DirecTV renegotiating to keep SpeedTV

[sprtbkbabe]

http://www.keepmynets.com/

Looks like my 2 yr contract ending in 2 months may not be a bad thing. In 2010 they went through the same thing with other networks and Versus was dropped while they "worked it out" for a few months.

Here's to streaming online next year!

[TinkerinWstuff]

without FX or Speed, I'll step down in the plan we have. Thankfully NASCAR finishes out the season on ABC networks.

I'm certainly not going to keep paying DirecTV for the plan that includes those channels if they are taking them down.

[bluedogok]

Versus was one channel owned by Comcast which had a separate interest in keeping it off Directv and other cable/sat systems, the Fox package is a different thing entirely. I think they get something worked out but if it doesn't I wonder how it would affect the NFL Sunday Ticket package since half the games are on Fox.

[FZjake719]

This actually upsets me quite a bit. When I watch TV, its usually FX, NGC, Fuel, or Speed(when its not NASCAR), THEN the movie channels if nothing else is on. ALL of those are in jepardy... :(

If they cant come to an agreement, I'll be finding another provider that carries them instead, and they'll be losing a LONG time customer (been with DirecTV since '96).

[TinkerinWstuff]

good thing you don't watch NASCAR on speed, the CSC would have to ban you.

[sprtbkbabe]

This actually upsets me quite a bit. When I watch TV, its usually FX, NGC, Fuel, or Speed(when its not NASCAR), THEN the movie channels if nothing else is on. ALL of those are in jepardy... :(

If they cant come to an agreement, I'll be finding another provider that carries them instead, and they'll be losing a LONG time customer (been with DirecTV since '96).

I couldn't agree more. My contract w/Direct TV ends in December and I've been looking at other options.

I wish we could get Uverse, but most zips in CO don't have it available.

Right now the best bet is to stream those channels or go onto Hulu, netflicks, motogp, racing underground, mopvideo, etc... via Smart TV/HD and a Logitech device.

[Ricky]

www.ourpromisetoyou.com

They make it sound like the fault is not theirs (of course) in the negotiations with Fox.

I'd switch, except that after having been a Comcast customer for many many many years, I switched to DirecTV about 18 months ago, and I'd NEVER go back to Comcast. DirecTV has far better picture quality, and doesn't cut out as much as Comcast did.

[~Barn~]

"Doesn't cut out as much" :think: That's all DirecTV does, is cut out! :lol:

It rains, the picture flickers.
It snows lightly, the picture flickers.
It's snows moderate: "Searching for Signal......"

I can't comment to picture quality, since I only recently upgraded to DTV High Definition [which is pretty damn awesome to be fair], and never had it with Comcast. But as far as pure signal stability goes, DirecTV is pretty much the worst provider I've ever encountered. And yes, I realize it's the nature of satellite, but hey... if we're gonna start comparing attributes.

[Mother Goose]

It was snowing on Wednesday and my feed was fine with DirecTV :dunno:

[Ricky]

"Doesn't cut out as much" :think: That's all DirecTV does, is cut out! :lol:

It rains, the picture flickers.
It snows lightly, the picture flickers.
It's snows moderate: "Searching for Signal......"

I can't comment to picture quality, since I only recently upgraded to DTV High Definition [which is pretty damn awesome to be fair], and never had it with Comcast. But as far as pure signal stability goes, DirecTV is pretty much the worst provider I've ever encountered. And yes, I realize it's the nature of satellite, but hey... if we're gonna start comparing attributes.

In that time period since I switched, I've never seen interference of any kind from weather, except in June during that monsoon week we had, there was one storm that took out my signal for a good 20 minutes straight. Aside from that, never a problem from snow or any other kind of weather.

With Comcast, during a normal 30 minute show, the picture or sound would cut out at least 10 times, whether for 500ms, or a couple seconds. You couldn't make a single recording, EVER, without losing something. When looking at super sharp graphics, like an NFL score, you could tell the Comcast pic looked like a compressed JPG. The DirecTV signal has much sharper lines, and doesn't look AS compressed. And what's funny about this, is that I have business class Comcast internet at home, and my signals are tip-top, so it's nothing to do with that.

