Everyone with DirectTV and kids is definitely feeling the pain when they can’t watch their favorite shows. This is a really good example of the corporation giants vying for more phat lewts.
I myself had looked into switching to Dish Network just last night. The odd part is that the same package with Dish is about $40 cheaper for the first 12 months and $20 dollars cheaper each month after that. Why oh why do we keep paying more?
One thing to keep in mind is just last month there were similar outages for Dish Network. So no company is exempt from problems. I think Viacom just needs to throw it’s weight around every now and then to prove they are still the big boy on the block.
Repost from CNN: Call DirectTV and get free stuff?
(CNN) — Maybe it pays to be a complainer.
Several DirecTV customers are reporting on online forums that they were able to get up to $10 per month knocked off their bills because they threatened to leave the satellite TV company over the fact that Viacom programming is no longer available for DirecTV customers.
“Wow they must like me, I got $10 off per month for 12 months, Starz for free for 6 months, and NFL Sunday Ticket for $99. So I come out $20 ahead after a year,” one commenter wrote on a forum on the site Satellite Guys. “All I did was say I’d like to cancel due to the Viacom dispute. I was not expecting to get all that thrown at me.”
A dispute between satellite provider DirecTV and the media company Viacom led late Tuesday to nearly 20 million customers losing access to 26 Viacom channels, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
CNNMoney has more information on the dispute: “Viacom is seeking a 30% increase, or $1 billion more than its previous deal, DirecTV said in a statement. Viacom countered that its proposed increase totals ‘a couple of pennies per day per subscriber.’ Disputes between media companies and cable or satellite TV providers have become increasingly common, but this one is hitting an especially wide audience.”
DirecTV announced that it would give its subscribers free access to premium Encore channels this month to show appreciation for their loyalty.
“To thank you for your patience until Viacom channels are returned, all eight Encore Channels (including Encore Family) will be made available to all customers thru July 31st,” the company wrote Wednesday on its Facebook page. “Tune to Channels 535 to 542 to start watching.”
People who called the company, however, seemed to get better offers.
Another commenter on the Satellite Guys forum wrote that he or she received “$5 off for 3 months, $5 off Starz 6 months, $5 off Sports Pack 6 months” from the company.
“(I) only asked about it, never said I wanted anything! Very well done Directv!” that commenter wrote.
“I got $25 off of Premier for 6 months,” wrote another person.
CNN could not independently verify these reports. In response to a question about whether the company is offering deals to customers who threaten to leave, a spokesman said only that DirecTV is “always willing to work with our customers to keep them happy.”
“We have not seen an impact on our subscriber numbers and an overwhelming number of our customers are telling us they will stick with us until this is resolved,” the spokesman said in a statement. “They appreciate that we are fighting on their behalf to keep their bills at an acceptable level.”
Several forums reported relatively long wait times for people who placed calls to DirecTV. And the Internet is full of hate mail for both DirecTV and Viacom.
Lets hear what you got as a valued customer?
The Whiteboard 