Florida has been cutting into TV programming with commercials, preventing viewers from watching various kinds of shows. Reader Chris H. writes:
Study Finds Booze Sellers Are Using Cable To Ply Teens
By 8.24.09
Alcohol ads pop up on cable programming that’s popular with teeagers at a suspicious rate, a study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth and UCLA found.
