Ever since the new On Demand menu launched I have noitced a change in the pricing of On demand episodes on channels that I subribe to as part of my normal FIOS TV package. I first noticed this with a recent episode of Teen Wolf on MTV that I had started watching for Free two days prior then when I was switched over to the new On Demand menu that same episode had to be purchased for $1.99 for me to continue watching it. Next the same issue happened with the latest episode of the Vampire Diaries on CW. Assuming this was a mistake I called customer service and was told that it was the Channel providers MTV and CW not Verizon that had made price change for the episodes but was also told that I could watch these same episodes for free online. So I logged into Myverzion account online and and found that all the curent episodes were in fact free. This makes no scense at all. Why am I being charged extra to watch content on my TV that is free online. This totally defeats the purposed of paying for cable. The fact that I have to pay extra to watch content on my TV that is now only available for free online is ridiculous. Im convinced that this a mistake that started when the new On demand menu was released. Also I have checked at a few friends and relatives houses over the holidays and was able the to watch the exact same content (current episodes) for free On Demand with Direct TV and Comcast. So imagine tonight when I sat down to watch the latest epsode of Grimm On Demand on NBC with FIOS and found that I had to pay $1.99. I begrudgingly got up off my sofa logged into Myverzion account and found the very same episode is free to watch online. Please fix this mistake or I will be switiching to Direct TV ASAP.
Well, there you have it.
Lol at those saying that all other carriers charge.
Somehow i I knew that was fantasy.
@Kengrushwrote:I have FIOS at my main house, and just started Dish TV at the beach house. THERE ARE NO CHARGES FOR ON DEMAND TV VIEWING ON DISH!!!!
Is that clear enough???
@MJNY wrote:
Well, there you have it.
Lol at those saying that all other carriers charge.
Somehow i I knew that was fantasy.
@Kengrushwrote:
I have FIOS at my main house, and just started Dish TV at the beach house. THERE ARE NO CHARGES FOR ON DEMAND TV VIEWING ON DISH!!!!
Is that clear enough???
If you read the thread, there have been cases where the episodes available for a fee were matched on other providers. I have checked a few myself. Most of the time (there have no been one or two that were different) they were the same.
One thing that makes it more obvious on FiOS is that they group free and paid episodes together. Other providers don't.
So if you just check their vod, you may not see them.
Compare identical episodes. More than likely, they will be the same.
I can't say for dish or DirecTV. I have only compared cox and Comcast.
And my experience is that they are the same.
That is based on a small sample.
So some providers may have different deals.
I can see where Comcast might have more clout or ability to spread costs across more customers based on the fact they are 4x FiOS.
No different than some providers offer different channels in different tiers.
But in no way is it fraudulent or illegal.
Don't like their offer, don't do business with them.
It seems more and more people are realizing this fraud. And I call it fraud because Verizon is charging us TWICE to watch.
We already pay for these networks and pay a premium and then they charge even for recent shows.
Maybe if enough people complain it will change. But after this as soon as I move I’ll never use Verizon again. They lost my trust.
I totally agree and when this first happened I was livid! How do we complain? There is no place to email on verizon’s Site and I tried calling and complaining and eventually the person disconnected me. I though about complaining to the FCC.
Verizon, like other cable providers never guaranteed that all on demand content would be free forever.
A lot of the charges come from the content providers themselves.
At times, some cable providers are willing to pay extra for content to be free.
This became more apparent when Verizon put free and paid content together.
I have checked a few shows on my in-laws cable system and they had the same free episodes as FiOS.
If you have a friend with another cable provider and see if they show the same episodes as FiOS for free.
You can complain to the Attorney General. I did but that was the last NY AG who was crooked. Maybe the new one is better? Not sure.
Steady rise of cable on demand fees is expected. As apple and other companies (diseney) approach the on demand model. Revenue sources shall steadily decline. Bigger or better option on demand models come into being. Eventually Microsoft (google/alperbet) shall follow suit soon! Guess what it shall be free on demand in 2021 everywhere for at least 2 years enrollment. That shall kill netflix, nbc, Verizon and etc. this will attract millions of viewers world wide. Any body remember the company “internet in a box”!
Very soon I will be moving and will give up Verizon forever.
They should have figured out a way not to Double charge customers.
@MJNY wrote:
Very soon I will be moving and will give up Verizon forever.
They should have figured out a way not to Double charge customers.
To be fair, will you be as hard on your new provider if they also charge for in demand?
I cannot wait until my contract with Verizon is up. I am going with another provider. I am absolutely offended that Verizon charges to watch on-demand episodes. They say it is the TV networks, but that makes absolutely no sense. That doesn’t happen on DIRECTV and it doesn’t happen on Comcast, only Verizon. Also that you cannot skip ahead is novel to Verizon. Funny how the networks do not put these restrictions on any other service provider except for Verizon. I wanted to get caught up on The Red Line And all episodes require a fee except the pilot. What a rip off! I will definitely be switching when this contract is up.
I can't say about this show or Comcast, but when I have compared some shpows on Verizon to cox at my in-laws, episodes were similar.
And ffwd was disabled as well.
If you know someone on Comcast, ask them to compare this show to their options.
Remember that CBS has their own streaming service, they have every reason to limit free episodes available on demand to have people go to their service instead of paying on demqnd that they have to share with service providers.
Today there is a charge to view Episodes 1 and 3 of NBC's Emerald City on my DVR with the new interface, but they are free on my old Motorola 2600 SD box, which has the old interface. This tells me it's a glitch in the new interface, which SUCKS.
Might be the difference between HD version and SD version.
BTW, Verizon has said they are working to get rid of SD vod content.
Hello,
I recently wanted to watch Black Sails which is series on Stars Network. I subscribe to Stars and many other premium channels and I pay a lot of money a month to have this service. Why do I have to pay again per episode? It looks like all the seasons have some episodes for free and some have a $ sign next to it. I should not have to pay again for specific episodes since I already pay for premium service.
This is truly dissapointing!!! please tell me this is some sort of a mistake you are trying to work out.
-Stan
First make sure that it doesn't show up with multiple offerings Sometimes you can fine a show being offered for a fee AND being offered to subscibers of a channel.
Which shows and ipisodes are free are controlled by the content owner, in this case Starz, and not controlled by Verizon. Verizon does have a say in how much to charge above what they have to pay Starz.
Hard to swallow that its the channel that's responsible and not Varizon and its horrible new on demand.
Last night Wednesday, 1/25, I tried to view:
The Young Pope, Monday 1/23
The Daily Show, Tuesday 1/24
Taboo, Tuesday 1/24
It seems way more than coincidence that these show from different networks were all unavailable.
Just reason #27 that the new on demand stinks.
Just checked and I had the daily show for yesterday available on demand.
It's not the channel. Its Verizon. I watch free TV (NBC, HBO, etc.) on my Roku-enabled TV (using my Verizon account). At least until Verizon catches on.
Are you watching it on the app of the content provider?
If so, they could be choosing to charge cable companies but allowing it for free on their own app.
No, this is happening directly from Fios on demand, not on the network apps. We are being double charged and the selection of what we are made to pay for is capricious and inconsistent, like a wolf waiting to jump out from behind a tree.
TOTALLY AGREE. Verizon always says it's the networks, while we all know they're in the driver's seat. Why would the networks offer these shows for FREE on their website but charge for them on TV. Makes no sense and Verizon stinks big time for this fiasco that just turns customers off.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
