My Letter to Chase Carey

[dlma1]

I thought the group may be interested in my letter to Chase Carey (the CEO of Direct TV) on how Direct TV is ripping its customers off:

Why does Direct TV cheat its customers? I thought that this provocative question may get your attention. Now, let me explain my question: I have been complaining for years because your company refuses to carry all of the premium channels available from HBO, Cinemax, Starz, and Showtime. I recently switched the majority of my TV entertainment dollars from Direct TV to Verizon FIOS because of this lack of programming support. It truly baffles me why a well run business like Direct TV chooses to alienate subscribers like me who want to enjoy all of the premium movie channels available. As a both a long time subscriber and a MBA, I would appreciate an explanation of this strange business decision.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Brace yourself for the A$$ Ripping.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Brace yourself for the A$$ Ripping.

Let me be first!

That letter is one of those "are you still beating your wife? kind of questions........................"Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself. When one begs the question, the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place.

A simple example would be "I think he is dishonest because he is crooked." The adjective "crooked" does not explain why the subject is "dishonest" -- they virtually amount to the same subjective meaning, and the proof is merely a restatement of the premise. The sentence has begged the question.

Moving on from what we in cable college called a principio prencipere fallacy we look at the other assumption not proven. Where is it written that DTV is in the business of making people happy or providing all programs for all people at all times for free or cheap?

The marketplace allows all vendors to present their wares and all customers to buy what the hell they want.

But that is just me.

Joe

AND if the letter had started out..."Why does DTV let HSPs have all the installation business when everyone knows they are...

 

[dlma1]

No problem. I enjoy stirring the pot! A comparison:


Service D*-SD D* -HD FIOS-SD FIOS-HD
HBO 7 2 14 14
Cinemax 3 2 11 11
Showtime 7 6 12 12
Starz 14 5 23 5
Totals 31 15 60 42

My point was to show that D* is not delivering on their promise to be head and shoulders above cable. Why they offer premiums that are not complete just defies the imagination.

 

[Jimbo]

No problem. I enjoy stirring the pot! A comparison:


Service D*-SD D* -HD FIOS-SD FIOS-HD
HBO 7 2 14 14
Cinemax 3 2 11 11
Showtime 7 6 12 12
Starz 14 5 23 5
Totals 31 15 60 42

My point was to show that D* is not delivering on their promise to be head and shoulders above cable. Why they offer premiums that are not complete just defies the imagination.

Fios is Cable ????
Fios is not in the Cable grouping, they would be in thier own category, Fiber, hence the name.

btw, when did D* say they would carry ALL these channels by now ?

Juast because Fios decided to go the Movie channels in thier move to make thier mark, doesn't make D* wrong or Fios right.

D* made thier mark going with Sports first, Fios didn't, they needed to make thier own niche and they have.

Good for them.

 

[dlma1]

1) I realize what FIOS is--that is reason I got it--virtually unlimited capacity. And BTW, Comcast cable also offers the majority of premiums available (including all of HBO and Cinemax). What annoys me about D* is that they are continually bugging me to buy HBO and/or Cinemax but they are clueless when I try to tell them that they DON'T offer all of the channels available. They also claim to be the leader in HD, which to me, is no longer true when you objectively compare them to FIOS.

2) As for D* sports it is true that they offer some better choices including NFL Sunday Ticket and Superfan (I still have limited D* service to keep NFL Sunday Ticket). But for all other sports, I can find no discernable difference. FIOS offers NBA, MLB, NHL and college sports. They also have Comcast Philadelphia sports which D* can't offer. D* also has all those Regional Sports Networks that are virtually worthless (they also seem to be showing "The Best Damn Sports Show" or some unknown college or local game that no one gives a s--t about except the players families!). Maybe by 2010, NFL Sunday Ticket will be offered by FIOS and cable.

