Prices are going up in January... *sigh*

[andygradel]

Just got my December cable bill and the dreaded insert was there was the new prices for 2008. I don't have it in front of me, but I remember seeing that standard cable is going up $3 per month and the DVR service is increasing by $2 or $3 per month.

So, for the Digital Plus package with one HD/DVR receiver and a second receiver in my sunroom, it's going to be just under $100 per month. Yikes...

Just did the math and the same thing from DirecTV is $74.98 per month, not even counting the fact that it's $54.98 per month for the first 12 months to new subs. Figuring in the $199 you have to pay upfront for the HD-DVR, that'd be the equivilent of $16.66 per month for a year, which would make it $71.64 per month in year one and $74.98 afterwards.

Hmm... it's getting pretty hard to justify staying with Comcast, even if my cable internet service will jump $12 a month if I don't have them for TV as well.

- Andy

 

[vikingrob]

Here are my figures, looking at the rate card for southern Washington County, MN. Franchise fee is 5% (not applied to internet) and sales tax is 6.5% (applied to franchise fee but not to internet).

Please note these prices exclude promotional pricing and do not reflect any changes in Dish's pricing in 2008 (I have not received such a notice from Dish).

 

[berck]

I jumped ship to Directv from Comcast recently. I couldn't pass up the savings and even after the $20/month promo expires, I'll still save about $20-30/month over Comcast only. If I switch to DSL, I can lower the savings even more, but my Comcast connection is much faster than the highest DSL in my area.

 

[andygradel]

I just saw an ad for the "Comcast Double-Play," which is Internet & Digital Voice for $50 per month.

Where I live, the only high-speed option is Comcast and I almost lost it when I saw that they're charging $59 if you don't also have TV service. Looks like it's cheaper to sign up for the double-play, even if you don't use the digital voice? Wow... In no other industry will you see a company actually try to charge you more for getting less.

 

[vikingrob]

Looks like it's cheaper to sign up for the double-play, even if you don't use the digital voice? Wow... In no other industry will you see a company actually try to charge you more for getting less.

I noticed the same thing when you look at internet with and without Basic 1: internet plus Basic 1 costs less than internet alone; this is why I still take Basic 1 and do nothing with it. Absurd, no?

 

[stevenl]

Prices are going up, it happens every year. Dtv and dish will both announce price increases for 2008 as well..