Sunday Ticket heads up

[kidhawk]

I keep suggesting that they offer single team packages. I'd rather pay under a hundred for just the Seahawks than the full price for two hundred games I don't give a damn about.

Can't work like that because it's satellite you get it all or nothing. If it were cable they could do something exactly like that.

They have eleventy billion channels, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to open up one channel per team. They can cut me off from Shotime while still giving me HBO, so I know it could be done.

It should be but it's not because it has to do with satellite and dish positioning. And no they aren't going to move the satellite for you. From the CSR/Tech side it's an all or nothing choice unlike singular streams ala cable.

And what is it that would keep them from blocking out every game except the one you pay for? They already block the games in local markets, and they can block individual programming on other channels, I don't see that it would be that difficult for them to block all the games except one each week. I think the problem is that they spent so much money to keep the package that they need the higher rates to justify it.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Entirely possible.

 

[rideaducati]

I keep suggesting that they offer single team packages. I'd rather pay under a hundred for just the Seahawks than the full price for two hundred games I don't give a damn about.

Can't work like that because it's satellite you get it all or nothing. If it were cable they could do something exactly like that.

They have eleventy billion channels, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to open up one channel per team. They can cut me off from Shotime while still giving me HBO, so I know it could be done.

It should be but it's not because it has to do with satellite and dish positioning. And no they aren't going to move the satellite for you. From the CSR/Tech side it's an all or nothing choice unlike singular streams ala cable.

If you knew what you were talking about, you might be dangerous.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

Truth be told..they can filter whatever they want to with either physical philters or programming filters. A LOt of stuff now runs off of what they do back in their control room for what they send thru to your sattelite receiver from the dish you have. The card they send you also has programming on it telling the receiver what you are allowed as you have paid for it. I tried to help a friend out one time and learned a little bit about the system. Sometimes old receivers are not compatible with new dishes and the opposite is true too. Sometimes the programming from the sattelite can be "reset" so as to bring in all the channels you have requested, but that may or not work all the time. Just like you have a number on your wifi at home that can be dialed into your laptop, they can do that to your receivers at home. Then tell it what programming you have signed up for and are able to receive. Just a little bit of info for you to digest or throw away....your choice.

 

[mikeak]

I keep suggesting that they offer single team packages. I'd rather pay under a hundred for just the Seahawks than the full price for two hundred games I don't give a damn about.

Can't work like that because it's satellite you get it all or nothing. If it were cable they could do something exactly like that.

They have eleventy billion channels, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to open up one channel per team. They can cut me off from Shotime while still giving me HBO, so I know it could be done.

It should be but it's not because it has to do with satellite and dish positioning. And no they aren't going to move the satellite for you. From the CSR/Tech side it's an all or nothing choice unlike singular streams ala cable.

No - they can treat every channel like its own service just like I have HBO but I don't have Starz. They could sell you a single channel or all 10 even if the 10 were 10 individual packages.

They elect not to do so because they use ST to get subscribers and more money from those that pay

 

[mikeak]

Largent80,

Did they state what being a "perfect" customer entails? I've been with DTV for over 15 years, have auto-bill pay, and have never raised a stink about anything, so I'm wondering if I should call and ask for Sunday Ticket at a discount. I've never had it, but would like to, but not at anywhere near the normal price.

Yes is the short answer

Long answer -- you will signup for 2 new years but below is what I got which is similiar to the OP

1) 50% off ST - so four monthly payments of $40
2) 12 months of $35 back / month.
3) Movie Premium package for free for 3 months (HBO, STARZ and One more)
4) Genie box - which is what I really wanted. Up to six different feeds from one box and I got four TV's in the basement and now ST hooked up - PARTY!!!

What they told me is if I wanted to go cheaper she could still give me the $35 / month discount and Redzone for free but she couldn't give me ST for free. I lowered my monthly bill regardless so I went with ST

Almost forgot -- you call in, you say to all the promts that you want to cancel. Then you get to the retention specialist and you just say you are considering cancelling because of cost and your cable company are offering you free redzone channel. Then she looks at all the sports packages stuff.

i should have waited. my 2 years was over in July so i called asking for a new 2 year deal and if they could throw in the genie. they only offered half price for the genie. the deal i eventually settled for was to go month to month, keep my equipment (old dvr and 1 mini unit) because getting the genie would be extra. got the 50% off ST (40x4) and 4 months of just Showtime. still not a bad deal because my bill after i pay off ST will actually be a few bucks cheaper than what it was for the whole 2nd year. took me almost the whole 2nd year to figure out i should call in every 1-2 months to ask for "credits" and free channels.

now i'm thinking about calling back to see if they could just waive the rest of bill for ST. or maybe get HBO/Starz

I got the genie for free but have to pay $6 (could be 8) per mini-genie. So the bill did go up as I needed 3 (four tv's - one goes straight to the box the other ones get their own unit). They are offering the genie for free to like everyone so somehow you got the wrong person on the line. Try calling again if you want it. I am excited about it - getting it installed on the 6th......what starts on the 7th? That's right NFL Sunday!