 

[Jimbo]

1) I realize what FIOS is--that is reason I got it--virtually unlimited capacity. And BTW, Comcast cable also offers the majority of premiums available (including all of HBO and Cinemax). What annoys me about D* is that they are continually bugging me to buy HBO and/or Cinemax but they are clueless when I try to tell them that they DON'T offer all of the channels available. They also claim to be the leader in HD, which to me, is no longer true when you objectively compare them to FIOS.

2) As for D* sports it is true that they offer some better choices including NFL Sunday Ticket and Superfan (I still have limited D* service to keep NFL Sunday Ticket). But for all other sports, I can find no discernable difference. FIOS offers NBA, MLB, NHL and college sports. They also have Comcast Philadelphia sports which D* can't offer. D* also has all those Regional Sports Networks that are virtually worthless (they also seem to be showing "The Best Damn Sports Show" or some unknown college or local game that no one gives a s--t about except the players families!). Maybe by 2010, NFL Sunday Ticket will be offered by FIOS and cable.

FIOS does not and will not have the ST ..... the NFL has an exclusive agreement with D*, as long as D* continues to supply the correct amount of money to the NFL, and theres no reason why they wouldn't, it's thier biggest selling feature, the ST will not be on any other provider .... the NFL and D* have had a long standing contract since what '95 , I doubt that they (NFL) would want to jeopardize that.

Oh and about the College games on RSN's that you said no one gives a **** about, they do if they are on the west coast, normally the PAC 10 conference can be found on it weekly.

Jimbo

 

[JosephB]

Oh no, not an MBA! Chase Carey has met his match!

 

[dlma1]

Well, I guess I'm stuck with them for a while anyway (I managed to get some dollar concessions to take their ridiculously slim Family package so I could keep NFL Sunday Ticket). And I am not sure about the accuracy of your statement that D* will have the exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket forever (I think that the current contract expires with the 2010 Season but I'm not sure). From what I hear, the NFL has been getting a lot of pressure from consumer groups to offer NFL Sunday Ticket to other providers. I truly enjoy having a somewhat civil conversation on this subject as I have been D* customer since 1996 -- remember USSB? They offered all the Cinemaxes! Good night and good luck!

 

[dlma1]

Oh no, not an MBA! Chase Carey has met his match!

No need for sarcasm - just as an MBA I am curious as to his thinking as a CEO. I've run a small company with major customers such as Lockheed Martin, DuPont, etc. and I would never think of alienating them. They were my bread and butter.

 

[JosephB]

No need for sarcasm - just as an MBA I am curious as to his thinking as a CEO. I've run a small company with major customers such Lockheed Martin, DuPont, etc. and I would never think of alienating them. They were my bread and butter.

Just because you aren't happy doesn't mean that all of his customers aren't happy. DirecTV isn't a small business, and it's hard to make everyone happy. As a matter of fact, it's impossible.

They could add all the premiums in the world, but then they would have to raise rates on those premiums and also they would have reduced capacity for package channels or sports packages. Satellite bandwidth is not an infinite resource and it has to be rationed carefully. Once they make a decision it's very difficult to roll it back, so they have to be very deliberate in their choices.

 

[Joe Diamond]

No need for sarcasm - just as an MBA I am curious as to his thinking as a CEO. I've run a small company with major customers such as Lockheed Martin, DuPont, etc. and I would never think of alienating them. They were my bread and butter.

Locheed Martin, DuPont............. That is planes and agent orange and, my personal favorite......military detergent.............napalm. I wouldn't have been such a smart ass before if knew you worked for the folks that made America what it is.

Yo, Chase!..........my man needs more channels! Free ones so he don't have to go nemeanin hisself with FIOS....Chase!

Joe

 

[dlma1]

Just because you aren't happy doesn't mean that all of his customers aren't happy. DirecTV isn't a small business, and it's hard to make everyone happy. As a matter of fact, it's impossible.

They could add all the premiums in the world, but then they would have to raise rates on those premiums and also they would have reduced capacity for package channels or sports packages. Satellite bandwidth is not an infinite resource and it has to be rationed carefully. Once they make a decision it's very difficult to roll it back, so they have to be very deliberate in their choices.

