[opendtv] Re: Scrambled channels irk cable viewers
- From: Eory Frank-p22212 <Frank.Eory@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 13:02:55 -0700
From: Mike Enright <menright1@xxxxxxx>
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 09:01:56 -0700
>Comcast missed the boat here. It sounds to me like the numbers involved
>are so small that the box they want the low-end subs to use should be
>bundled, which technically they might have to do with a price _de_crease.
>Comcast has apparently acted legally but they needed to act with a view
>to retention, which they seem to have taken for granted. They have put
>all these subs in play and they will lose more than they planned because
>they have stimulated irrational behavior. Some of those $8.95 Metro
>customers will be $40/month DIRECTV customers before the summer is over.
It's difficult to say if Comcast "missed the boat" or not. The woman quoted in
the article -- the one who thinks maybe now she'll get satellite -- said she
thought she was "grandfathered in" and didn't like what Comcast was telling
her. Well of course she and others like her don't want to hear that they have
been paying $8/month for bare-bones basic cable, but have been enjoying a
significant chunk of the extended basic tier for no extra charge.
Maybe she doesn't want all 50 or 60 channels of extended basic for $40/month.
Well I wish her luck finding a satellite package that gives her local
broadcasts plus CNN, ESPN, Comedy Central, History Channel, AMC, Bravo and
Sci-Fi for $8/month. If she finds that package, I hope she will let the rest of
us know so we can all switch!
The really odd thing about this situation is the STB (analog STB?) requirement.
On most systems, the relatively tiny percentage of analog subs who get
bare-bones "basic" cable are denied access to extended basic by the
installation of traps. For the vast majority of analog subs -- the ones who pay
for extended basic -- no traps are required and no STBs are required, so every
TV in the house can simply plug into the F connector in the wall and get 50-60
channels.
I can't imagine it would be cheaper to dole out STBs, even with a $4/month
revenue stream for each, rather than installing the necessary traps. Either way
it's a truck roll, which is the biggest component of the cost.
-- Frank Eory
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