Wow! D* Only charges $10/month for HD

[Poke]

Well looks in December Directs HD Prices are changing and its kind of dumb to charge $5 more a month for 3 channels. So come this December Direct customer could see a increase.
DIRECTV Raising Monthly Prices For HD

DIRECTV Raising Monthly Prices For HD

Customers will lose three channels unless they pay $4.99 extra, says e-mail notice.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (October 18, 2007) -- DIRECTV has notified subscribers that they will lose three longtime HD channel favorites unless they pay an extra $4.99 a month starting December 15.

In an e-mail sent to customers this week, DIRECTV said HDNet, HDNet Movies and Universal HD will be moved to a new programming package called "DIRECTV HD Extra Pack."
The three channels have been available for years as part of the satcaster's basic $10 a month HD package,

However, on December 15, the HD Extra Pack, which will also include three recent channel additions (Smithsonian HD, MGM HD and MHD), will cost an extra $4.99 a month.

Both new and current customers will be required to pay the $4.99 monthly fee for the six high-def channels. That will be in addition to the $10 monthly fee DIRECTV customers pay for the remaining HD channels.

DIRECTV says it now offers 74 High-Definition channels, having increased its national HD channel count from nine to 47 in the past three weeks.

In the e-mail to current customers, DIRECTV says the six channels in the HD Extra Pack will be available as part of a "free preview" until December 15.

The six channels apparently were chosen for the HD Extra Pack because they do not have a standard-definition companion channel, although Discovery's HD Theater, which is not in the Extra Pack, does not have a companion standard-def channel, either.

DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer confirmed this evening that both current and new customers will have to pay $4.99 a month to get the channels in the HD Extra Pack. But Mercer said it's not a price increase.

"It's hard to see how this represents an increase when customers will continue to pay the $9.99 access fee that allows them to receive DIRECTV's HD technology and all channels broadcast in HD that are tied to their respective base programming package," he said. "Once the HD Extra tier preview ends in mid-December, customers will have the option of taking the package, or not. That we moved three channels from our regular HD lineup into the Xtra tier hardly represents an 'HD price increase/' Arguably they pay a little extra if they want those three channels back, but that's their option

 

[Tonedeaf]

Well looks in December Directs HD Prices are changing and its kind of dumb to charge $5 more a month for 3 channels. So come this December Direct customer could see a increase.

It is actually 6 channels not 3. HDNet, HDNet Movies, Universal HD and the newest additions of Smithsonian, MHD, and MGM Movies will be part of the HD Extra pack. The HDNet's are nice to have and I will have to weigh my options and see how it is without them to justify the additional $5 per month I would pay to D*.

 

[FlyingJ]

Sorry... I misunderstood your point. All this back and forth between the Dish crowd and the DirecTV crowd has gotten too me. haha.

Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages to each provider, and the fact is, the only thing that motivates any of them, whether it be satellite or cable, to actually add channels and technology, is that they are trying to keep up with the competition. If it wasn't for satellite gaining ground, cable providers would have never gone digital, but they had to because satellite offered more. Then cable got ahead with On Demand and HD, premium multichannels, etc, and now DirecTV has done something about it and added more HD. This is all good, because Dish will now hopefully add more to keep up. My cable company is pushing itself to the limit now too and finally adding HD channels. Business is business and the name of the game is to please the shareholders and make money, but it gets really annoying the way these providers hold out on adding channels and technologies until they are basically forced into it to keep from losing subscribers. We Dish subscribers should be glad that DirecTV has now pulled ahead. DirecTV subscribers should then be glad when Dish pulls ahead again. We all win when they try to top each other.

I do not disagree with you and I did not mean to make it a personal attack. I apologize for that. When someone uses their own agenda, ie: I don't care about HD locals because I get so and so, it takes away from the broad picture. If no one cared about them I suspect D* and to a bit of a lesser extent E* wouldn't have considered it important to get these up. To not admit that there is importance to this is misleading.

 

[Ronnie-]

Hey Skyhi,

Do a search over at the Direct TV forum and you will find that it is NOT $10 at D*. There is or will be an extra cost for the HD channel package that contains channels that are not "mirrored" in SD.

So are you still "ticked off" if the difference may be $16 versus $20 ?

Actually it IS $10 right now. And you can keep it at $10 if you want. The extra $4.99 is for 5 or 6 channels that dont have SD versions. HD-net, ect...Pretty good deal

 

[rp3259]

In time, (how many years) D and E will broadcast all programming in HD. When we make that switch in Feb of 2009, won't that happen? How people are waiting until then to make the move to HD. I would like those channels but am happy with my HD locals OTA.

 

[Ronnie-]

In time, (how many years) D and E will broadcast all programming in HD. When we make that switch in Feb of 2009, won't that happen? How people are waiting until then to make the move to HD. I would like those channels but am happy with my HD locals OTA.

No, the switch is for OTA broadcasters to broadcast DTV(digital tv). Not actually HD. There is a difference. since D* and E* already transmit a digital signal, this has nothing to do with them.

 

[farmsatguy]

D* gives you $120 off your bill ($10/month for 12 months). Now your D* bill is $82.98

Dish is giving new subs free HD for 6 months which equals to the same amount (6 months x $20 = $120)...on the flip side though, as an installer, many people don't use land-based phone lines anymore (cell only) so they have to pay the extra $5/month on the dual tuners.

As already pointed out, it's tit for tat and really about what you want to do with your system.