As a public service, Medialoper offers the latest installment of I Hate The Cable Company, our monthly(ish) roundup of some recent stories where ordinary citizens have had issues with the service and/or pricing of their local cable company.
- In Worcester MA, a man was told by Comcast that they would have no problem hooking him up . . . as long as he paid them $14,995.35.
- No Resolution Seen in Cable TV Dispute – In Iowa, subscribers to Mediacomm cable had to get old-school antennas in order to see American Idol and 24 because Mediacomm is in a battle with Sinclair Broadcast Group — who owns the local FOX stations — and Sinclair pulled its stations from Mediacomm. The battle affects 700,000 subscribers, none of whom can expect a refund, I’m sure.
- Charter cable rates going up, again – In Oregon, Charter is raising rates for about 80% of its customers.
- Cable static continues – The Sinclair v. Mediacomm war affects customers in Pensacola, Florida, as well.
- `Perfect storm’ raining gains on cable industry – You’d think that they’d plow some of those profits into things like improving customer service or expanding the amount of HD channels, but they’re no doubt spending the lion’s share of in on ads asking you to bundle your cable with phone and internet services.
- Comcast raising its rates – In Colorado, Comcast is rasing its rates by nearly 7% for its newly acquired customers.
- Time Warner:Start Over Markets to Triple – Time Warner has announced that they plan to triple the number of markets to which they offer their “Start Over” service. This service is a perfect metaphor for the ambivalence inspired by cable companies. One one hand, it lets you watch a show — any show — that you missed the beginning of from the very start. Cool, right? But then there is the catch: they won’t allow you to fast-forward through the commercials. Evil, right?