Cord cutting on the cheap!

[Bruce]

In the case of DIRECTV, the new customer pricing is up to $71/month off of long-term prices (Choice package @ $59.99 versus $131) so for a service with an ARPU of nearly $120 (just $5 over the Entertainment package "all in" ), that's a tasty come-on.

That price is only for the first year, that second year price will surprise most customers and they are stuck since it is a two year contract, even if they leave, they will be paying no matter what.

Also your price does not include box and/or DVR fees, that the beauty of YTTV, no fees.



Sent from my LML713DL using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[lparsons21]

They're not creating a market as much as using monopoly powers to shift how viewers shop.

Of course that is happening now, but is it because they are being proactive in creating a market for cord cutters/cord nevers? The movement towards streaming has been growing over a fair bit of time, not hard to imagine that content providers want a piece of that market.

And if they didn’t, then where would new content come from? Right now is when things in the video marketplace are adjusting to the perceived reality of the younger folks since that is the future.

For instance, my neighbors are a young twenty-something couple. They don’t watch much TV, don’t have cable or an antenna that can get much OTA, and their internet service isn’t all that good though it does do HD streaming. They tell me they mostly watch on their tablets generally using their TV for movies.

 

[lparsons21]

If I ever go back to a Live TV service it would be YTTV, not just because it is cheaper then Comcast, but it is such a superior service both in Picture, ease and the almost limitless DVR.

Sent from my LML713DL using the SatelliteGuys app!

Comcast must be horrible then! YTTV certainly isn’t a superior service compared to my Mediacom TV service using a Tivo box. It would save me money over Mediacom but at the expense of convenience and management.

YTTV’s DVR is unlimited but with a few catches. For instance you can set it to record a series and it will happily do that, but not by channel. For instance, if you tell it to record Law & Order SVU it will record every instance of that show no matter where it shows up. Makes for a cluttered mess. And you can’t delete a recording you can only stop the recording going forward until the 9 month retention period is up. And you cannot record just one episode of a show. Not to mention the intermixing of recordings and VOD.

Their guide is very narrow and there are no per episode descriptions easily available.

Sling is actually much better in many ways but suffers from only offering some skinny bundles which leaves out a lot of channels people might want.

 

[harshness]

That price is only for the first year, that second year price will surprise most customers and they are stuck since it is a two year contract, even if they leave, they will be paying no matter what.

That's irrelevant to the discussion of the value of being a new customer.

Also your price does not include box and/or DVR fees, that the beauty of YTTV, no fees.

If you had been paying attention, you would have seen that I was quoting the "all in" pricing that includes the TV and DVR fees.

YTTV is much the same fee structure and now that their coverage is wide, I'd anticipate that they'll be coming out with a pricing structure to reflect the inclusion of local channels.

 

[lparsons21]

YTTV is much the same fee structure and now that their coverage is wide, I'd anticipate that they'll be coming out with a pricing structure to reflect the inclusion of local channels.

Not sure what you’re trying to say here. YTTV’s price already includes the cost for local channels and has since it came out.

 

[osu1991]

Comcast must be horrible then! YTTV certainly isn’t a superior service compared to my Mediacom TV service using a Tivo box. It would save me money over Mediacom but at the expense of convenience and management.

YTTV’s DVR is unlimited but with a few catches. For instance you can set it to record a series and it will happily do that, but not by channel. For instance, if you tell it to record Law & Order SVU it will record every instance of that show no matter where it shows up. Makes for a cluttered mess. And you can’t delete a recording you can only stop the recording going forward until the 9 month retention period is up. And you cannot record just one episode of a show. Not to mention the intermixing of recordings and VOD.

Their guide is very narrow and there are no per episode descriptions easily available.

Sling is actually much better in many ways but suffers from only offering some skinny bundles which leaves out a lot of channels people might want.

Comcast downrez's all non local and premium channels to 720p mp4. The bitrates are kind of low too, from the posts made on TCF about it.

 

[Bruce]

That's irrelevant to the discussion of the value of being a new customer.
If you had been paying attention, you would have seen that I was quoting the "all in" pricing that includes the TV and DVR fees.

It includes one box, if you add 2 more ( to match YTTV) you add $14, also there is a Regional Sports Fee of $9.13 in my area, so a grand total of $83.12 first year for Choice, then in Year 2 it jumps to $138.13 a month, great value of being a new customer.

For that first year price, I could get YTTV, Netflix 4K, Hulu and Disney+ for the same price.

 

[Zookster]

YTTV is much the same fee structure and now that their coverage is wide, I'd anticipate that they'll be coming out with a pricing structure to reflect the inclusion of local channels.

YouTube TV, which launched in early 2017, has always included all (with a few exceptions) big 4 network local channels in the markets it is available. That's what distinguished it from other OTT live TV services and why it rolled out slowly, first launching in the top 100 markets and then as of January 2019, becoming available in 98% of the country. So "the inclusion of local channels" isn't some kind of new development. It's a signature aspect of the service. They will undoubtedly continue to raise prices over time to account for program costs (just like all traditional cable/sat and other OTT services do), but to say that they will come up with a new pricing structure reflective of the inclusion of local channels is an entirely uniformed opinion.

