Retention? More like rejection!

[mdonnelly]

The full price of Select is $94 a month. How could they possibly discount it down to $14 a month? It would be foolish to turn down an offer like that. Something doesn't add up.

Maybe it was the Ultimate package. With the fees for four boxes it was still going to be a lot, and more channels than I need.

 

[dtv757]

yea for years always had good discounts with DirecTV. the most generous out of all the many companies / subscriptions (xm , onstart, broadband provider etc ... )

 

[MitchDeerfield]

After almost 40 years of paying for cable or satellite TV, I cut the cord once and for all last week. I don't watch any sports and can replace the other programming that I prefer by subscribing to services like Amazon Prime, Youtube premium, PBS Masterpiece documentaries, Kanopy, BBC, etc. I am paying less but getting much more of the specific programming that I like. I don't foresee going back to dtv, dish, or cable TV. It was all the streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus that destroyed the big cable TV providers. I got tired of paying for 150 channels that I never watched.

 

[Bruce]

I got tired of paying for 150 channels that I never watched.

My problem was paying for those 150 Channels and the vast majority of content is nothing but reruns.

I am amazed that Traditional Providers are not complaining more about certain channels putting the same content that is on Traditional Channels on their streaming services

CBS for example, all shows from CBS and the Viacom channels, then all the exclusive stuff, yet I read that CBS is one of the most expensive in per sub fees.

 

[Mochuf]

Unlimited will not give you better PQ.

Nor do I believe it is necessary for most people that stream live tv. My current (soon to be previous) gig cable service comes with a 1.5TB cap before overages, and I dont think we have ever gone over in our three person home with streaming only.

Now there are obviously ways to go over a cap, and some caps are lower, but even when ours was 1tb, that was enough for our general use.

Edit: this is streaming the majority of our stuff in 4k, and the VAST majority of what I personally watch in 4K HDR. So we are watching the best streams available for the content we view.

Same thing with me and my family. My wife and I still have a son at home and we stream everything. We stream music, download games, stream and download video. We barely use 1tb of our 1.5tb cap. We pay less for internet , music and tv combined than what I' ve seen people on this site pay for DirectTV alone.

 

[Jimbo]

Same thing with me and my family. My wife and I still have a son at home and we stream everything. We stream music, download games, stream and download video. We barely use 1tb of our 1.5tb cap. We pay less for internet , music and tv combined than what I' ve seen people on this site pay for DirectTV alone.

How much of your streaming stuff is in 4K ?

 

[Mochuf]

How much of your streaming stuff is in 4K ?

Quite a bit. We get plenty of 4K through Netflix and Amazon Prime. Plus some from HBO Max and Vudu from our Movies Everywhere code redemption.

 

[dod1450]

My problem was paying for those 150 Channels and the vast majority of content is nothing but reruns.

I am amazed that Traditional Providers are not complaining more about certain channels putting the same content that is on Traditional Channels on their streaming services

CBS for example, all shows from CBS and the Viacom channels, then all the exclusive stuff, yet I read that CBS is one of the most expensive in per sub fees.

The biggest problem was all the commercials. I an now using samsung tv plus that is free. Yes they do show commercials. It just I am not paying cable prices. Both samsung and LG TV have over 100 channels plus all the ota in your area.

 

[dtv757]

The biggest problem was all the commercials. I an now using samsung tv plus that is free. Yes they do show commercials. It just I am not paying cable prices. Both samsung and LG TV have over 100 channels plus all the ota in your area.

true, but no live sports

the star trek and occasional 007 channel is cool (pluto)

 

[PAHOKIE77]

Today I lost all of my local channels. The Programming Alert said "Your current SD equipment no longer supports this channes. But don't worry, we have replacement equipment for you - at no additional cost to you!* (conditions apply)" Well I spent an hour trying to get D* to honor the no additional cost part. At one time they were trying to increase my monthly charges by $40 and charge me for new equipment and installation. Just to keep what I have. I told them I would just cancel my service after 25+ years. To make a long story short they will replace my HD-100 receiver with the latest Genie receiver and replace my dish at no cost and my monthly charges will remain the same and no contract. So I really didn't get anything but, I should be back where I was before I lost all my local channels (I had also lost other channels over the last 6 months).

