Directv contract is up! What would you do? Any good deals out there?

[sonydude1966]

Wanted FIOS, can't get it

I disliked TimeWarner cable last time I had them, but they seem to have all the HD channels now. But, cable really ticked me off, so this is a last resort.

DISH seems fine, but $15 per month off for a year was all I could find, meh!

Will Directv give me anything for being a 2 year customer?

 

[jdspencer]

There's only one way to find out. Call DirecTV.

 

[charper1]

you could just enjoy your service.

 

[Big]

Play the swap game: Dish Network for 2 years, direct 2 years! You are not going to get a good deal except this way, period! Someday , maybe they will learn!!

 

[charper1]

BIG, give it a rest man.

 

[Aridon]

I found they really didn't want to give anything and had no intention in re-upping me on a new contract when mine ended 6 months ago. I called to try and get a new customer deal and they declined which I mostly expected. When Sunday ticket came around they gave it to me at $200 for the year which i took but no new contract. Frankly I think they are stupid for not wanting to give you a new customer deal again with no install charge to pay and locking you into a new ETF for 2 years. Directv however sees things differently.

 

[Jimbo]

I found they really didn't want to give anything and had no intention in re-upping me on a new contract when mine ended 6 months ago. I called to try and get a new customer deal and they declined which I mostly expected. When Sunday ticket came around they gave it to me at $200 for the year which i took but no new contract. Frankly I think they are stupid for not wanting to give you a new customer deal again with no install charge to pay and locking you into a new ETF for 2 years. Directv however sees things differently.

Why do you WANT to be locked in to another contract ?

Unless your wanting different equipment, keep what you got and be happy.
You already said Cable wasn't your top choice and Fios is not around ....

They saved you money on your ST this year, about 100 dollars.
You can probably get Free HD if you really want ....

 

[JAG72]

Play the swap game: Dish Network for 2 years, direct 2 years! You are not going to get a good deal except this way, period! Someday , maybe they will learn!!

This is completely incorrect.

The easiest way is to just call Directv and ask what they can do for you. I call in once a year and almost always get at least down to what the new subs are getting. Just two months ago they lowered my bill by $30 per month for the next year by just asking what they could do.

 

[sonydude1966]

Why do you WANT to be locked in to another contract ?

Unless your wanting different equipment, keep what you got and be happy.
You already said Cable wasn't your top choice and Fios is not around ....

They saved you money on your ST this year, about 100 dollars.
You can probably get Free HD if you really want ....

Well, my HR22 does slows to a crawl sometimes. It's all about money right now with me. DISH IS $15 per month off for a year, and is currently about $10 cheaper than Directv for the same channels. So, $180 for the year and then lowering my bill $10 per month.

TimeWarner is better, but I really disliked them 2 years ago. They do seem to have gotten all the HD channels I watch.

 

[Jimbo]

Well, my HR22 does slows to a crawl sometimes. It's all about money right now with me. DISH IS $15 per month off for a year, and is currently about $10 cheaper than Directv for the same channels. So, $180 for the year and then lowering my bill $10 per month.

TimeWarner is better, but I really disliked them 2 years ago. They do seem to have gotten all the HD channels I watch.

Well, have to called in to D* and mentioned how tight things are around the home ?

Instead of jumping somewhere else, see what they will do for you first, they may give you discount/credit of some sort that is comparable to what your trying to save in the long run.

 

[badtlc]

Is at&t uverse in your area? They have the best system out there outside of D*'s MRV. Otherwise, I agree with Big. Play the 2 year swap game.

 

[cypherstream]

In my opinion, I'd choose TimeWarner. They have a lot more HD now than they used to. They've upgraded their Navigator software so it is better, and they are eventually going to roll a Tru2Way version which has HD 16:9 graphics and Multiroom. They have instant video on demand with a much better program library and some areas have Start Over and Look Back services on certain channels. Start Over you can go back to the beginning of a show already in progress... like a network DVR. Look back will give you a list of everything on that channel in the last 3 days and you can watch any of those programs on selected channels where it's enabled. It's like a glorified on demand service.

It's worth a shot, they don't have contracts. I would suspend the DirecTV (you can do this up to 6 months), this way you don't have to return any equipment or anything. Then if you find you hate Time Warner, it's a simple phone call to DirecTV to reinstate service, and heck, maybe you can renegotiate a better deal.

 

[JUCJ85]

I agree with most, call them tell them things are tight, and that you could easily switch to Dish or TWC, and they will likely send you to retentions dept.

I believe reg CSR's dont usually have the knowledge or power to offer great deals.

When I called in back in August about the Ticket, they transfered me to someone specific and got me 60 off plus The To Go free, and now I recently called in and they told me to wait till march and they will give me a good deal on a HD DVR, so all in all, im happy with DirecTV, they have great CS and they do seem to care. Plus Ive been having hard times too, nd they have worked with me, by giving me extensions on 2-3 different times.

 

[sonydude1966]

Thanks everyone for such great advice. Suspending Directv and trying Time Warner again sounds like the best move.

 

[Contractor]

Like another person said, if you're into onDemand, CATV is where its at. Not sure what the issue you had with cable was, but since your satellite installer likely rewired and rerouted all the lines in your house, the CATV tech will have to rebuild everything to get you running. Which in turn should give you good reception. (if that was an issue in the past)

 

[Jimbo]

In my opinion, I'd choose TimeWarner. They have a lot more HD now than they used to. They've upgraded their Navigator software so it is better, and they are eventually going to roll a Tru2Way version which has HD 16:9 graphics and Multiroom. They have instant video on demand with a much better program library and some areas have Start Over and Look Back services on certain channels. Start Over you can go back to the beginning of a show already in progress... like a network DVR. Look back will give you a list of everything on that channel in the last 3 days and you can watch any of those programs on selected channels where it's enabled. It's like a glorified on demand service.

It's worth a shot, they don't have contracts. I would suspend the DirecTV (you can do this up to 6 months), this way you don't have to return any equipment or anything. Then if you find you hate Time Warner, it's a simple phone call to DirecTV to reinstate service, and heck, maybe you can renegotiate a better deal.

The only problem with going with TWC or any other cable company, is, someone will say thiers is better than another , and that may be true, but the cable company me be GREAT in your area and the companies cable system may be terrible in the next persons area.

TWC may be Great in say Columbus, but not very good in St. Louis .... (Just picked cities for example, I don't even know if TWC has cable in these cities.)

 

[sonydude1966]

Update:

Directv gave me $60 ($10 per month for 6 months) and free Showtime for 3 months. Not too bad. They said I could have gotten MRV setup free (a $200 value) if I signed up for another 2 years. I declined the new contract.

Time Warner is $35 per month cheaper for a year, then supposedly $23 cheaper after the year. Prices can of course change on both sides in that year. So, Directv stepped up, but not enough.

I didn't like cable 2 years ago because of the limited HD offerings and some video/audio quality issues. The HD channels are almost as plentiful as Directv now, and am hopeful the video and audio hiccups are corrected, knock on wood.

I have an appointment with cable set up and will suspend Directv for a month or two and see how it works out. Thanks for all the advice, it was great.