My point is that D* charges as much or more than cable or FIOS. They used to offer a compelling value over cable and other sources but IMO they no longer do.

 

[dlma1]

Locheed Martin, DuPont............. That is planes and agent orange and, my personal favorite......military detergent.............napalm. I wouldn't have been such a smart ass before if knew you worked for the folks that made America what it is.

Yo, Chase!..........my man needs more channels! Free ones so he don't have to go nemeanin hisself with FIOS....Chase!

Joe

OK, OK. I'm glad you are having fun baiting me with sophomoric attempts at humor. No such luck, as I said I enjoy stirring the pot. So flame away with more sarcasm and vitriol. Just be sure to let us know when you plan on providing a well reasoned response like some of the other members who have taken the time to reply seriously.

 

[AntDogg65]

My point is that D* charges as much or more than cable or FIOS. They used to offer a compelling value over cable and other sources but IMO they no longer do.

For the same set up that I have now (Choice Xtra Plus HD DVR w/ all 4 premiums an H23, and a standard receiver) with cable would cost me about $150 per month. I only pay $75 per month, so which is cheaper. Again as I have explained time after time again on this site, Fios is great if you get it; but for the majority of the nation like myself in Knoxville, your best bet is satellite and being that I have had Dish before, Direct is king for me. Criticize all you want, but D* has more programming options than E* and definitely more than my our suckky cable providers down here. If you love movies that much, just get netflix and enjoy, for everyone else (myself included) I will take the variety that D* has to offer.

 

[Joe Diamond]

OK, OK. I'm glad you are having fun baiting me with sophomoric attempts at humor. No such luck, as I said I enjoy stirring the pot. So flame away with more sarcasm and vitriol. Just be sure to let us know when you plan on providing a well reasoned response like some of the other members who have taken the time to reply seriously.

It is only TV.

Me and Ted Turner are too busy to watch it. Everybody else watches their fav 12 channels and has no idea why the rest of the hundreds of channels offered are even available. DTV has guys with a college education guessing what will sell. They put all the different letters in piles and weigh them. That is called market analysis.



Joe

 

[JosephB]

My point is that D* charges as much or more than cable or FIOS. They used to offer a compelling value over cable and other sources but IMO they no longer do.

Then don't subscribe! That's the magic of capitalism. If someone else has a product that, in your opinion, is more compelling then you should switch. For me, the overabundance of HD on DirecTV as compared to any of the cable companies around my area and the fact that UVerse is bandwidth constrained seals the deal for me. Not every product is going to be perfect for every single customer. There are some breaks sometimes.

 

[Islandguy43]

WOW

I only thought Charlie required his installers and retailers to log on here and defend his honor and product line!!!

 

[Joe Diamond]

Installers won't do what they are told . Retailers listen to their lawyers and keep a low profile while cases are open. DTV didn't become what it is because they said please. This site is for folks who are not busy at the moment. There is no one voice that is significant but the trends of many voices........that could be a clue!

Joe

 

[NYRANGERS]

My point is that D* charges as much or more than cable or FIOS. They used to offer a compelling value over cable and other sources but IMO they no longer do.

I just ordered D* Get it installed tomorrow morning and I am saving atleast $140 a month for the first year on combined TV and Internet with the premier package and 6 recievers.

I have Comcast now and have 5 recievers their highest package and HSI.

Even after the full prices come next year I will still be saving about $75 bucks a month over Comcast.

I really can care less about the movie channels. I am all about the sports and the HD channels. The only bummer is I will lose Comcast Sportsnet Philly but I am a NY sports fan.

I may not have a MBA but I have a BS in Business Administration and I say whatever floats D* boat. They are making money hand over fist. I don't think adding a few more movie channels will open the flood gates of new customers. Comcast is helping them out with their horrible business practices.

I also believe ST will stay with D* for a long time. Its their bread and butter.

I do like the initiative with the letter though. Hope you get a response.