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DirecTV prices going up on 2/6

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DirecTV prices going up on 2/6

Old 01-30-07, 04:56 PM
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DirecTV prices going up on 2/6

Copied from Tivocommunity

NEW: FAMILY $29.99/mo. plus tax approximately 40 channels
OLD: FAMILY (package name changes on existing customer bills. No change to price or channel lineup)

NEW: CHOICE $49.99/mo. plus tax over 140 channels
OLD: TOTAL CHOICE $44.99/mo. plus tax over 155 channels

NEW: CHOICE XTRA $54.99/mo. plus tax same channels as PLUS (below) but without DVR service
OLD: TOTAL CHOICE PLUS $49.99/mo. plus tax over 185 channels

NEW: PLUS $59.99/mo. plus tax DVR service included over 185 channels
OLD: NONE

NEW: PLUS HD $69.99/mo. plus tax HD Access and DVR service included over 185 channels
OLD: NONE

NEW: PREMIER $99.99/mo. plus tax over 250 channels including all premium channels
OLD: TOTAL CHOICE PREMIER (package name changes to PREMIER on existing customer bills. No change to price or channel lineup)

NEW: Price of HBO is going up by $1 for current and existing customers.

NEW PROMO: Get PLUS for $49.99/mo. for your first 12 months, plus 3 free months of HBO and Cinemax. (Requires mail-in redemption for $10/mo. bill credit for 12 months. After promo period, customers will be charged at then-prevailing rate.

NEW PROMO: Get PLUS HD for $59.99/mo. for your first 12 months, plus 3 free months of HBO and Cinemax and 12 free Pay Per View coupons (one per month). (Requires mail-in redemption for $10/mo. bill credit for 12 months. After promo period, customers will be charged at then-prevailing rates. For High Risk and No hit, the premium channels will not appear in the 4th month unless customer calls to continue those channels).

PACKAGE DESCRIPTIONS
CHOICE: Featuring over 140 top networks including movies, sports, family favorites and 50 XM Satellite Radio channels as well as local programming*. A great value in television entertainment all in 100% digital-quality picture and sound.

CHOICE XTRA: Our most popular television choices, including the best in movies, sports, music, documentary, educational, specialty and family programming. This package includes everything in our CHOICE package plus hard-to-find channels you won’t find everywhere else such as Biography, PBS Sprout, History International Channel, E!, The Golf Channel, Nicktoons and Boomerang. Over 185 top networks including 78 XM Satellite Radio channels, as well as local programming all in 100% digital- quality picture and sound.

PLUS: All the programming of CHOICE XTRA, AND with a DVR, this service lets you enjoy TV on your terms with DVR service to pause and rewind live TV, record a season of your favorite show with the touch of a button and save up to 100 hours of programming – no discs or tapes needed. Watch the best of television whenever you want.

PLUS HD: All of the above, AND this package features access to the best HD channels, including ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, TNT HD, Discovery HD Theater, Universal HD, HD Net, HD Net Movies, local HD channels and more sports in HD than any other cable or satellite provider. All our HD channels bring you a picture clarity that’s 7 to 10 times sharper than ordinary TV.

PREMIER: Our very best entertainment package with the convenience of DVR service that offers a world of premium entertainment including movies, sports, music, special events and local channels. Over 250 top networks in 100% digital quality, 31 premium movie channels featuring 7 channels of HBO, 12 channels of Starz, 9 channels of Showtime, and 3 channels of Cinemax, plus more than 30 sports networks with Sports Pack. This package also lets you enjoy TV on your terms with DVR service to pause and rewind live TV, record a season of your favorite show with the touch of a button and save up to 100 hours of programming – no discs or tapes needed. Enjoy the best of television with premium movie and sports channels on your time with the addition of DVR service in your home.

