HBO discount offer + contract re-negotiation?

[nwflyboy]

I'm currently off-contract. I know the drill (unless it's changed recently), have been through it before: negotiate for a discount at contract time. Let the contract run its course, of course then the price goes up. Then call and negotiate at renewal time. Been there, done that a few times (thanks to help from folks here).

Now I have a potential new wrinkle to the mix: as I'm sure many of you are aware, Game Of Thrones is about to return to HBO. We don't have HBO as part of our package (never have had it). We got the GoT mailer with an offer for HBO for $10/month for 12 months. Wife wants to watch GoT when it starts this weekend.

Our contract expired a few months back and I had been planning to call DISH and do the negotiation for contract renewal sometime soon (although not today...). Now, I need to call them to add the $10/month HBO option. I probably need to set aside a little time to research my wants/needs and pricing expectations before I call for the contract renewal, so was thinking maybe today I just call and add the discount HBO package, then circle back in a couple weeks and renegotiate the larger package.

My questions:
1. If I call to add the discount HBO deal now (but otherwise don't change anything), would that effectively re-start my contract, and lock me in for 12 months at the current price (I'm paying full price now; I know I can get better pricing by restarting the contract)? Or is the HBO add-on a separate contract, and I could come back next week to negotiate and re-start my overall contract at a lower rate (while preserving the $10/month HBO package)?
2. Is $10/month for 12 months the best deal I'm likely to get on HBO?
3. Should I just call and negotiate for the contract renewal now - and add the HBO deal? Would contract renewal have any (negative) impact on me qualifying for the $10/month HBO deal?

I always appreciate the input from this community - it's why I stick with DISH. Thanks for your insights!!!

 

[MikeD-C05]

1. No extension of your contract for taking a promo on Hbo.
2. You used to be able to get HBO for $10.00 as long as you stay with DISH ,but I don't think that is an option any more. So go with the 12 month promo.
3. Call and negotiate for the contract renewal and you can also ask if they have any premium channel promos that they can offer. Won't make any difference or impact you on the existing promo.

I call and ask what am I qualified to get for freebies and promos once or twice a year. They even tell me to call back in 6 months and see what else they can offer. They key is to punch the number to cancellation and they will connect you to the Loyalty department. From there the ball is in your court.

 

[nwflyboy]

Done - time to go stock up on popcorn. Thanks for the help!

 

[Joe891]

They gave me HBO and cinemax for $10 last I called

 

[camo]

You don't have to call when contract is up unless they offer another promo deal like for new customer contract on 2 yr extension.
I would rather pay full price and have no contract myself so I can come and go as I please with no strings. You can always get HBO for $7 month by logging into account, adding and turn around and drop you will get a 1/2 price offer. Also the HBO promo $10 a month for 12 months is also available online without calling.

 

[mdram]

if you have broadband, just buy the seasons on amazon

for the $120 you can most likly get all the seasons and catch up

 

[eddie willers]

You don't have to call when contract is up unless they offer another promo deal like for new customer contract on 2 yr extension.
I would rather pay full price and have no contract myself so I can come and go as I please with no strings. You can always get HBO for $7 month by logging into account, adding and turn around and drop you will get a 1/2 price offer. Also the HBO promo $10 a month for 12 months is also available online without calling.

I took advantage from sometime back to get HBO for $10. Got a notice that that expires 8/1/2017. Now I am sure they would rather have $10 from me than $0.00. Is there a polite way to get the promo renewed on the website? I just HATE confrontations, even for something as minor as this.

 

[rvvaquero]

I took advantage from sometime back to get HBO for $10. Got a notice that that expires 8/1/2017. Now I am sure they would rather have $10 from me than $0.00. Is there a polite way to get the promo renewed on the website? I just HATE confrontations, even for something as minor as this.

I subscribed to HBO last year at $10 for Game of Thrones and cancelled shortly after it ended for the season. HBO has been available online to me for $10 ever since. I think it's an ongoing special. I'm getting ready to sub again.

 

[eddie willers]

I subscribed to HBO last year at $10 for Game of Thrones and cancelled shortly after it ended for the season. HBO has been available online to me for $10 ever since. I think it's an ongoing special. I'm getting ready to sub again.

Let me know if you see something. All my poking around on the webpage just has the standard $15. Of course, the cookies identify me as being a current HBO subscriber, so maybe they hide promos from me.

 

[Bobby]

I took advantage from sometime back to get HBO for $10. Got a notice that that expires 8/1/2017. Now I am sure they would rather have $10 from me than $0.00. Is there a polite way to get the promo renewed on the website? I just HATE confrontations, even for something as minor as this.

When it expires on August 1 go into the website and cancel it. You should get an offer for $10...

 

[eddie willers]

When it expires on August 1 go into the website and cancel it. You should get an offer for $10...

I was going to say I was afraid to do it right in the middle of GoT...but what the hell, the worst thing they can do is charge me $15. They're going to do that anyway if I do nothing.

 

[DialgaChampion]

I took advantage from sometime back to get HBO for $10. Got a notice that that expires 8/1/2017. Now I am sure they would rather have $10 from me than $0.00. Is there a polite way to get the promo renewed on the website? I just HATE confrontations, even for something as minor as this.

With the movie channels, if you log into your MyDish account online, when you go to actually remove them, you get a pop-up notice asking if you want to keep them at a reduced price. This applies to Epix, Starz, HBO, Cinemax, etc.

Of course, they're banking on the fact that most people wouldn't bother spending the time to keep track of the promo end date and then having to do this every 6 or 12 months to continue getting the discounted pricing.

 

[rvvaquero]

Let me know if you see something.

I thought that's what I just did. It is available online for $10 per month.

 

[pattykay]

They gave me HBO and cinemax for $10 last I called

They gave me HBO and Cinemax for free for six months. I ordered through DIRT.

 

[eddie willers]

With the movie channels, if you log into your MyDish account online, when you go to actually remove them, you get a pop-up notice asking if you want to keep them at a reduced price. This applies to Epix, Starz, HBO, Cinemax, etc.

Of course, they're banking on the fact that most people wouldn't bother spending the time to keep track of the promo end date and then having to do this every 6 or 12 months to continue getting the discounted pricing.

That sounds like a great idea. I will do it once this week's GoT is safely resting in my DVR.

 

[ChadT41]

Just remember, if you no longer subscribe to the channel, the content can no longer be accessed.

 

[dare2be]

Just remember, if you no longer subscribe to the channel, the content can no longer be accessed.

What are you talking about? I still have movies from HBO, Starz, Encore on my DVR that I recorded during free previews.

 

[ChadT41]

Carbon UI is supposedly to give you the subscribe option now.

 

[eddie willers]

Carbon UI is supposedly to give you the subscribe option now.

I could see On Demand options changing from "Free" to "Subscribe", but once it's been recorded from the channel itself, I've never seen it "go away".

 

[ChadT41]

Test it out...

They have fixed the bug that allowed folks to view recordings after no longer being subscribed to the channel. It will remain on the DVR, however when trying to playback, will ask to subscribe.