Programming discounts seem a bit tight these days

[lparsons21]

The other day I went to downgrade my sub from Premier to Xtra+HBO/SHO. In the past they would always offer some sort of discount to keep Premier, but not this time. Nada!!

In a discussion on the other board, it seems that recently D* has decided to tighten up to the point of not doing 'rollbacks'. The reasoning given is that management thinks that this way they might not need to have a rate increase next spring. Of course, that reason could be hogwash, and even if it is what the thinking is, I would relegate it to other stories that begin with 'once upon a time...', or as we used to say in the Navy 'this is no sh*t!'.

Have others noticed a reluctance on D*'s part for these additional 'discounts'?

 

[DishDave]

I see this happening with alot of companies. Verizon Fios and Sirius Both have gotten a lot more unflexiable.

 

[raoul5788]

I haven't had to ask in a while, so I have no idea. I'm sure there will be an increase next year, there has been for many consecutive years.

 

[lparsons21]

I see this happening with alot of companies. Verizon Fios and Sirius Both have gotten a lot more unflexiable.

OnStar has tightened up quite a bit too.

 

[charper1]

they keep track of all the freebies.. they are clamping down

 

[raoul5788]

It's a rare charper1 sighting!

 

[lparsons21]

they keep track of all the freebies.. they are clamping down

I figger these things run in loose cycles. Tight today, looser later on. I just track these kinds of things to see/decide when it is better to stay or switch, it is all in the numbers since those numbers come from my wallet!!

I think part of this is the really sweet deal they are giving new customers now. NFL Sunday Ticket, normal discounts similar to past ones for new customers, and now they are throwing a $100 cc card on the pile. That money has to come from somewhere, and you KNOW where they get it from...

 

[jcrandall]

Part of it too is they base what the CSR can offer on what you have had in the past (perhaps the past 12 or 18 months or so) and what programming you have.

With premium that is to your advantage, but if you have had a longer term consistent discounts they may not be able to offer anything.

Every account is individually valued by the computer and shows the CSR what they can offer.

 

[Galoot]

I used to get HBO with Dish at half the regular price at least once a year for 3-6 months. Haven't seen anything like that since I've been with DTV (October of 2013).

 

[lparsons21]

I don't think I've ever seen D* do 1/2 off on premiums.

 

[Broe67]

When I called in. I got a great CSR. I of course had to lock into next year's NFL Sunday Ticket at $25/month. But my base price is the same as the Xtra, when you strip away the movie channels & Sports stuff.

 

[acostapimps]

Not so long ago I got Showtime free for 4 months and Encore for 6 months, and Starz half off for 6 months, I also had Cinemax half off for 3 months but I removed that one, I didn't care about those premium free/discounts, I wanted bill credits and that's what there really tight about, Don't blame them for all those bill credits they been giving me plus free Genie upgrade. I think the insider trick to discounts is sub them on regular price then after 30 days call them to cancel, and that's when they'll offer discounts.


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[lparsons21]

Well, in the end I like having Premier. While Starz and Max are not always wonderful, it is nice having the sports pack in there because of some boxing that shows up on a few of the channels that are included.

With my 1st year discounts, 2 referrals the total bill is around the $85/month mark and that seems OK for now. In a few months I may take another run at getting a little bit more, but won't complain if I don't. Now at the 1 year mark, I'll be a bit more pushy...

 

[Jam3s]

A lot of it depends on which department you are talking to. If you are in protection plans/tech support, you're not going to see very much... Maybe a 2 for 1 on premiums or $3 off for 6 months. If you go to retention, you'll probably get a year of discounts with a contract or something to that effect. If you're taking to care or billing, you'll probably get free premium for some amount of time.