I had Comcast HDTV since they first day they started offering it in my area. I think that was back in 2003. I never realized how bad it was until I switched away. And I only switched because Comcast refused to give me a set price for longer than 3 months... With DirecTV over a 2 yr period, I'll save $1100 and I have all the channels vs only 2 movie channels with Comcast. I don't know what dish you have, but the bigger the dish, the better it can reign in the signal. The dish I have is one of the newest oval ones, and I have their newest boxes. Compared to my neighbor's directv dish, mine has a far sturdier mount, and it wobbles much less than my neighbors. I was afraid of the switch when I made it, but now I'd never switch back.

And yeah, I didn't even touch my dish when it snowed the other day... No signal issues to speak of.

[sprtbkbabe]

I'd like this option for NASCRAP TV:



The Onion Sports News

Popular New DirecTV Package Offers Zero NHL Games

October 28, 2011 |
http://o.onionstatic.com/images/articles/article/26/26472/Popular_New-R_jpg_635x345_crop-smart_upscale_q85.jpg

EL SEGUNDO, CA—Satellite broadcast provider DirecTV has been inundated with new subscribers following Monday's introduction of NHL ShutOut, a special new sports entertainment package that allows customers to miss 100 percent of National Hockey League programming.



For a one-time sign-up charge of $49.99 and a $7.99 monthly fee, DirecTV viewers can completely ignore games from all 30 NHL teams, not merely those matchups that are already blacked out in their area due to low ticket sales.
"We've been working on this for a while now, and I think I speak for everyone in our Sports department when I say we couldn't be happier with the results," DirecTV programming director Ryan Sanford said. "Now, with NHL ShutOut, people can enjoy all 1,230 professional hockey games each year the way they were meant to be enjoyed: by not seeing them at all."
According to DirecTV, the package also denies viewers access to the NHL preseason, the playoffs, and the Stanley Cup Finals at no extra charge. For an additional fee, viewers in certain smaller, hockey-obsessed markets such as North Dakota and Boston can also opt to have college hockey removed from the programming menu.
"Fifty bucks to watch a total of zero hockey games for a whole year is a complete no-brainer," said Montclair, NJ resident and new DirecTV customer Anne Walsch, who bought NHL ShutOut as an anniversary present for her husband, Bob, a Philadelphia native who grew up in Flyers country and claims he "never, ever want[s] to see even a single second of hockey" again. "I was happy to see I didn't have to pay extra to have hockey games eliminated from my premium channels as well. It's a really well-thought-out package."
DirecTV began promoting NHL ShutOut as part of their overall sports programming in late September, advertising it heavily during football, basketball, and baseball games and NASCAR races in order to build excitement for the service before the hockey season began in early October. According to Sanford, there was initial disappointment when customers heard that ShutOut would not be ready for the season opener.
"We weren't trying to increase demand or anything like that," said Sanford, who noted that DirecTV customers who signed up for ShutOut received a refund for any early NHL games they had been unable to ignore. "It simply wasn't ready. Test-market viewers sometimes still caught a glimpse of hockey while changing channels, and we hadn't yet figured out a way to reliably block NHL highlights from being shown on sports news shows. But we're very happy with the way it turned out."
Sanford claimed the early success of the package was due in no small part to the decision to advertise it heavily during the NHL opening weekend with a combination of television spots, sponsored segments, and on-ice advertising.
"There were some fans who didn't appreciate that very much," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "But it was the largest advertising buy we had. Frankly, between that and the licensing and rebroadcasting money they pay to not show our games, it's the best thing that's happened to the league in years."
As of Wednesday, NHL ShutOut was DirecTV's most popular new product. Sports bars are impatiently waiting the introduction of NHL ShutOutPro, which will allow proprietors to block hockey games on up to 28 televisions at a time. A solid 68 percent of new subscribers list the ability to block out hockey as their primary reason for choosing DirecTV. The company is considering making the package the foundation of a new deluxe sports programming bundle that would give viewers the ability to block not just the NHL, but MLS and the WNBA as well.
"I have Time Warner right now, and I'm always going over to my buddy Dave's place to ignore hockey," Brooklyn, NY resident Carlos Uselmann said. "Avoiding hockey makes DirecTV so much better than regular cable that it's almost ridiculous. If they let me avoid other sports on demand, I'd sign up tomorrow."

