Dish Network customers can get the Cinemax movie channel for one cent for year if they switch to paperless billing. Here’s how:
tv
Judge Judy's TV Court Isn't Real
By 12.17.07
We were operating under the misunderstanding that Judge Judy was a broadcast of an actual small claims court somewhere, but then our legal beagle intern Alex informed us that it’s really just arbitration dressed up to look like small claims court.
AT&T Lying about Dish Network HD DVRs?
By 12.14.07
Like all decent Americans, I loath Time Warner and decided to cancel my cable and get satellite service through AT&T, who are a Dish Network reseller.
By 12.12.07
../../../..//2007/12/12/yesterday-att-announced-it-will/
Yesterday, AT&T announced it will stop selling DirecTV satellite service in the first quarter of 2008, triggering speculation it may enter an exclusive partnership with satellite television company EchoStar later next year. [Reuters]
Resilient Customer Gets DirecTV To Drop Price Of HD Box From $299 To $0
By 12.8.07
A DirecTV customer service representative offered Justin a free upgrade to a better HD box as part of DirecTV’s legacy program. Justin, a 2-year customer, was disconnected before he could accept the upgrade. When he called back, he reached a CSR who demanded $299 for the same box.
$40 Coupons For Digital TV Converter Boxes
By 12.6.07
If you have an older TV, you may be eligible for two $40 coupon good for the purchase of two digital converter boxes starting Jan 1, 2008. The boxes will probably cost $50-$70. New federal mandates will require all TV signals to go digital and that means you need to get a digital box, buy a digital TV, or subscribe to cable or dish-based programming if you want to watch TV after February 17, 2009. After the first of this year, you can get your coupons by calling 1-888-DTV-2009 or visiting dtv.gov.
Comcast: Wanna Pay An Extra $2.95 A Month For TiVo?
By 12.1.07
TiVo says that you will soon have the privilege of paying Comcast an extra $2.95 a month for TiVo service (on top of what you already pay for a DVR).
“We are very excited by the emphasis that Comcast has placed on this product within its organization and their plans to aggressively market it at a $2.95 up-charge as well as through packaged bundles and win-back offers,” Rogers said. “Further, we are pleased with Comcast’s plans to promote and market the value of the TiVo experience, which will leverage many of their marketing assets including cross-channel TV.”
By 11.30.07
../../../..//2007/11/30/following-the-increasingly-integrated-and/
Following the increasingly integrated and undisclosed use of product placement in TV shows, like a Seventh Heaven episode where a wedding ring was embedded in an Oreo cookie, the busy beavers at the FCC are planning to scrutinize the practice. [Broadcasting and Cable]
NBC Cuts A Deal With Netflix
By 11.30.07
NBC has but a deal with Netflix that will let its users stream episodes of “Heroes” the day after they air. The deal will also provide access to past seasons of NBC shows, says a Netflix press release.
Comcast Raises Prices In Washington, With A Smile
By 11.30.07
Comcast is raising its prices in Washington, DC. Basic cable is going from $13.45 to $15.24, Digital Classic $11.96 to $14.95, Digital Premier from $110.10 to $115.45. If a tech has to come out to your home, the fee will go from $19.95 to $29.95. Relocating an outlet, however, dropped from $24.95 to $21.35.Best of all is the charming paragraph on the letter introducing the bill changes.
Comcast Charges You For Service You Never Ordered, Threatens To Ruin Your Credit
By 11.29.07
Reader Allison wrote her Congressional rep in regards to Comcast defrauding her:
Dear Representative Snyder,
Early Sesame Street DVDs Have "Adults Only" Warnings
By 11.19.07
The producers of Sesame Street have slapped volumes 1 & 2 of the eternally running children’s show with the following warning: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.” Why? Cookie Monster carries a pipe in one recurring parody—and then eats it. Oscar the Grouch is too grouchy and mean. And in the first episode, a grown man—Gordon—asks a little girl to come home with him for milk and cookies… and she does!
Charter Decides To Care That Reader Can't Watch Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
By 11.12.07
After we posted Charlie’s complaint, “Charter Doesn’t Care If You Can’t Watch BBC America,” a Charter Communications Corporate Escalation Specialist emailed The Consumerist and we put her in touch with Charlie.
So What You're Saying Is Bank Of America Is Basically Powerless To Stop Credit Card Fraud?
By 11.9.07
“Got a charge on my credit card from “Member Services” for $19.23. This is a card I use for 3 specific bills, and I pay them off the day after the charge shows. I know it’s coming so this stood out.
Charter Doesn't Care If You Can't Watch BBC America
By 11.5.07
“I have a TIVO HD that uses two cablecards. On 9/27/2007, I realized that channel 196 (BBC America) was not working on either card; it did not appear to be authorized. I called Charter customer service (as I have had to do for many problems over the last couple months), and their immediate response was, as usual, to send out a technician. I called back a bit later and suggested that they try removing the tier from my account and adding it back in – this technique had fixed another random outage affecting all HD channels that had occurred earlier in the week. As with most calls to Charter customer service, I felt that the representative didn’t really know much of anything about the service and that I had to troubleshoot my own issue. The technique didn’t fix it, so the technician came the next day (9/28/2007). This was the 4th technician to come to my home in the last 2 months (all because of problems with Charter service), and like the others, he did nothing that I couldn’t have done myself…”
Californians Hoping Raiders Game Stays Blacked Out So They Can Watch Colts And Pats
By 11.1.07
Here’s an odd situation. There are only two markets that will not be able to see the much-anticipated Colts/Pats game on Sunday, Houston and Cleveland—unless the Raiders manage to sell out their game and lift the NFL blackout. If they do, San Francisco will have to watch the Raiders. And they’re not real happy about it.
By 10.30.07
../../../..//2007/10/30/cablevision-will-raise-the/
Cablevision will raise the cost of its average video package by 4.7% starting in December. It says the cost of its Internet and digital phone services will remain the same through 2008. [Reuters]
F.C.C. To Strike Down Sole Provider Cable Deals for Apartments
By 10.29.07
The FCC is slated Wednesday to nullify and bar exclusive agreements between cable companies and apartment buildings. Currently, in cases where such arrangements exist, consumers can only choose the cable provider their landlord inked the deal with. The FCC hopes is to increase competition and lead to lower prices for consumers. Verizon and AT&T, which have started offering their own video services, lobbied heavily for the action.
