Retention Discount GOING DOWN

Consider yourself lucky to get any discount. The ATT CEO ended discounts like that several years ago for most customers. 

I'm surprised that you're still getting any discount. Satellite services are dying as subscribers jump to streaming services. Discounts are few and far between these days. 

I spend about $2,200 annually between Directv and At&T.   I get separate bills.   I was wondering IF and could it be beneficial (discounts wise) to have those charges come as ONE BILL monthly ??

Don’t do it. There is likely no monetary benefit to getting one bill and combined billing has many issues that still haven’t been fixed. The forum regulars highly advise not to do combined billing.

So some say we are surprised that you get ANY kind of a discount these days!   Yet, the facts are that Directv is being squeezed with all of the other lower cost options AVAILABLE these days!   Thus, WHY would AT&T leadership try to draw down the discounts for their long time customers - which would likely lead them to drop their service altogether??????

Does it have anything to do with DirecTV having the MLB Extra Innings package which I must have?   Are there any other of these services out there who can provide that same kind of MLB Coverage ??

There's a reason that AT&T spun off DirecTV .... fewer and fewer subscribers. Sweet promotions simply don't draw many customers anymore since streaming services can often offer better deals. 

So, do they just want to "blow it up" and drive every loyal customer away??   I don't get this ???  Sounds like a defeatist business model to me !!!!

Some customers demand satellite services!   It is just that simple, so who else would you go to if you already have the Directv Satellite service at multiple locations ??

A couple years ago or so, their CEO announced they were pulling back discounts. They identified an issue of customers being on too much discount and/or on them for too long. And this was before the pandemic hit.

Discounts were never intended to be permanent as they are not sustainable for the business. If you are constantly on retention discounts, then that is a prime example of the problem they are addressing. If you cannot afford service without discounts, or just don't like the cost, then it is your responsibility to reduce service until within your preferred price point.

Package cost has gone up each year for more than 3 years. The networks keep increasing the costs, no matter how much all the TV providers negotiate to try and prevent it. All they can do is minimize the impact. 

So "what gives" is the gravy train is coming to an end. Discounts are more as part of an intro special to attract business. New customers are a smaller group then continuing ones. They would not be able to keep giving immense discounts to the larger number of existing customers. That you have gotten "$40 off for 24 months" is impressive as such large single specials were only 12 months and not often. Getting $10 or $20 for 12 or perhaps 24 months (often with an agreement for the same time) were the norm back when discounts were more common.

Time to review the channels you watch and verify what the best package is for you. Certainly, ask if any discounts are available and enjoy them while they are there, but never rely on them to be your ongoing cost. Buget for what the service actually costs.

Does it have anything to do with DirecTV having the MLB Extra Innings package which I must have?   Are there any other of these services out there who can provide that same kind of MLB Coverage ??

MLB Extra Innings is not exclusive to Directv. You can get that from many providers or even a stand alone streaming option directly from MLB. The only sports subscription still exclusive to Directv is NFL Sunday Ticket. No one knows if Directv will once again pay to keep it exclusive when the current agreement ends. 

I am on a retired base package currently - with 4 receivers.  The billing is a bit detailed.   I do not want to change from having the current 4 receiver physical setup and do not want any advanced receiver nor any kind of a whole home option.  In looking at the current packages, I see that there are base;1room;2rooms;and up to 4 rooms pricing - not sure what that means in relation to the detailed bill I get now ?

Those packages are only for new customers. 

So if I would switch to save money, I could only choose from among the other listed retired packages ?

You can't get any grandfathered packages. The unadvertised Family package is the lowest one DTV offers and changing packages will not come with the new customer discount.