[dirkterrell]

"Doesn't cut out as much" :think: That's all DirecTV does, is cut out! :lol:


You might need to tune your dish's pointing.

[~Barn~]

I wish I could Dirk. It's actually part of our condo complex, so no-access for me. For that matter, I don't even know where on-the-building, it is!

[Ricky]

Oh that sucks ass... Damn apartment complexes.

[~Barn~]

Yeah-yeah... can't win'em all. DirecTV still sucks. :doublefinger:

[Ricky]

Yeah-yeah... can't win'em all. My DirecTV still sucks. :doublefinger:

fixed :D

[~Barn~]

Touche`.

[Captain Obvious]

Never have issues with our DirectTV signal. Left Comcast since the customer service was so bad in Atlanta.

Hate to think that if DirectTV doesn't have an agreement, I may have to go back to Comcast.

[longrider]

I dont think it will last that long if it happens at all, and even if it does happen as far as I am concerned they have 2 months to work it out. The last MotoGP race is Sunday and Supercross doesn't start until January so that gives them time... We actually should be thankful that service providers are starting to stand up to the programmers, the price of pay TV is really getting out of hand

[longrider]

BTW, regarding DirecTV I lose service for a few minutes at a time maybe 3 or 4 times a year. When I had cable it would go out for days at a time!

[rforsythe]

BTW, regarding DirecTV I lose service for a few minutes at a time maybe 3 or 4 times a year. When I had cable it would go out for days at a time!

When we had Comcast it went out that many times a week. I hope DirecTV fixes this little contractual glitch, but I'm not going to bail on them on a whim. Dish is the only other real alternative IMO and DirecTV hasn't been bad to us.

[TinkerinWstuff]

you can still call and adjust your plan. it's $5 a month less. not a lot but why pay for channels you are not able to watch. vote with your wallet

[TinkerinWstuff]

"Doesn't cut out as much" :think: That's all DirecTV does, is cut out! :lol:

It rains, the picture flickers.
It snows lightly, the picture flickers.
It's snows moderate: "Searching for Signal......"

I can't comment to picture quality, since I only recently upgraded to DTV High Definition [which is pretty damn awesome to be fair], and never had it with Comcast. But as far as pure signal stability goes, DirecTV is pretty much the worst provider I've ever encountered. And yes, I realize it's the nature of satellite, but hey... if we're gonna start comparing attributes.

You definitely need a tune. I've only lost my signal in the worst of hail storms. Piles of snow covering the dish and receiver and it still worked just flawlessly

[dirkterrell]

I wish I could Dirk. It's actually part of our condo complex, so no-access for me. For that matter, I don't even know where on-the-building, it is!


You should still call DTV and let them know what's going on. And if your neighbors are also having that problem, they'd come out and tune it up. I very rarely have dropouts, usually when there is a monster cumulonimbus along the line of sight to the satellite.

[dirkterrell]

I just received an email from DTV saying that they had come to an agreement with Fox, so no interruptions for the channels in question.

[sprtbkbabe]

That was some masterful marketing strategy, D-Tv: :321:

Make your customers hate you more and keep those who might have been interested in your Co from starting new packages.

[Mother Goose]

:lol: I have the lowest package you can get from them and it has Speed and FX on it. So you can't get a lower package if they didn't carry those anymore. I wasn't worried about it, I was just going to download the shows I wanted to see if DTV wasn't showing those channels.

[Ricky]

If News Corp doesn't want the billion dollars DirecTV pays them each year, that's fine with me. But obviously, capitalism doesn't work if you don't get paid.

[Mother Goose]

Hey Barn, it's snowing, and my DirecTV is still working. ;)

[~Barn~]

:lol: I'm at work, so I don't know the difference.