DIRECTV Price Increase 3/1/06???

[Tom J]

These things come in three's, and March 1st seems to be D-Day..so what's the third??

1.) moving to leasing equipment,

2.) raising rates, and...

3.) ????

Comeon, D*...kick us in the balls just one more time...

I agree, there's another shoe to drop. I tend to think it will be bad news because wouldn't you agree that if there were ANY good news they would have told us by now?
And another thing... Didn't D* just have their earnings release? Wouldn't a price increase have come up?
Tom J

 

[satjay]

So true. Comcast called me the other day and offered me Digital Cable (2 boxes), one with their DVR, the HD package and HBO or Cinemax for $63 a month (included taxes). It was very tempting. I am $67 (soon to be $71 with the price increase) and don't have the opportunity to record HD and no movie channels either. Thinking about it, 16 months is a long time to get this type of deal and with NO contract.
Again, satjay, as we've said before, D* has us over the barrel with the NFL ST and our love of football.

How true!! that the NFL machine keeps us locked into the NFL and DTV!

 

[rad]

Here's my Cox comparison for Tucson:
Cable Service = $39.95
3 Tiers of Digital = $20.00
DVR x 4= $60.00
HD DVR = $20.00
Movie Channels= $28.80
Total = 168.75
With D* I have...
TC Premium=$99.95
1 HD Tivo Box=$0.00
4 SD Tivo Boxes=$20.00
HD Pack=$10.00
Total = $129.95
Almost $40.00 /month cheaper...I'll stay with DirecTV!

One thing left out of your calculations, how much did you have to pay to get the D* hardware? Did D* give you the HR10-250 for free?

 

[dodgeboyoh]

long time reader here and at Tivo community 1st time poster. This seals it for me, everything is going up except my paycheck. Just curious how many people and please only if you are serious when you get the bill with the price increase will call DTV and actually cancel? I know I am, if their increases have the opposite affect and actually cost them revenue they may change their position on it. I am fuming over this I hear they were going to drop their rates and was planning on getting an r15 (I have 2 Tivos currently) for a total of 3 receivers. I think someone should start a thread and take a list of names of people willing to drop their service and forward it to D*.
Thanks for your time.

 

[vinnyv07]

The dollar decrease just goes to show you that even they know that their HD pack is lacking some ch's.

 

[mikew]

One thing left out of your calculations, how much did you have to pay to get the D* hardware? Did D* give you the HR10-250 for free?

Equipment cost me $646.00. I sold my Dish EQ for $717. I'd already broken even on the E* equipment after my 7 years with them, so yes...the HR10-250 was free.

I also didn't include the taxes which would have added about another $10.00/month to Cox.

Additionally, I'm saving $10.00/month using DSL vs. Cox's High Speed Internet. I don't understand why Cox seems to be so much higher...

 

[vurbano]

Equipment cost me $646.00. I sold my Dish EQ for $717. I'd already broken even on the E* equipment after my 7 years with them, so yes...the HR10-250 was free.

I also didn't include the taxes which would have added about another $10.00/month to Cox.

Additionally, I'm saving $10.00/month using DSL vs. Cox's High Speed Internet. I don't understand why Cox seems to be so much higher...

How do you equate 4 cable HD DVR's to one HR10-250? ANd how do you equate HDlite from that HR10-250 to the higher PQ of cable HD?

 

[ScottChez]

I wonder if they had to increase rates due to Life Time going up 76 Cents per customer?

You know the increase, the one Dish would not pay for so they cut the channels.

 

[scooby2]

I wonder if they had to increase rates due to Life Time going up 76 Cents per customer?
You know the increase, the one Dish would not pay for so they cut the channels.

76% not 76 cents. More like 7 or 8 cents.

 

[CPanther95]

76% not 76 cents. More like 7 or 8 cents.

More like $0.35 - $0.40 (by the third year, though)

It's not only Lifetime, it's every channel. Plan on an extra quarter a year for ESPN, plus increases for every other channel out there.

Do you guys really expect D* and E* and cable to carry more and more channels, each with their own fees, and each with annual increases - and not have annual increases in their pricing?

 

[SummitAdvantageRetailer]

We got the price increase fax as well. This is official as the format follows the other notices we've gotten lately.

 

[Curtis0620]

But will they move any of the sports pack channels to TC+ (ESPNU, CSTV, etc.)?

 

[Peter Parker]

I agree, there's another shoe to drop. I tend to think it will be bad news because wouldn't you agree that if there were ANY good news they would have told us by now?
And another thing... Didn't D* just have their earnings release? Wouldn't a price increase have come up?
Tom J

No. There is no real connection between the two. And in any event they do not announce fourth quarter earnings till next month.

 

[Peter Parker]

But will they move any of the sports pack channels to TC+ (ESPNU, CSTV, etc.)?

Good question. I considered switching to DTV from E*'s AT180 but I am in bit of aquandary. D* has OLN and the NHL---but the channels you mention have college hockey and would require paying for the sports pack. If they were included TC+ would be an even more attractive package than it is.

 

[Peter Parker]

More like $0.35 - $0.40 (by the third year, though)
I

Are we sure of that?

 

[mikew]

How do you equate 4 cable HD DVR's to one HR10-250? ANd how do you equate HDlite from that HR10-250 to the higher PQ of cable HD?

EASY! Cox charges $15.00/month for one SD DVR and $20.00/month for one HD DVR. I WAS comparing apples to apples here. Furthermore, since Cox cannot seem to come to an agreement with the local affiliates, the only HD network programming I can get with Cox would be CBS, WB and PBS. ABC, NBC and Fox are not available via Tucson Cox in HD. With the HD-Tivo, I'm pulling in all affiliates and it is not HD-Lite. Pure and simple...in Tucson...Cox is horrendous and for my needs, D* is MUCH cheaper.

 

[adam1115]

Hmm, I'm wondering what this does to me. I signed up for Seleccion Mas when it was $29.99 for existing Opcion Extra subs. I'm still paying $29.99 for Seleccion Mas, how long do I get to keep this price? Are they ever going to bump me to the $39.99 price?

 

[RIRWIN1983]

That sound you just heard was the other shoe dropping.
$3, $4 and $6 price increases! WOW!
I wonder how many people who switched to DirecTV because of Dish's price increase are feeling now?
See ya
Tony

f***ed up the arse, lol

 

[CPanther95]

Are we sure of that?

Considering the average "cable" channel receives $0.30 a month in carriage fees, it is much more likely.

 

[Tampa8]

These things come in three's, and March 1st seems to be D-Day..so what's the third??

1.) moving to leasing equipment,

2.) raising rates, and...

3.) ????

Comeon, D*...kick us in the balls just one more time...

BTW, I just looked at E*'s prices for their AT180 (five channels less than TC+): $52.99 w/ locals. Yikes. D*'s cheaper?? Wow...no wonder they felt they could jack up rates...and STILL be below E* for once..

How did you determine TC+ has more channels than Top 180?? Being very favorable to Directv and not counting the Sirius, Aud, or Digital Aud for Dish, and not counting XM for Direct, I count from their websites approximtely 137 channels in Top 180, and 114 channels in TC+. I only counted two regional sports channels for each an did not count Turner sports for either. Included in that 137 are several movie channels for Dish.