For years, the growing number of video streaming services available to TV viewers has eaten away at the subscriber base for pay-TV services. Traditional cable providers have avoided disaster thus far because even if customers cancel their TV package they still need to purchase their internet access from somebody (and many of us don’t have a choice about where to buy it). But satellite providers like DirecTV and Dish face the looming threat of cord-cutting without anything to offer cord-cutters other than ugly roof decor. [More]
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How Did This Retiree Get A $184K DirecTV Bill?
By 10.20.17
Most of us have been hit with an unexpectedly high cable or satellite bill, but not like this. One DirecTV customer in Ohio says that after she signed up for service from AT&T and DirecTV, she was slammed with a bill for more than $184,000. [More]
Dish Network Temporarily Halts Service In Puerto Rico, Unless Customers Say They Want It
By 10.10.17 — Updated: 10.11.17
We’ve written too many stories over the years about pay-TV and telecom companies still insisting that customers keep paying for service in the wake of natural disasters that destroyed their properties. So it’s nice to hear that the nation’s two major satellite TV companies are being proactive about the millions of Americans in Puerto Rico who are trying to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Maria. However, Dish and DirecTV have decided to take two very different approaches toward not piling on on Puerto Rico. [More]
DirecTV Won’t Confirm Or Deny Reports It’s Letting Upset Customers Cancel NFL Sunday Ticket
By 9.28.17
DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket is such a massive money-maker for the satellite company that its exclusive arrangement with the NFL for this package was a make-or-break aspect of AT&T’s decision to acquire DirecTV. Yet some reports claim that DirecTV is willing to let subscribers part with this pricey package, which costs around $300 per year, if they simply say they are upset over some NFL players kneeling or locking arms during the “Star-Spangled Banner.” [More]
AT&T Expands Free HBO Offer To Include All Unlimited Wireless Plans
By 9.12.17
Five months after announcing that customers on its Unlimited Plus plan would get complimentary HBO access, AT&T says members of its cheaper Unlimited Choice wireless option will also be able to stream as much Game of Thrones as they want for free. [More]
AT&T, DirecTV Workers In 36 States Walk Off Job For 3-Day Strike
By 5.19.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
AT&T customers could find it difficult to obtain help this weekend if something were to happen to their DirecTV, U-Verse, or AT&T wireless service, as AT&T union workers walked off the job today following failed contract negotiations. [More]
AT&T, DirecTV Reportedly Overcharged Thousands Of Customers
By 5.17.17
When you get promised one rate and charged another, it’s frustrating. When it happens to thousands of customers getting service from the same company all at once, it’s probably a sign of a systematic problem. And one report now says thousands of AT&T and DirecTV customers have been complaining about exactly that for years. [More]
Why Aren’t More Cord-Cutters Flocking To Live-TV Streaming Services?
