We had a dealer meeting the other day and it was all about wireless.
When AT&T first took over Directv all the dealers where asking when we could sell cellular phones. We where told originally told NO, and a few months later they said we could sell AT&T prepaid phones.
The last several months, there has been this big push for us to sell wireless cell phones. We where actually told in the meeting that our priorities should be AT&T post paid cell phones, AT&T internet and Directv.
For the first time ever we where told selling video was NOT a priority.
If you add that together, we are now expected to attach a cell phone sale to 30% of our video sales, it’s expected we attach internet to 40% of our video sales. In addition to that, they want to advertise the Select package for $35, but we are expected to sell choice and above.
I try to ask every Directv customer who they have for their cell phone service, and the second I try to even mention AT&T, the customer either has a cell phone through AT&T or absolutely wants nothing to do with them.
We try to sell internet. The customers who are in an area that has Fiber, either wants the cheapest and slowest plan available or doesn’t want internet at all.
I have only sold 2 Gig Fiber internet plans, where as I have sold thousands of Comcast and spectrum internet only account.
Then the ones who want AT&T internet, either don’t live in an area they service, or the speeds are so slow (768 kbps/ 1.5 meg) I won’t even bother to offer it to the customer.
But then let’s talk about the HBO situation. We all know Charlie Ergen is cheap when it comes to negotiations, but I think imposing a minimum subscriber count isn’t fair either when it’s a proven fact that the entire satellite industry is bleeding subscribers left and right.
Less and less customers are subscribing to the premium movie channels these days. It’s honestly been a few months since I had a customer specifically request HBO.
I think the minimum subscriber requirement is in bad faith and I think AT&T is abandoning 2.5 million HBO subscribers with Dish in hopes they will either get those numbers back with an online subscription or through another provider.
Think about it. If a customer can get HBO online for $15, and the wholesale rate that Dish pays is likely half that, they will easily make up for the lost revenue from online subscriptions, New Directv customers, and customers who switched providers.
This is nothing more than a kid who got kicked out of the sandbox and came to take back all his or her toys.
Because AT&T is loosing video customers in general, they are trying to take Dish down with them. Granted Dish has been going to crap for years, this is just an attempt to speed up the process.
Then we have this whole issue with satellites going away. That’s just the biggest shocker of them all, which means that Directv is no longer on a path of growth, but rather try to retain their current subscriber base and slowly transition everyone over to IPTV.
I don’t know what to think. Maybe it’s best if AT&T sold Directv to someone who cared, and go back to selling cell phones and internet service.
When AT&T first took over Directv all the dealers where asking when we could sell cellular phones. We where told originally told NO, and a few months later they said we could sell AT&T prepaid phones.
The last several months, there has been this big push for us to sell wireless cell phones. We where actually told in the meeting that our priorities should be AT&T post paid cell phones, AT&T internet and Directv.
For the first time ever we where told selling video was NOT a priority.
If you add that together, we are now expected to attach a cell phone sale to 30% of our video sales, it’s expected we attach internet to 40% of our video sales. In addition to that, they want to advertise the Select package for $35, but we are expected to sell choice and above.
I try to ask every Directv customer who they have for their cell phone service, and the second I try to even mention AT&T, the customer either has a cell phone through AT&T or absolutely wants nothing to do with them.
We try to sell internet. The customers who are in an area that has Fiber, either wants the cheapest and slowest plan available or doesn’t want internet at all.
I have only sold 2 Gig Fiber internet plans, where as I have sold thousands of Comcast and spectrum internet only account.
Then the ones who want AT&T internet, either don’t live in an area they service, or the speeds are so slow (768 kbps/ 1.5 meg) I won’t even bother to offer it to the customer.
But then let’s talk about the HBO situation. We all know Charlie Ergen is cheap when it comes to negotiations, but I think imposing a minimum subscriber count isn’t fair either when it’s a proven fact that the entire satellite industry is bleeding subscribers left and right.
Less and less customers are subscribing to the premium movie channels these days. It’s honestly been a few months since I had a customer specifically request HBO.
I think the minimum subscriber requirement is in bad faith and I think AT&T is abandoning 2.5 million HBO subscribers with Dish in hopes they will either get those numbers back with an online subscription or through another provider.
Think about it. If a customer can get HBO online for $15, and the wholesale rate that Dish pays is likely half that, they will easily make up for the lost revenue from online subscriptions, New Directv customers, and customers who switched providers.
This is nothing more than a kid who got kicked out of the sandbox and came to take back all his or her toys.
Because AT&T is loosing video customers in general, they are trying to take Dish down with them. Granted Dish has been going to crap for years, this is just an attempt to speed up the process.
Then we have this whole issue with satellites going away. That’s just the biggest shocker of them all, which means that Directv is no longer on a path of growth, but rather try to retain their current subscriber base and slowly transition everyone over to IPTV.
I don’t know what to think. Maybe it’s best if AT&T sold Directv to someone who cared, and go back to selling cell phones and internet service.