HIGH-DEFINITION SERVICES: Besides introducing the base package options listed above, we are changing the way we offer high-definition service. Formerly, customers were able to purchase the DIRECTV® HD Package for $9.99/mo. We are expiring the current DIRECTV HD Package on February 5, 2007. Now, to simplify delivery of our expanding lineup of HD service options, we are bundling related HD channels into our base, premium and sports subscription packages.
New customers activating HD equipment on or after February 6, regardless of the programming they choose, will pay for access to DIRECTV® HD technology at a flat fee of $10.99 per month (i.e., the “HD Access Fee”). This fee will be required anytime an HD receiver is activated on a customer’s account. The customer receives access to our HD technology so they can enjoy HD transmissions of programming within their programming packages -- for example, if a customer has the NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ SuperFan™ package, he/she will get the HD games included in that package; or, if a customer has HBO®, he/she will get HBO® HD. Similarly, if a customer has local channels in their programming package and DIRECTV offers local HD programming in their area, the customer will receive the HD local channels.

There are no changes to our existing 1-year and 2-year programming commitment requirements and policies based on the type of hardware purchased and the programming offers accepted by customers.
• There are no changes to mirroring fees, nor to the fees for programming on additional owned receivers; both remain at $4.99 per month.
• There is no change to the price of DVR service; it remains $5.99 per month in all cases, except for those customers taking the PREMIER package, which includes the DVR service.
• There are no price changes to a la carte packages and services, such as DIRECTV PROTECTION PLAN and BabyFirstTV™.
• Effective February 6, 2007, we will be strictly enforcing our requirement that customers who reside where DIRECTV offers local channels will have their local channels included with their packages. They will not be able to opt out. Of course, if there are technical issues (such as line-of-sight, etc.), we will continue to handle them on a case-by-case basis.

Channels being removed from the former "TOTAL CHOICE" package and moved to "EXTRA":
E!
G4
OLN=VERSUS
Golf
Discovery Health
ESPN Classic
National Geographic
Fuel TV
Speed
Fox Reality
Sleuth
WGN
Oxygen
Let's see...

- 10% increase in package price
- $1 increase in HBO price
- Required $10.99 fee if you activate any HD package
- Channels being removed from the former Total Choice package


Dear Verizon,

FiOS is already available here. Please let me get FiOSTV soon, and you will get all of my business.

Sincerely,
Jeremy
Old 01-30-07, 05:09 PM
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Thanks for the heads up Jeremy.

We dropped DirecTV last year and they keep calling us to get back on... but with these changes, when I'm ready to jump back on this Fall (after we get into our new house), I'll make them beg for me to come back by giving me a sweet deal on the Plus HD package.

Here's to hopin'!
Old 01-30-07, 05:16 PM
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These bastards are becoming the cable companies of 90's & early 2000's. This is about the 3rd price increase in 2-3 years???
Old 01-30-07, 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by ktan1
These bastards are becoming the cable companies of 90's & early 2000's.
Only the early 2000s? It never stopped unfortunately.
Old 01-30-07, 05:34 PM
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So, since they are doing this, it allows us to opt out of our current contract, right?

I may bump down a few levels (I'm a premiere member).
Old 01-30-07, 05:35 PM
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Price increases are one thing; they're inevitable. Jacking up the price and taking channels away, that just sucks. If you've got Total Choice and you want to keep National Geographic, for example, you're price goes up $10/mo, from $45 to $55. That's a big jump.

DirecTV used to be the best, and I recommended them to many people (most of whom signed up). Now, I'd never encourage anyone to sign up with them. If it weren't for my contract with them, I'd cancel. But, the day my contract is up, I'm done with them.
Old 01-30-07, 05:40 PM
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Supposedly the increase will be March 1 for existing customers and Feb 6 for new customers.

There are rumors of some bits of grandfathering, but that varies based on what CSR you talk to, so who knows.
Old 01-30-07, 05:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Spanky BananaPants
Price increases are one thing; they're inevitable.
They're inevitable, sure, but this is 10% and less than a year after the last increases.
Old 01-30-07, 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Deftones
So, since they are doing this, it allows us to opt out of our current contract, right?
I wish it were that easy. Section 4 of their Customer Service Agreement says if you don't like the changes, you can cancel, but early termination fees apply.