By 4.28.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Millions of Americans have canceled their cable TV subscriptions in the last decade, choosing instead to get their video entertainment over the internet. A growing number of services have popped up in recent years that offer cable-like live-TV streaming for this audience: Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, with Hulu planning to launch a competitor soon, and Comcast reportedly looking to get into the fray. Yet, despite the multiple options and the large potential market of cord-cutters and cord-nevers, these platforms have yet to win over the masses. [More]
AT&T Now Throwing In HBO For Free To ‘Unlimited Plus’ Subscribers
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The battle for unlimited data customers continues to heat up. Only weeks after dropping its price on “Unlimited Plus” plans, AT&T is now giving these subscribers free HBO, even if they don’t have an AT&T or DirecTV pay-TV plan. [More]
Comcast To Discontinue Some Ads That Take Aim At DirecTV
By 4.4.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Seven months after Comcast was warned by an ad watchdog to check itself before wrecking itself when it came to badmouthing DirectTV, the same organization has recommended that the cable behemoth discontinue ads that allegedly exaggerate its rival’s problem with satellite signal interruptions. [More]
AT&T, Feds Settle Dodgers Lawsuit Over SportsNet LA; Blackout To Continue
By 3.24.17
The Department of Justice and AT&T settled a lawsuit claiming DirecTV — which AT&T purchased in 2015 — colluded unlawfully with other carriers about their negotiations to carry SportsNet LA, the only cable channel in Los Angeles to air most Dodgers games. But that doesn’t mean the cable provider will be adding the channel to its lineup anytime soon. [More]
DirecTV Admits Errors In Regional Sports Fees; Will Issue Credits To Affected Customers
By 3.15.17
We recently pointed out that DirecTV is assessing its “Regional Sports Fee” — the surcharge for carrying local sports channels in a particular area — unevenly, meaning you could be paying as much as $87/year more than your friend around the corner for the exact same TV package. At the time, DirecTV could not offer a reasonable explanation for this disparity, but the company is now apologizing and saying it will credit the bills of affected customers. [More]
DirecTV’s Regional Sports Fees Make No Sense; You May Be Paying $87/Year More Than Your Neighbor
By 3.8.17
“Regional Sports Fees” — one of those add-on charges that cable and satellite companies tack on to raise the price of pay-TV plans without having to change the price they advertise — have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in recent months. Comcast is being sued over this fee, and lawmakers have asked cable providers to explain these charges. As irritating as this surcharge may be, an analysis of how DirecTV assesses these fees raises questions about the motives of the nation’s largest satellite TV provider. [More]
DirecTV Asks Court To Throw Out Justice Dept. Lawsuit Over SportsNet LA
By 2.13.17
It’s hard to be a baseball fan in Los Angeles. For what feels like ages, the LA Dodgers have had an exclusive deal with Time Warner Cable — now Charter — to air their games in the area. Other carriers reportedly have tried to get access to the games but were stymied, eventually leading to a complicated court case where the Justice Department sued DirecTV over allegations of colluding unlawfully with other carriers in negotiations with SportsNet LA. Now, DirecTV is fighting back. [More]
FCC Pointlessly Concludes AT&T’s Free Data For ‘DirecTV Now’ Probably Violates Net Neutrality
By 1.11.17 — Updated: 1.12.17
The controversial Open Internet Order of 2015 (known on the street as “Net Neutrality”) is probably going to be rolled back or ignored under the incoming Trump administration, but with a few days left under the existing FCC leadership, the agency has decided to chime in with its conclusion that AT&T’s decision to not ding its wireless subscribers for accessing DirecTV Now streaming video probably runs afoul of regulations and may ultimately harm competition and consumers. [More]
T-Mobile Tries To Get Under AT&T’s Skin By Offering 12 Months Of DirecTV Now For Free
By 12.15.16
AT&T wireless customers can stream the company’s new DirecTV Now service without having the data go against their monthly limit. The company hopes it will give existing subscribers a reason to stick with AT&T and convince some others to switch providers to AT&T. However, T-Mobile is hoping to use DirecTV Now against AT&T, by offering to pay for a full year of the streaming service for AT&T defectors. [More]
AT&T Confirms Live Access To NBC Is Still Mobile-Only On ‘DirecTV Now’
By 11.30.16
Earlier this week at the official launch event for the DirecTV Now live-TV streaming service, I and others noticed that while the live feed for the local NBC affiliate was showing up on the DirecTV Now mobile app, the channel was absent from the lineup of stations available for viewing on your actual TV. AT&T staff that we spoke to at the event insisted that this would not be the case when the service launched, but DirecTV Now is now live — and NBC is still not working on users’ TV sets. [More]
6 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Deciding Whether To Try ‘DirecTV Now’
By 11.29.16
Last night, AT&T finally pulled back the veil on its long-awaited DirecTV Now streaming service, which will launch tomorrow starting at $35/month. But before you take a sledgehammer to your cable box or refashion the satellite dish into a sled and/or serving bowl, there are some important things to consider. [More]
