Analysis of a $308.11 cable bill

[deckeda]

We also have a "standard" analog cable. Digital cable is about the same but doesn't offer as many channels. This is insane since digital channels cost them less bandwidth per channel.

Anyway, this is like $50 or so per month and it includes the Golf Channel and something else not available on the cheaper dishes until you pay $60 or so, from what I've found. Maybe things have changed though.

>You've shown why I now only subscribe to basic cable, channels 2-16, for under $10/month.

An antenna would be $0/month and get you HD ...

[testcase]

My Cablevision bill shot up from $90/month to over $141/month for Family Basic TV, one phone line and internet service. When I called to question an increase of 50% their answer was "that's what we charge". Tomorrow, Verizon is coming to switch my phone line back to reliable copper lines. Once changed over, I'll return the cable modem and TV box and, cancel Cablevision completely. My library is only a few blocks away and, my taxes are already paying for broadband internet there. Most TV is garbage so, I can live without that. My total bill will drop from about $1700/year to about $300/year for the basic phone service. I'm actually writing this on my Pismo while in the library parking lot . With the time I won't be wasting in front of a computer or TV, I expect to get to those jobs at home I've been neglecting. I suspect that most people just pay their bill every month without realizing just how much its' increased.

[Robert M]

Matt,

I understand the bill. It's not nearly as confusing if you look at it line by line. Aside from the blatant errors, I also noticed that some of the fees are one-time only, i.e. installation of outlets and the installation charge itself. The bill will reduce significantly next month as they won't be on it.

That said, I looked at satellite TV and always walk away from it due to cost. In addition to the fee for programming, you must pay a fee for each converter box. It's a non-issue for one or possibly even two boxes. But, if you want that programming on a slew of TVs, then the fees add up quickly.

My parents who are with Cablevision enjoy programming on seven TVs in their house. No boxes. Each TV is used regularly by my parents, guests and an aide. Imagine how much it would be if they had boxes or satellite receivers! The fees for boxes and receivers would be more expensive than the programming itself!

Since you're with Time Warner, you should see if there are any package deals available. My girlfriend is with them and was paying X dollars per month for TV service. I looked at the bill and compared it to what she'd pay with one of package deals. In the end, she switched to a package that gave her the same programming and number of boxes at a savings of $10.00 per month.

She then added DVR service for one TV. So, she's now paying the special package price plus the cost of the DVR. In the end, it's now costing her the same amount as she was paying for the non-package deal and actually getting more for her money.

Robert

[Bill in NC]

Unless you are in the largest markets, OTA won't get you many digital channels.

With the largest rooftop antenna I'd get NBC, PBS, ABC, FOX, probably CBS.

Counting sub-channels, that's still less than half the channels on my cable tier (@$100/year)

Only PBS has any decent sub-channels (some of the others offer 24 hour weather).

My TV is SD, as are both my lifetime Replay and lifetime Tivo.

For $100, I bought a portable battery-operated 7" digital TV that can get NBC (w/ its 24 hour weather) via the built-in antenna in case of storms.

[quote deckeda]>You've shown why I now only subscribe to basic cable, channels 2-16, for under $10/month.

An antenna would be $0/month and get you HD ...