DirecTV - Leaving after 28 Years (Feedback)

To provide feedback you do so by calling DirecTV. If you are canceling, then naturally you go over this with the agent the issues that resulted in you closing the account. This is a public forum of other customers, so no feedback goes on your account.

That was the NFL Sunday Ticket, not Game Pass. Yes the NFL is trying a streaming-only option, meaning customers with poor to no internet (such as rural) are now out of luck. I'm surprised they didn't try this alongside DirecTV's delivery of it to give a wider distribution.

Networks charge TV providers more every year. That is why cost goes up. New customers don't have "better options" as everybody is a new customer once. That intro special is a one-time deal, not something to be given repeatedly. It is a welcome basket to entice somene choosing their first TV provider, or a big enough discount to consider switching. It is not something the company can sustain for their larger number of existing customers.

Of course there is no proactive notice on deals. Those change day to day and are based on the indvidual account. If you are happy with the service as it is setup, you continue on. Otherwise, you call to discuss options. They are only going to give out a promotion/deal as needed, not just throw them at customers.

After a big finanical review it was determined that those promotions were too loose. Some customers even were at risk of being at a loss (or actually were). So their CEO announced quite some time ago those promotions would be pulled back. They are not going to discount themselves out of business. This means many customers have hit the harsh reality of how much the service actually costs. So they stopped "playing the game" by stopping the gravy train. Now any discounts should be as inteneded, temporary and in moderation, only as warranted.

If service without discounts is not comfortable for your budget, then you reduce service or go without. It is not their obligation to give you discounts. Any when available are appreciated, but not required. Just the reality of the situation.

Your entire feedback seems to be that you are upset with rising costs and you don't get great discounts (as well as proactive ones) for being a long-time customer. That is very easy for a cancellation agent to summarize on your account.

We all must make decisions that are right for our budget. I view it that it is our responsibility as a consumer to manage what is affordable, not expect companies to throw discount after discount at us.

I called them MANY times as stated above.  I provided feedback, we talked about the issue(s) and the hoops I had to jump through, that's my complaint in a nutshell.  The other issue is there isn't a forum for Feedback, there isn't an eMail address...This is the closest thing that I can find.  Point me in a different direction than a front line support person and I'd be happy to provide them with my feedback.  Also, maybe others in this public forum can benefit from it!  Yes, whatever on the NFL thing.  Had it for years, just know it's going away.  Understand your other thoughts, and that's why after enough frustration negotiating pricing each year and dollars spent, it was time to move on.  I understand how companies work, and I'm the first one to say that they need to get paid enough to make them profitable and provide good service to everyone.  However, after the equipment is all in, and they're just collecting cash after 20+ years, the bill doesn't need to be $250/month or negotiated down to $170/month, that's a lot more than is needed in my mind.  So, we can agree to disagree.  I personally hate the used car game.  Don't give any discounts, just say it is what it is (which they don't, so you have to play the game), and then like you say it's a good deal for you or it isn't.  Either way, it's my feedback, they can take or leave it...I had a relatively good experience overall, but the past 5-7 years, not so much, so time to go...

BTW DTV is no longer providing the new customer 1yr discount, they now pay the rate quoted for 2yrs with a price lock then continue on a month to month with the rate in effect at that time.

@pjarvis13 

You already gave your feedback when you talked to them. It should have been noted on your account. And a cancellation agent is not front-line, but last-line. If they cannot resolve your concern then they assist you closing your account. Seems you just want to keep complaining hoping that your badgering will change their pricing.

You don't negotiate pricing each year. That is just begging for a discount. In the end pricing is what it is. There is no way to avoid costs going up eventually. As long as the networks keep increasing costs then so will TV providers. If you get a temporary discount, enjoy it while it lasts. But nothing guarantees or entitles you to always have a discount. No matter how many years you've been with them doesn't make their operating costs go down. You pay for services that cost. They don't become cheaper or free over time.

Regarding the NFL Sunday Ticket, you can thank the NFL for going streaming-only on that one. DirecTV would prefer to continue with it as they have, but the NFL chose to go another route.

When you called and canceled, feedback was given. Looking to give feedback again and agin is just complaining to complain. Time to move on with whatever service you've chosen. DirecTV is not going to change their entire company to placate you.

First of all, lay off the insults per the forum guidelines. We can discuss in a civilized manner.

If you canceled, then anything you discussed with them that was noted on the account is your feedback, be it good points or bad. DirecTV does not do support by email as their support is 'live'.

Whoever referred you to the forum was likely getting you off the phone as they didn't have the answers you wanted. This is a medium to discuss with other customers, not an official line to DirecTV.