Last year I reduced my package to just the basics. Over 1 year later, I lost over 10 channels and the cost went up 15%. I do not have access to internet services (and yes I have looked at many options including Hughsnet, Starlink, etc. - but most are not available or just do not work for streaming TV - slow speeds). I am thinking of using my phone as a hot spot and switch to unlimited data. I do not know if that will work for streaming but, I will give it a try. If it works I plan to drop D*. D* was very good for most of my 25 years but, the last few years have not been very good. They keep reducing the channels and increasing the costs. They did give me the Sunday Ticket for free. I can get PA, MD and DC OTA channels so there are only a few NFL games that I get thru the Sunday Ticket that I do not already have access to. But Sunday Ticket is nice and free.

I think the days for satellite services are numbered.

 

[Jimbo]

Today I lost all of my local channels. The Programming Alert said "Your current SD equipment no longer supports this channes. But don't worry, we have replacement equipment for you - at no additional cost to you!* (conditions apply)" Well I spent an hour trying to get D* to honor the no additional cost part. At one time they were trying to increase my monthly charges by $40 and charge me for new equipment and installation. Just to keep what I have. I told them I would just cancel my service after 25+ years. To make a long story short they will replace my HD-100 receiver with the latest Genie receiver and replace my dish at no cost and my monthly charges will remain the same and no contract. So I really didn't get anything but, I should be back where I was before I lost all my local channels (I had also lost other channels over the last 6 months).

Last year I reduced my package to just the basics. Over 1 year later, I lost over 10 channels and the cost went up 15%. I do not have access to internet services (and yes I have looked at many options including Hughsnet, Starlink, etc. - but most are not available or just do not work for streaming TV - slow speeds). I am thinking of using my phone as a hot spot and switch to unlimited data. I do not know if that will work for streaming but, I will give it a try. If it works I plan to drop D*. D* was very good for most of my 25 years but, the last few years have not been very good. They keep reducing the channels and increasing the costs. They did give me the Sunday Ticket for free. I can get PA, MD and DC OTA channels so there are only a few NFL games that I get thru the Sunday Ticket that I do not already have access to. But Sunday Ticket is nice and free.

I think the days for satellite services are numbered.

Sounds like the real issue is, they Finally turned the SS / MPEG 2 signal off ...
They have only talked about doing this since about 2017 or there abouts ... that would be why you were losing channels.
They have told people that this would happen since then, gave everyone an Upgrade deals or two ... Sounds like you were one of those that held out till the last minute.

I apologize if this is Not whats happened here, but it sounds right.

 

[PAHOKIE77]

Sounds like the real issue is, they Finally turned the SS / MPEG 2 signal off ...
They have only talked about doing this since about 2017 or there abouts ... that would be why you were losing channels.
They have told people that this would happen since then, gave everyone an Upgrade deals or two ... Sounds like you were one of those that held out till the last minute.

I apologize if this is Not whats happened here, but it sounds right.

Yes, I held out as long as I could. My h20-100 had an OTA tuner that the new receivers do not. This allowed me to send the OTA and D* thru the same line (used a diplexer to separate signals). I get about 90 channels OTA and watch more OTA than D*. Only watch about 6 channels on D* that I can not get OTA. Watching OSU and Indiana on Fox OTA as I type this. I was never contacting regarding any deals (except for the Programing Alert I got yesterday.

After my post, I received an email from D* saying that I would need to agree to a 24 month contract and that my services would cost $10 more per month. After spending a couple of hours on the phone and speaking with 3 different representatives they did not resolve the issue. They told me the person from Loyalty that I spoke with the day before did not give me the correct information. All I was asking for was to be made whole and receive the same services that were part of my package. They would not honor what they agreed to on the day before. i canceled my order. They gave me a $10 credit for the 15 channels I lost (this would be a one time credit even though I have lost the channels going forward). Hopefully, I will be able to use the phone "hot spot" to get streaming services. If that doesn't work out, I could get a much better deal from Dish if I have to do a 24 month contract. Time to cut the cord with D*.

 

[PAHOKIE77]

This will be my last month on D*. They have done nothing to make the situation better and the receiver is acting weird (losing channels and multiple same channels). Bye bye D*.

 

[DaveKL69]

We are dropping DirecTV. We are 10 days into a 2-week free preview of YouTube TV and will be going to it permanently. Canceling DirecTV after the 2 wk, and then canceling YouTube TV, and will subscribe to it permanently with our new T-Mobile discount of $10/mo for a year discount. Will save $30.15/mo more than the $104 was paying for DirecTV (and yeah that included a $20/mo /mo discount that I was in for a year plan due to our loyalty to DirecTV). That includes my subscription to HBO Max, had with DirecTV,will continue for now with YouTube TV. That will be a savings of $361.80 for 1 year! I'd save even more if I drop HBO Max, which may due.