 

[harshness]

Not sure what you’re trying to say here. YTTV’s price already includes the cost for local channels and has since it came out.

Local channels in many markets is a relatively "new thing". My market (#26) is less than 5 months into completion. Even if the cost is only $3-5/month, it is considerable on a $50 bill.

 

[harshness]

They will undoubtedly continue to raise prices over time to account for program costs (just like all traditional cable/sat and other OTT services do), but to say that they will come up with a new pricing structure reflective of the inclusion of local channels is an entirely uniformed opinion.

No less informed than opining that they won't based on the fact that they haven't yet.

 

[harshness]

It includes one box, if you add 2 more ( to match YTTV) you add $14, also there is a Regional Sports Fee of $9.13 in my area, so a grand total of $83.12 first year for Choice, then in Year 2 it jumps to $138.13 a month, great value of being a new customer.

DIRECTV's All Included pricing covers boxes on up to four televisions.

 

[lparsons21]

Local channels in many markets is a relatively "new thing". My market (#26) is less than 5 months into completion. Even if the cost is only $3-5/month, it is considerable on a $50 bill.

LOL! Cable/sat replacement streamers are themselves a ‘new thing’.

 

[Zookster]

No less informed than opining that they won't.

Except I'm basing my opinion on facts (the service's history and pricing structure that always has included locals in one flat fee, not even launching in markets until they could offer at least three/four of the big 4 networks). You're just conjuring reasons to disparage the service out of thin air. Why stop at locals? Why not say YouTube TV will start charging an extra fee for all of the following: DVR, number of users, RSNs, etc.

 

[harshness]

Except I'm basing my opinion on facts (the service's history and pricing structure that always has included locals in one flat fee, not even launching in markets until they could offer at least three/four of the big 4 networks).

So since they haven't raised prices already, you're going to forge ahead assuming that they won't? Economics is on my side.

 

[Zookster]

So since they haven't raised prices already, you're going to forge ahead assuming that they won't? Economics is on my side.

It's like you don't even read what anyone posts before you go off on your half-cocked uniformed critiques of these services. I clearly stated in that same post about YTTV and locals:

They will undoubtedly continue to raise prices over time to account for program costs (just like all traditional cable/sat and other OTT services do)

And by "continue" I acknowledge YTTV already raised prices from $35 to $40, and then to $50. Ironically, if you were better informed on the facts of these services, you could probably come up with much better ways to bash them.

 

[lparsons21]

Ok, cable TV is cut off. Set Tivo for OTA.

AppleTV for all else. Stayed with Sling Blue/Hulu no ads/CBS no adds. Cancelled Tivo guide service on the two Tivos that still had annual payments.

I was surprised when I connected the Tivo and ran the setup. I had used a different one for a test, but the one I’ll use going forward has better OTA tuners. So I get ABC, CBS, Fox and their subchannels. NBC is a no go, but Hulu covers that fine. I’m very pleased with that.

Overall savings of about $45.

 

[harshness]

It's like you don't even read what anyone posts before you go off on your half-cocked uniformed critiques of these services.

I'm not criticizing the service in this instance. I'm being critical of those who occasionally put forward the notion that because YTTV hasn't raised the price recently, there must not be any reason to.

 

[lparsons21]

I'm not criticizing the service in this instance. I'm being critical of those who occasionally put forward the notion that because YTTV hasn't raised the price recently, there must not be any reason to.

Except that isn’t what was said.

 

[Ronnie-]

I'm not criticizing the service in this instance. I'm being critical of those who occasionally put forward the notion that because YTTV hasn't raised the price recently, there must not be any reason to.

In the posts you’ve quoted and replied to, I’ve yet to see that notion put forward.

 

[Zookster]

[

It just occurred to me that Cox cable is no longer sending me offers in the mail with the new customer deals for cable TV. Just internet upgrade offers. But even when they were, the new customer deal started at $45, before at least another $30-$40 in various fees I would have to pay to get something close to what I had before and currently get with YTTV in terms of access to all my DVR content in every room of my house.

So of course as soon as I post this, I get a TV offer from Cox: $55/mo. which includes one premium of choice (HBO, Starz, Showtime, etc.) Price good for 24 months and includes 1 (one) receiver rental.

Sounds pretty good, right?

HOWEVER, it does not include the DVR fee, RSN fee, any channel tiers beyond the basic cable package, along with various other taxes and fees. So with just one more receiver, the whole home DVR service fee, and the Sports and Info channel tier (which includes the channels I'd need for my home team's college football/basketball games - all included with YTTV) I'd be looking at least $100/mo. For a limited time promotional offer. And they can raise the RSN fee at any time (according to the fine print).