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Kudos to you for having enough self-awareness to choose an apt username.
$71 × 0.5 = $35.50
$71 + $35.50 = $106.50
$107 > $106.50
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With those crazy prices the providers have to be ripping you off blind.
Here in Slovakia I get Internet (70 mbit), VOIP (with 20 free minutes to all networks and unlimited free calls to other VOIP numbers with the same provider), well over 100 cable channels (many of them dubbed in Slovak or Czech). All that for under 20Euro/month, including 20% VAT. And about 20 channels (allegedly most popular ones) have 20 days archive, so you can watch any program from the last 20 days, skipping adds. And the set-top-box is under 100 Euro one-time fee during installation. And it is yours. No recurring monthly fees.
And, mind you, there are only 5 million Slovaks, so the production of dubbed programs and original content has to be significantly more expensive [per potential viewer] than production in an English-speaking USA. And advertisement minutes are less valuable.
This might be due to fact that we have real competition here. There are 6 providers that have optics network and one that has [only] cable here in this block of flats.
It is true, it is not what it used to be … . Many channels, such as TLC or History channel have deteriorated to low quality reality show instead of good educational content. Even discovery channel ain’t what it used to be … . But that is for another rant.
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Bingo. In most areas of the US there is a monopoly or a duopoly on cable/internet service.
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Sounds like you can’t do anything anyway, because of that tree, but I am pretty sure that your HOA can go pound sand:
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I’m sure that, in the cover of night, I could also do something about that tree… (ahem!) I mean, “thanks!”
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I believe the planning of the monopoly was even referenced by insiders as the summer of love.
The industry has always been a patchwork of local monopolies. In 1997 the large operators reordered the map into a convenient tartan, with each controlling large contiguous territories. Leo Hindery, then chief executive of a cable company that was later absorbed by Comcast, called it the industry’s “summer of love”. These giants have never encroached on each other’s turf.
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Ours was fairly useless after the switch to HD. We’re on the other side of a hill from most of the transmitters. When broadcast went digital, some stations that used to intermittently work did not come in at all.
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I pay $50 for 25mbit internet through AT&T, and i just know that price is a scam.
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Speaking of, does anybody know what’s going to happen to the Filmstruck libraries now that Filmstruck’s going under?
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I have Comcast, 150Mbs inbound, 10Mbs out, HBO for a year (which I have yet to take advantage of) all for $55.00/mo. Each year, before they raise my rate I call, tell them they are too expensive and I need a lower rate. This last guy was great, worked hard to get my this rate! maybe it’s just a Chicago area thing.
I guess it sucks to have Charter or an addiction to Animal Planet
Check out Kanopy.com. It looks promising assuming you are a member of a Library or College that is affiliated with them
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Huh. I’ve never heard of Kanopy. But seeing as how their website does not have a list of eligible libraries & schools, and asks people to sign up with their Facebook account…my expectations are somewhat low.
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Check with your library. I can use Kanopy and Hoopla with my library login. I get 4 movies a month on Kanopy and 20 on Hoopla. (Hoopla makes up for lack of quality with quantity)
I almost never watch tv and now when I watch the occasional football game or tv movie it floors me that people actually pay for this service with constant heavy brainwashing built in.
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I cannot stand TV ads. They’re way loud and they go on far too long that they end up wasting your free time.
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I’ve gotten to the point where I click through opening credits on TV shows when streaming. Bless you, producers of Better Call Saul, and your 5-second intro!
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Aww, Chicago Public Library is a no for Kanopy. Boo.
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Most shows nowadays seem to have gotten the message that nobody wants minute long intros anymore. I never understood those anyway, why would the creators not want more time to tell their stories? Best recent example I watch is the Good Place, simple title card for like three seconds, they even run the end credits under the last scene. All tv should be like that.
And on topic: the US lack of competition is definitely the cause of those prices. In the Netherlands you can get a full package (landline, tv and internet) for about 50 euro a month. Not quite as cheap as eastern Europe, but then again average income here is a lot higher still.
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Even where there’s more than one provider in a market. Individual neighborhoods or even individual buildings are tied to/owned by one provider. So the consumer often has no choice of provider even in the case of an area with multiple options. Noone’s gonna move to get a slightly different shit internet connection.
Tends to only work if you have access to another option. The price too high complaint has no teeth without a threat to leave. And if noone else can hook you up. Well. Not much happens.