Hell, they could at least give us the common courtesy of a reach-around, but I'm not holding my breath.
Old 01-30-07, 06:05 PM
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Ah, no big deal. Maybe I'll call up and bitch at customer retention since I'm an "A" level member. I'll probably get enough service credits to offset their increase.
Old 01-30-07, 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Deftones
Ah, no big deal. Maybe I'll call up and bitch at customer retention since I'm an "A" level member. I'll probably get enough service credits to offset their increase.
If you are premiere, your prices shouldn't be going up. Premiere is one of the few things not increasing in price.
Old 01-30-07, 06:10 PM
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I pay $96.99 according to my bill for the Premier tier. Looks like it's going to be $99.99 now.

Last edited by Deftones; 01-30-07 at 06:12 PM.
Old 01-30-07, 06:36 PM
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You would think they would add Cinemax & MoreMax to the HBO package, if they are rasing the price for HBO. I can't see why anyone would order Cinemax on it's own when the package only has 2 channels.
Old 01-30-07, 06:56 PM
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I can't see why anyone would order Cinemax on it's own when the package only has 2 channels.
Well I have been wanting to catch the second half of Bikini Cave Girl.
Old 01-30-07, 07:46 PM
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Originally Posted by dadaluholla
Well I have been wanting to catch the second half of Bikini Cave Girl.
That's so true.
Old 01-30-07, 08:41 PM
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Does anybody know anything about that DirectTV "pre-paid" thing (like a pre-paid cell phone type thing)?

(Canadian trying to figure out a way to subscribe to DirectTV w/o stealing it)
Old 01-30-07, 08:55 PM
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Outrageous, as I all I can say.

With that said - anyone have any experience with Dish Network? Been thinkin' of doing their Gold Package, so I can get a DVR and Monsters HD (how is that channel?). It'll be around $70 bucks a month. Just not sure if it's worth it or not. How are their HD channels like Monsters?
Old 01-30-07, 09:16 PM
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at 99.99 for the Premier that puts it at the same price I am paying for Comcasts Platinum package which also includes On Demand and quite a few extra channels which D* doesn't offer. toss in an extra 5.00 for my HD service and it looks like they are definately my choice when my D* contract is up.

**I currently have both D* and Comcast**
Old 01-30-07, 09:44 PM
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Since I'm out in the country it's either DirecTV or DISH for me, and since I've been with DTV for over 10 years, I get enough deals when I call up that I might as well stick with them now that they should have a pile of HD channels coming before long.
Old 01-30-07, 09:51 PM
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The folks at Liberty Media, who bought the controlling share of Directv from Newscorp late last year, probably need to raise some extra cash to pay for their purchase. Bastards!!
Old 01-30-07, 09:57 PM
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Maybe the prices got raised to pay for an extra one of these if it happens.

This just happened today: http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m...SExplosion.flv

DirecTV's next launch is by land (10), but 11 was supposed to be a sea launch. Things may get pushed back a bit. Nobody knows at this point.
Old 01-30-07, 10:32 PM
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That flippin' sucks that they are putting Versus (aka OLN) into a higher package. I just re-signed with them for 2 years and will be ticked if they turn around and immediately raise my prices.
Old 01-31-07, 05:31 AM
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My parents have DirecTV and this would be a great motivation for them to switch to Dish. The only problem is that they aren't eligible for local channels from either service (even though they don't get any networks in watchable quality at their location) - and as far as I know, only DirecTV offers ABC East/West, NBC East/West, etc. I couldn't find them anywhere on the Dish website, anyway. It looks like if you aren't eligible for local channels, you won't get the networks.
Old 01-31-07, 11:13 AM
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I'll probably just go back to Comcast once they roll out those Tivo boxes.

My loyalty is to Tivo, not DirecTv and D*TV just wants people to switch to their crappy DVR.

I have a new Panasonic plasma screen TV and I have held off upgrading to HD because I don't trust the new D*TV HD DVRs. I need my Tivo, dammit!
Old 01-31-07, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Jadzia
I'll probably just go back to Comcast once they roll out those Tivo boxes.

My loyalty is to Tivo, not DirecTv and D*TV just wants people to switch to their crappy DVR.

I have a new Panasonic plasma screen TV and I have held off upgrading to HD because I don't trust the new D*TV HD DVRs. I need my Tivo, dammit!
just get the Tivo Series 3 and make the Comcast switch now.

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