I received a notice in programming change today. I have no problem dropping a psudo "Premium" channel that has 5-10 y/o movies and nothing new. But ... Im PAYING for this Premium channel and the rest in my package. There is no mention of price reduction! I'm getting less for the same cost? What am I getting in return for the loss of several channels?
Most likely, keeping other channels (whose price went up) without having a price increase.
Then tell us those channels. If not, that can be a cover answer for anything.
I am in Northern NJ. My discounts ran out years ago, so I pay a fortune to Verizon -- including for "renting" cable boxes that I have paid for many times over. I know people in the next town that pay a little less, have all the same channels, get the NFL Red Zone channel and DID NOT lose their HBO. I have never had the Red Zone and my HBO was removed this week. Needless to say, I am researching my alternative options.
Just got a letter saying that they're removing HBO from the package we have, and requiring us to pay an additional fee to add it back in. Big time **bleep** move. What's the story?
Only people in NY were given HBO for free.
From what I have heard, it is only lower packages losing HBO.
Not sure if other providers have HBO in all levels of packages.
It's not only the lower packages that are losing HBO. You then must purchase it as an add-on for $15. I have the Ultimate package and will lose HBO and Cinemax. I recently became a Verizon Fios subscriber (6 mo.) when Cablevision did the same thing with Starz. I was with Cablevision for 27 years. Seems to me a "bait and switch" game.
Not happy.
Your answer might lie in the fact that HBO is now to be owned by AT&T. AT&T competes with Verizon. Now Verizon wouldn't want to make their competitor richer so easily
@Gpeg84 wrote:Your answer might lie in the fact that HBO is now to be owned by AT&T. AT&T competes with Verizon. Now Verizon wouldn't want to make their competitor richer so easily
This is pretty accurate, in my opinion. You can see my full take on this topic at reply #42 (https://forums.verizon.com/t5/Fios-TV-Programming/HBO-and-several-program-channels-being-drop/m-p/86...). It's not so much that Verizon doesn't want to make AT&T rich, it's more that AT&T wants to make Verizon pay more, because they know that they won't be able to absorb the cost and will have to pass some of that down to their customers, making FiOS more expensive and making more companies look at DirecTV
I"m in NJ and HBO was included in my package, I have the Ultimate plan, so it is in the high tier, not the lower. They are removing it.
I'm in NJ and HBO was not a part of my package. Crappy Showtime is, though. I pay extra for HBO, as I have with every single cable company I ever subscribed to!
HBO was debunked for a few years.
I've always been with Verizon for a long time had the ultimate package that had all channels.
Then they increased the prices pretty high I discontinued verizon.
It has become to be a game where y ok u sign up for a 2 yr contract then go with another provider then back with verizon.
Now verizon want to drop the lower channels.
HBO always been dropped for several years and if you want it you must pay an extra 15.99 while you had it as part of the ultimate package.
@Sparten2018 wrote:HBO was debunked for a few years.
I've always been with Verizon for a long time had the ultimate package that had all channels.
Then they increased the prices pretty high I discontinued verizon.
It has become to be a game where y ok u sign up for a 2 yr contract then go with another provider then back with verizon.
Now verizon want to drop the lower channels.
HBO always been dropped for several years and if you want it you must pay an extra 15.99 while you had it as part of the ultimate package.
Until recently and in certain areas, HBO and Showtime were included in the Extreme TV package (second best TV package) and all the movie channels were included in the Ultimate TV package. I live in the NY metropolitan area, and we were one of the areas in which this was the case. When AT&T bought Time Warner, they raised the price of HBO & Cinemax for Verizon, Dish, and other TV providers, knowing that they would not be able to absorb the complete cost and would have to pass some of it onto their customers; which means more expensive monthly rates. Also, I'm pretty sure the premium channel a-la-carte prices are as follows: a single premium channel is $15, not $15.99, two cost $25, and all of them cost $40.
I have the Ultimate package and was told today, as I was trying to renew that it would be $47 more and HBO/Cinemax is now $25 more. A license to print money for sure.
Did anyone receive a letter stating that HBO and HBO HD will be discontinued ?
Why?
There are seceral threads.
It is not that they are discontinuing HBO.
People in NY, only, have received HBO for free as part of their packages.
Verizon is no longer offering that.
I'm guessing economics. Either they feel it is no longer a competitive advantage, or the economics don't work. HBO is not a cheap set of channels to offer for free.
I doubt anything is for "FREE". We should all stop believing that we receive any channels for free. As a salesperson I know there are many ways to say you're receiving something for "FREE" when in fact you're actually paying for it. The fact that they want to cut the channels without a reason and try to raise the price on the Ultimate package is ridiculous.
Its not for no reason.
Over time, content costs continue to rise.
Verizon (and from what I have read other providers as well) adjust channel packages.
Either because new contracts require carriage in certain packages or costs rise.
Verizon has stated in the past (TWC for example) they look at viewership.
Remember cable providers pay for every subscriber in a package regardless of viewership.
So if they find the amount of viewers for a particular channel is low compared to cost, they may remove it from certain packages.
And there is not much local (or federal) governments can do about it.
Per the TOS (that I have also read is common amongst cable providers), Verizon can add or delete channels for a package at any time even for those customers under contract.
If you look at it Verizon is probably no longer including HBO/Cinemax in the Ultimate HD package because...they are now owned by...AT&T. AT&T is a competitor and they wouldn't want to just give them all that subscriber money. So if the HBO/Cinemax Time Warner merger is blocked then it might again be included in the Ultimate HD package. So while it might be economics and pricing it's probably more of Verizon not wanting to feed AT&Ts wallet
No, not yet. But I pay extra for it.
I'm in the DC Metro area (Potomac, MD), and a week-and-a-half, I got a letter saying my Cinemax is disappearing. Not HBO, just Cinemax. I have the "Ultimate HD" package w/75Mbps up/down, and continued my plan about 6 months ago. Evidentally, I'm in a "grandfathered" plan.
I'm still **bleep** -- I'm paying "X" for this package, and they take away one component, but I'm still paying "X".
Seems to me that this is illegal, and breaks the contract I have with Verizon.
If only Comcast Xfinity were more reliable in my area....
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