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Cutting the cable cord, Part MMCXLVI

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by goalmouth, Sep 22, 2017.

  1. goalmouth

    goalmouth Well-Known Member

    Last year I called Verizon to ask for a new cable remote. The call center guy said I could have one for free, if I signed up for two more years (I'd been going month to month). If not, it was $14.95. I told him no, and that was that. Last week, I called again to pay my bill, and mentioned the remote issue. The call center lady said without a contract it was $14.95. Fine, I said, and then we had a reasoned discussion about cord-cutting, rising rates, and the price of tea in China. Said I was thsiclose to canceling cable. She repeated that a new remote was $14.95 plus shipping. I asked how much shipping was. She put me on hold. Came back a minute later and said they were shipping TWO new remotes for free, no shipping charge.

    I will now negotiate peace in the Middle East.
     
  2. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    I have said before here, i get into a discussion every year with Direct TV. Always several phone calls. Always results in a few hundred dollars discount over the year.

    If you don't negotiate every single year, they will bump you up and screw with you, without fail.
     
  3. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    Last year, I got SiriusXM for about $120 -- including Stern. They sent me a note indicating my new rate after the first year was $300. I said not a chance, goodbye.

    They renewed me at the same number.
     
  4. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    Count me among the Canuckistanis who pay a good buck every month for the Rogers Super Sports Pak only to be denied Sunday Ticket (thanks, NFL!) but not see the monthly price drop!
     
  5. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    I have the following:
    1) An antenna,
    2) A smart blu-ray player,
    3) A Chromecast on both my TVs,
    4) Dad's password for his cable account.

    Free TV. I wish I lived in a market other than Joplin because the stations have crap on their .2 and .3 channels if they have anything at all. The CBS station uses its .2 signal to repeat the Fox station, which is OK because without it, I wouldn't be able to get the Fox station. The Fox station doesn't use its sub channels at all. Then the NBC and ABC stations finally started using their .2 and .3 signals but got crappy networks to put on them (not the good ones like MeTV or Antenna TV).

    Also, even though it's a low-power station, I pick up Missouri Southern's station, which only broadcasts in standard def. It's a YouToo America (I think that's right) affiliate and it shows some really crappy westerns from the 30s and 40s at 2 in the morning. And some of those films are in horrible condition but they air them anyway.

    Anyway, even if my Dad decides to cancel his cable tomorrow, I have Netflix and Hulu and I might go for SlingTV. I can also watch anything on the CW because I think it's the only over-the-air network that doesn't require a cable provider to watch its content (a good thing because Joplin doesn't have a CW station).

    When I dumped DirecTV, I dropped $180 from my monthly bills and I don't have to deal with the idiots on the other end of the phone line any more. Win.
     
    Flip Wilson likes this.
  6. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Some people are losing their minds in my town because the local NBC affiliate is blacked out on DirecTV and UVerse due to a contract dispute. No Sunday Night Football, fall premieres, etc. But that's a golden opportunity for freebies. The blackout also happened four years ago when I had DirecTV, I called threatening to cancel and they gave me a free year of NFL Sunday Ticket. And the blackout was resolved about two days later.
     
  7. SpeedTchr

    SpeedTchr Well-Known Member

    Sweet fancy ketchup, I can only dream about a station blacking out an NFL game. Be still my heart.
     
  8. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    If you're still working at a paper, y'all might consider running a piece called "Antennas" ...
     
  9. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    Digital signals can be more wonky, sometimes, than analog ones were. I have an antenna rated at 40 miles in my bedroom window. The farthest transmitter is about 25 miles but if I don't position it just so, I can't get one or more stations. The Fox affiliate I mentioned earlier is only about 12 miles away, same distance as the CBS affiliate, and both have their transmitter on site. I can pick up CBS clearly but wouldn't be able get the Fox station at all if the CBS station wasn't carrying it on its .2 signal. NBC, ABC and the low-power Missouri Southern station are all at least 30 miles away but I get all of them just fine.

    I could probably put the antenna in the attic to improve my chances but I don't want to have to start drilling holes to get the coax down to the TV.
     
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