 

[kidhawk]

I got the genie for free but have to pay $6 (could be 8) per mini-genie. So the bill did go up as I needed 3 (four tv's - one goes straight to the box the other ones get their own unit). They are offering the genie for free to like everyone so somehow you got the wrong person on the line. Try calling again if you want it. I am excited about it - getting it installed on the 6th......what starts on the 7th? That's right NFL Sunday!

The thing I like about starting this year on Thursday and having ST for the first time, is that on Sunday, I can spend my day checking on all the features of the Sunday Ticket Max with no Seahawks on to distract my attention.

 

[Largent80]

Just an FYI...For my $81. I got S.T. MAX, so I get streaming to my phone, tablet or whatever I want.

I'm just 'bout that action Boss.

 

[grizbob]

And another FYI, just received an email from DTV asking for ST subscribers to download their app to hand held devises and log on tomorrow between 7 and 11 eastern time. Guess they're gearing up for the season :thirishdrinkers:

 

[HAWKFaninBAMA]

I did this two days ago, you have to ask for the "retention" department.


I got ST MAX FREE
A FREE Genie upgrade .... and no equipment payment for it for 12 months.
12 month new customer price.
and 6 months of HBO and Cinemax free


Its ALL about who you talk to..... regular customer service cant do all this, but when you say cancel it and you get transferred to retention you get it ALLLLLLLLL :th2thumbs:

 

[mikeak]

Crap - I didn't know about Max and just got regular ST. Dang it

 

[LargentFan]

There is a little bit of incorrect information floating around in this thread. I'll address a few things and hopefully won't piss anyone off.

INSTALLER
The "INSTALLER" that was referred to early in the thread was likely a retailer. Those guys install both Directv and Dish Network and will absolutely encourage you to flip-flop back and forth. In my experience, they do terrible work. I am sure there are plenty who do fine work, but I have never met one.
Directv has installers employed all over the country who will never encourage the flip-flopping. I think Dish Network still uses sub-contractors and retailers.

Haggling
Haggling is always a great idea. There is a whole department inside of Directv that has different powers than the normal customer service folks. Their job is to keep you. The worst thing that can happen if you call in wanting a better deal is that you won't get one. You have nothing to lose. It's not like they are going to raise your bill because you asked. Try to remember, though, that they do have to make some money. Asking for the world on a silver platter is a bit much. Also, remember that some things you might ask for are beyond Directv's control.

All or nothing...
This is sort of correct, but really not correct. If you get an HD dish, you will get signal from all 5 satellites that Directv uses in the US and will have access to every bit of programming they offer to the average user. It all depends on which package you subscribe to. There is another satellite that is used for international programming, but that requires a second dish and is all foreign language stuff.
It has nothing to do with dish positioning. Moving your dish would only make you lose signal.

A la carte programming/blackouts
This is not up to Directv. They have no say in what is blacked out and they are not contractually allowed to sell you one-off channels or single team Sunday Ticket subscriptions. That stuff is all controlled by the NFL. My guess is that there was some market research done and it was decided that more money could be made by forcing fewer subscribers to pay a higher price and get all teams than having a lot more subscribers at a much lower rate.

Genie
The genie is a badass piece of equipment. There are two different genie receivers. One is called an HR34 and one is called an HR44. The 34 is a fine piece of equipment, but the 44 is superior in every way. If you have an install scheduled for the future, ask the installer if he has any HR44s. Most likely he will. If not, consider waiting until he does.
Like I said, the 34 is fine, but it's MUCH bigger and doesn't have built in wi-fi. The 44 also works a lot better with the new remotes.

Anyway, if anyone has other questions, feel free to ask away.

 

[Hawks46]

I keep suggesting that they offer single team packages. I'd rather pay under a hundred for just the Seahawks than the full price for two hundred games I don't give a damn about.

^THIS is what we really need. Most of us don't care about all the other games.

This would be a good option for most people, but I wonder how hard it would be for them to implement it. I love watching a lot of the other games. I used to watch the other division games if they were on at different times than our game. Thing is, I just don't have an entire Sunday to sit down and watch football like I used to.

I'm echoing other folks here. Threaten to cancel or change your subscription level and they do everything for you. I got free Sunday ticket and the DirecTV guy sat down with me and pared down my package to stuff I really watch and got rid of all the fat. Then he gave me a discount after that. This was 4 years ago.

I felt like a dbag because 7 months later I had to travel for work, and I wasn't going to be home and the wife didn't want TV at the house, so I had to cancel. They tried everything to keep me; I would've had really good service for $25/mo. The nice thing about DirecTV was that after they gave me all of those concessions, they didn't try to get me into a contract again. I'll go back to them eventually.

 

[Largent80]

I just called them back and they threw in an $81 dollar credit so I get ST for free, plus I downgraded 1 notch on our package, also they threw in Palladia 6 months for free and an HD extra pack.

 

[bryantology79]

i love this thread...

called the cancellation dept and got:
-ST max reduced from $160 to free
-free genie upgrade
-$123 credit (not sure why but i'll take it)

after the call i was worried about the genie being a 24 month commitment ($20 for each month left on agreement) so i called again to get some clarification and ended up getting...

-$200 prepaid visa
-3 months playboy channel and HD extra pack
-$10 credit for 12 months

thinking about calling back to see if i can get HBO/Starz