400,000 consumers tell Time Warner to stop price hikes
December 8th, 2009, 3:12 pm · 47 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
Less than two weeks after asking consumers whether it should cave and raise TV prices, Time Warner Cable says nearly 400,000 have spoken. The overwhelming response: Get tough on those pesky TV channels that keep demanding more money every year.
The “Roll Over or Get Tough” campaign — which began Nov. 25 — is pure marketing with no indication that Time Warner will really change its ways. (Read the earlier story: “Hate paying more for cable TV? Time Warner is taking a vote“) Time Warner says that some TV networks demand 300 percent increases! The marketing campaign has been very successful. Everyone from blogs to the Wall Street Journal and LA Times wrote about it.
Marketing campaign or not, the cable TV provider wanted to take its message to the people. Why does your cable bill go up every year? Because companies like Viacom (owner of Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon) increase their own rates per cable subscriber.
Today, the company speaks.
“We’re delighted with the results so far,” said Glenn Britt, chairman, president and CEO in the press release. “Over 150,000 people have left comments, and 95% of them voted for ‘Get Tough.’ Our customers clearly agree that the current programming business model is broken. One comment we’re hearing pretty consistently is that customers would like the choice to buy smaller packages of channels. As an industry, we need to listen to those kinds of concerns.”
Eh? Smaller packages? Maybe Time Warner will begin to consider letting consumers pay only for the channels they want via the a la carte option, which most cable providers have not supported at all.
Time Warner quotes a few customers who left comments. The civil ones:
“As a customer of Time Warner Cable I appreciate this issue being brought to my attention. Time Warner Cable, please do your best on our behalf to push back against these TV networks who are driving up the cost of cable TV.” (LB)
“We need to force them to look at how to control their bottom line rather than just increasing prices.” (RS)
“This is certainly NOT the time to deprive the American family of the last bastion of affordable in-home entertainment.” (RCS)
Consumers can still vote and leave a comment. Britt says the company is reading every single comment.
Interestingly, Britt ends the announcement with news the company signed two agreements in the past week and is “pleased.”
No word on whether this means no price hikes for next year. Stay tuned.
Read the press release: TIME WARNER CABLE HEARS ITS CUSTOMERS LOUD AND CLEAR – GET TOUGH!
Recent Time Warner Cable news:
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Just received a letter from Time Warner raising rates in Jan.
THANKS A LOT, Merry Christmas
How much? I’ll look into this in the AM…
Wouldn’t it be funny if, while pushing this PR campaign about “getting tough”, they were simultaneously sending out rate increase letters? Wait… “funny” isn’t the right word.
I just got a notice here in Corona, Time Warner will be raising prices…so much for their listening. I cut part of my services to erase the price increase and save some money.
How much is it increasing? I haven’t heard this yet for O.C. customers but I’ll look for that letter since I’m a customer myself.
I received a letter fromn TWC last week. The rates are going up anywhere from $2.08 to $3.08 per package or service. I haven’t sat down and calculated the impact to my bill, but I would estimate that it will go up by around $10 – $12 per month. I have only the Digital package, the HD package (no premium channels) and standard Internet, so I expect those with premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) and the sports packages will get hit harder.
Time Warner offers AOL service for its customers..Free.
Carlos, actually you’re paying for that in higher costs for other services.
it has always been free…all you have to do is change your billing status…i haven’t been paying for aol for four years now…
Woo.
Look at your cable listing and start cutting channels. Most people I’m sure have tiers of service they don’t even use that much, cut them. Tell Time Warner, as they raise prices, you’ll cut services and save more.
They need you, you don’t need them.
let twc increase their prices…eventually they will be in the losing end as more customers will opt out…so without customers, how can they survive…
TV is so bad that they should pay US to watch it.
Got a letter from Time Warner last week about their price raises. (I live in OC) Switching to U-Verse tomorrow.
Why pay, I get free TV, I use the free HD airwaves.. you all are crazy to pay, think about it, you can also stream from the web to your TV, so cut the cable or dish, and stick to free HD and Web TV, dsl is about $19 a month, much less then what my pal pays at comcast… or what not.
I voted for them to roll over. Their boxes are antiquated and their software makes DVR completely dysfunctional. I hope Time Warner raises prices and gets quickly priced out of the market by Fios and Uverse.
I have been having problems with VOD. I dropped Netflix due to the number is defective DVDs they sent me and hard to get recently releases movies. Trying to watch a move on TWC’s VOD isn’t much different than the defective DVDs. However, I do get the new releases quicker than Netflix.
My VOD has been tiling up for the past 3 weeks now, and I don’t think I’m the only one in Costa Mesa with this problem.
Dear Time Warner: Effective January 1, 2010 the following decrease in my subscription of your services will take place. The decrease is necessary to thwart off rising costs of your overall services and provide a continued healthy bottom line to my household. In the past 6 years we have contributed $10,600 to your company. While we have done our best to maintain this level of subscription, with reductions in income and tough economic times we are no longer able to keep our rates up and must pass this decrease along to you. We thank you for your understanding and we look forward to your continued gouging.
