Comcast has begun offering its Xfinity brand in 11 different U.S. markets.  The new service promises more HD channels, a faster Internet connection, and the opportunity to watch TV programming online.  Under the new identity Comcast will refer to its services as Xfinity TV, Xfinity Voice, and Xfinity Internet.
Xfinity TV will offer access to 100-plus HD channels, 50 to 70 foreign stations, and a video-on-demand library that should surpass 20,000 titles.  On the issue of Internet, connection speeds should reach 50 Mbps and ultimately grow to 100 Mbps.  The programming available for viewing online will feature programming from 27 networks, including the History Channel, ABC, Travel Planet and premium channels like HBO, Cinemax and Starz. 
Customers in the following locations will have access to Comcast Xfinity: Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Hartford, Augusta, Chattanooga, parts of the Bay area and San Francisco.

Versus Goes Dark on DIRECTV

If you are a sports fan who enjoys watching events like the Tour De France, NHL hockey, IRL racing, and some out of market College Football, and you watch all of those events on Directv. At least for the foreseeable future you are out of luck. According to the LA times Article DIRECTV and Versus are currently disputing whether or not DIRECTV will pay more to carry the versus channel on its platform. See the whole article HERE.

Television Online???

The newest wave in the television industry is to try and take content that was previously only available through a cable to the World Wide Web. A few of the compaines attempting to do this are Verizon Fios, Time Warner Cable, and Dishnetwork and Directv wiht the Sling Box This brings a multitude of new viewing options to its customers. Now you could watch tv on your smart phone, your laptop, or any computer around the world. If this new wave takes off the old term "cable" will no longer be the primary limitation of the television industry. Instead it will free the providers to offer their content anywhere their customer can get an internet signal. Whether it is Dishnetwork and their new 922 HD DVR reciever with a sling box built in, a Directv system with a Sling Box, or a TimeWarner or Verizon Fios connection allowing their customers to log in and view their programming, this leap forward in the industry could revolutionize the how, where and when people watch tv.

Satellite's Beginnings

Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth your Satellite Guru was a dinosaur satellite dish installer, and the Cband dish was the king of the jungle. Sadly now like most pre historics they are almost extinct. These signal predators evolved from 12 foot beasts into 7 foot beauties. Over 20 years the technology went from bulky and often unreliable to streamline and very reliable.I was installing 3 of these a day, working 12 to 14 hours, 6 to 7 days a week. Some people paid well over $5000.00 to own one. In the beginning if a person made one their own, they enjoyed movie channels for free, and picked up raw sports feeds without commercials. Channels from other countries became accessible. If you owned one, the party was at your house. You would also pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in dinosaur doctor bills and upgrade fees to keep one as a pet. People took pride in owning this new breed of home entertainment and made many concessions. They often watched the same channel on every TV in the house and in many cases gave up local channels. Who ever owned the dish was in charge of the TVs and also responsible for the up keep. A multi-billion dollar industry was born, and the Guru was on the front lines. After a decade things began to change. Channels that were free now cost money, raw feeds were vanishing. Pride of ownership turned to bitterness and burden. The decade to follow was to be the decline of the species. Dinosaur dish skeletons are found today in backyards and above rooftops all over America.

*****Promotion Change****

Dishnetwork has changed their promotion since this was written effective 8.1.09

I will be putting posting on the new promotion shortly

This post will take a look at the satellite advertisements that land in our mail box and find their way onto our TV screens each week. To begin an understanding of these ads we need to look into how they are generated. DIRECTV and DISHNETWORK have four quarters in a year. So they can have a new promotional offer, each of these periods. They both have retailers. National and local sales partners, as well as direct sales call centers. So an ad can come to your home from anyone of these channels.  

                     These promotions offer up to four TV’S for free. The price reflected on the advertisement will almost always be for one TV. So, if the consumer wants more than one TV the offer has to be explained. Advertisements are intended to make the phone ring. Not to say that these satellite companies do not have great offers, they do. People have different wants, desires and needs. Some want something really basic and others want premium movie channels, hi definition and or sports packages. There is absolutely no possible way to encompass all of these intricacies into a single advertisement. 

                    Let’s explore the current national DISHNETWORK advertisement. We see a base price of $14.99 per month, for six months with a programming commitment. This is the Bronze 100 package with local channels (where available). Regular price $39.99 per month for one TV. So consumers call in and inquire about $14.99 per month. This offer is multi-dimensional and is not only for the 100 channel package. What the promotion is actually offering is $25.00 off for the six months on any qualified DISHNETWORK programming package, as well as free upgraded equipment and free HD programming for six months. The HD package is an additional $10.00 per month. The customer gets approved for this national promotion by passing a credit approval. After the approval a $25.00 authorization is placed on their credit card. The authorization is never charged. Depending upon the bank the authorization will fall off the credit card account in 3 to 5 business days. The card will stay on file with the Dishnetwork to back up the 2 year commitment a customer enters into when they install under this promotion. So we have one TV, Bronze 100 package and HD programming $14.99 for the first six months. After the six month promotion the regular price would be $49.99. If the customer had added a HD DVR at the point of sale the regular price would be $54.99.The promotional price would be $19.99. Now all we have to do is start adding extra TV’S and the prices change. The promotion or formula does not. The bottom line is upon approval, you can install up to 4 TV’S. With standard or upgraded equipment. Depending upon your needs, you can pay as little as $14.99 per month for six months. If I was to install today, I would have 2 TV’S, Silver 200 package, HD DVR. For six months I would pay $32.99. After the promo I would pay $67.99. HBO and Showtime free for 3 months, and Cinemax, for a penny a month, for a year because I would be an auto pay customer.

                At our call center we ask questions and automatically quote the promotional price based on our customer’s needs and desires. We are good at what we do. Setting proper expectations and full disclosure is key to a happy customer experience. Promotional ads are designed to generate interest and make the phones ring. As we explain these promotions in depth, the value shines forth and most customers are happy to make a 2 year commitment.