If discounts are available, certainly enjoy them while they are there. As agents are not inventing discounts (just selecting one if your account shows), I don't see it as a negotiation personally as it is a situation of these are your options take it or leave it, but I get your perspective.

Why do you want your feedback in writing? As that is not a record of an offer they made or anything like that, I don't see how having your own transcript of feedback given would affect you. Genuinely curious what you would get out of that.

If you really think they've done something wrong, then a BBB complaint could be considered. That would give you an official record ("in-writing") of feedback given. I just don't see what that would accomplish given the issues you've stated as they don't overhaul their billing model and cost to them from the networks.

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Master Control Program (MCP) no longer wields such power.

Once a year, I call Direct TV and ask to  unsubscribe from their service. They ask if I am moving and I say no. Then I get to talk with customer retention and renegotiate a new price.

For the past couple of years they kept me on board by comping NFL Ticket. Now they lost that. They are running out of incentives to keep me on board.

There really isn't much option, Spectrum is Comcast technology with Time Warner customer care - the worst of both worlds. Dish has it's issues and is currently in dispute with one of it's content providers so a couple of hundred channels that people pay for are not provided.

Cutting the cord is a good idea and don't they streaming services know it. They bump up their monthly rates routinely mostly because "the other guys are doing it so we can get away with it, too." It's only $3 or $4 more a month every so many months.

@DanFlak 

As you've seen, the networks increase their costs to streaming providers as well. No provider is immune. It is (slowly?) catching up to traditional TV providers.

Getting comped the NFL Sunday Ticket was very nice. That was common for the intro offer, though some got it again with agreeing to a 12 month service agreement for the promotion. The NFL going to streaming-only for the Sunday Ticket is to me a questionable choice as country cannot rely solely on streaming at this time.

In the end, choose what works for you. Don't plan on incentives/discounts to stay. Always plan for the regular cost. If that is not comfortable for your budget, then either reduce service or find another provider that is a better fit.

People don't pay for a guarantee of specific channels. When a TV provider (Dish, DirecTV, or anyone else) has channels pulled at the end of a carriage agreement, they are not paying for the channels while they are gone. Since agreements can come up multiple times through the year with different networks, they are not going to adjust pricing day to day or even month to month. DirecTV adjusts their pricing once a year which takes into account any negotiations that have happened. Whether the money not being paid to the individual network owner at that time is held onto to go towards the new agreement, or allocated elsewhere, is unknown as those details are private to each company. Point is, channels come and go and you still getting what you pay for which is the delivery method (satellite, cable, etc.) not a guarantee of specific channels. Though channels being gone shouldn't be common (and when it happens it is not for long), local affiliate owners are becoming more of a problem in recent years.

Back in 1972 I was in the service in South Carolina. We had two channels. One was NBC and the other was either CBS or ABC (they decided which network to carry at a particular time). Programs were pre-empted for the 3 B's (Braves, Basketball and Billy Graham) all the time. So I got a 20 foot mast a big yagi antenna and a rotor. I got 14 channel including two channel 6 and two channel 3 depending on which way I aimed my antenna. One night I watched a show from Iowa!

Things were different back then. One no longer lugs the "portable" TV with an extension cord into the back yard, wiggle the rabbit ears and watch a ball game for free.

Some still use a regular antenna for their locals within range. Certainly not having to wiggle the ears anymore as they've gone to the digital antenna. And there are higher quality ones you mount outside if need to give it a bit of boost. Games in-market are on locals as the Sunday Ticket is only for out-of-market games.

Now it is the light flat screen brought to the patio, backyard, garage, etc. Days of the portable black/white set have moved on (though with a converter box you can still use old sets).

I can sort of get Sunday Ticket. I took advantage of a half price for the year subscription to Paramount Plus. They carry the local CBS games. So if I want to watch a particular game and it is on CBS, I select a city with my VPN and I stream it and cast it to my TV. I don't get every game since some are not on CBS, but I still have options beyond my local offerings.

On the military base, I was near the top of a hill. Now I live "down in the hollow" - a 30 foot antenna would get me to street level.

In the old days there were other permissions for locals when it was impossible to get with traditional antenna. But those locals lobbied Congress and succeeded in having the Stelar Act expire.

With workarounds and viewers who cannot get good enough internet (if at all) to use streaming, I wonder if those making the decisions are going to regret moving the Sunday Ticket to streaming-only.

I'm an old (Edited per community guidelines). I remember the ads for cable TV. "Since you are paying for it, there will be no commercials."

That was before they added national channels.

Networks charge the TV providers a lot. If those channel owners didn't get revenue from advertising space they would charge the providers even more, meaning we would have a much higher bill.

As it stands commercials are a necessary evil to keep costs from skyrocketing. Don't know if that will ever change.