Monthly subscription – digital basic services (eliminating all extra tiers)
Internet service – downgrade to Roadrunner Basic (1.5mb/256k)
Telephone service – complete cancellation of service (we will use mobile phones a primary telephone communications from here on)
Premium subscription – canceling the remaining two premium channel subscriptions I have held on to thus far. Programming has consisted of older movies, minimal new releases.
Extra Cable set top box and remote will be returned. DVR service subscription is also being canceled.
As rates continue to rise, downgrading of remaining subscription packages will continue as a reduction we will pass along to our service provider.
What a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to put it to them, just as they would/will do to you, given the chance. I’ll be chuckling in my sleep. I have no reception since ‘digital’ took over, and I don’t care. More people should kill their TV’s, symbolically or otherwise. Read something, anything before bed.
Thank You
OMG! I just realized if I weaned the kids entirely off cable channels, I could take them on one heck of an annual vacation each year.
Time Warner, Cox, Comcast. They all suck, give it up and go with Satellite TV. You know what you are getting at least!
Do you know how to keep cable bills from going up? Its quite simple. Just start a massive cancellation campaign. If 400,000 people canceled their cable service, guess what, time warner would freak out and they would have to lower the monthly charges to get those people back. Why do people act like they are powerless?
If a car salesman tries to charge too much for a car… guess what, I tell them to go to hell and walk away. There are choices out there. Dish Network, Direct TV, AT&T U-Verse, Internet streaming.
I dropped Time Warner about a year ago, when they threatened to drop all of the Viacom channels. It’s bad enough that they wont offer NFL Network, but when you start dropping the MTV’s and Nickelodeons, thats going too far. Their stance on the NFL network is: “Why should everybody pay an extra 5 cents per month when not everybody watches football” Well, I pay for channels such as home shopping channels, soap opera network, game show network, DIY TV, and I’ve never turned those on. With Viacom is raising their rates which will result in a WHOPPING 22 CENT INCREASE per household. And??????? Have they ever considered surveying the customers to find out if they are willing to pay that 23 cents per month? I know in my household that wouldve been a small price to pay for spongebob and countless seasons of Flavor of Love. It’s these issues that caused me to leave. I dont know what the current increase is, but it sounds to me like they arent interested in what their customers want, just fighting with the networks.
Kiapet’s right. I hooked up an outdoor antenna and with the big screen tv I have scanned for channels. I get all the basic and some HD. About 50 in all. Granted some I will never use and not the paid ones you get with cable but we’re satisfied. No cable bills ever…
Funny.
I just switched to Verizon this week. More channels, better quality picture, faster internet and less money.
“F” TWC
Funny, I switched to DirecTv and I get more channels and pay $40 a month less. So its not the TV networks. It’s Time Warner.
I dumped Time Warner Cable years ago and went with direct TV lots better service and lower prices
Well by choice i wouldnt have time warner cable but since my wife works for them we get it free. We did have to pay for phone service but we cancelled that about a year ago. We only had to pay 30 bucks a month and got all channels 5 boxes DVR service High speed internet and the phone. But we now have the magic jack for phone and works great. Now we only pay 19 bucks a year.
I cut several services off my Time Warner cable last week, saving myself $40 a month.
Interesting. I have DirecTV and was actually considering to switch to Time Warner when our contract was up. This is the first time I read something negative about Time Warner.
Are you guys sure its as bad as it sounds…or is everyone being big cry babies?
Are you new here? LOL! Just look at any post on this blog about Time Warner and you’ll find plenty of negative comments. Yes, most of it is whining, but there are real issues:
1) Prices. Going up and up and up and…..
2) Behind on HD. It’s getting better, but meanwhile you’re still paying premium prices.
3) DVR/Guide software is total crap. The sad thing is that it didn’t used to be, but they changed it unilaterally and it’s just awful.
4) Channel listings are all screwed up. Dupe channels ALL over the guide. Combined with the difficult to navigate guide software, it’s just a total disaster.
The bad thing about direct tv is if you want internet service they contract with Verizon. You not only get another bill from Verizon and charged 50.00 to 100.00 every month. The service is dial up and slow as hell. There is an up charge if you want faster service. The total bill ends up being higher then cable if you go this route.
Cable TV is a luxury.
Instead of watching cable when you get off of work at nights, go to the gym, walk your dog, play a board game with your family or take a money management class at your local community college.
I hate Crime Warner. Whats the alternative? Coxsuc…er Cable? Maybe I’ll try Verizon next. They have only minimally screwed me over so far.
I dumped cable when they not only charge you for their lousy service but they pile the commercials so thick that it takes four hours to watch a two hour movie. It’s like paying twice for the same meaningless content! 500 channels and still nothing to watch.
Cable can go out of business for all it’s worth and the rip off to consumers they think they are worth.