But What If I Want You To 'Roll Over?'
Time Warner Cable is hosting a Soviet-style election.
Its new Web site, Rolloverorgettough dot com, has drawn more than 400,000 visitors, gathered more than 130,000 comments and more than 95% of the votes so far have encouraged TWC to “get tough” on programming increases rather than “roll over.” So said CEO Glenn Britt in a release, adding “our customers clearly agree that the current programming business model is broken.” Many commenters say they’d like the option to buy smaller packages of channels. “As an industry we need to listen to these kinds of concerns.”
Agreed. But the hilarious part — which at least two commenters on our Web site have already pointed out — is that the Web site also has two vote buttons. One says “Get Tough,” the other says “Roll Over.” But if you click on “Roll over,” the vote doesn’t go through that way. There’s some text that explains rolling over means cable bills will go up. Instead you’re offered a second chance to push the “Get Tough” button.
I’ve asked TWC to address this and will update this post if they do. Update: a TWC spokesman says if you hit “Roll Over” and enter a comment it counts as a vote the same as if you vote “Get Tough.” So TWC just gets a second bite at the apple to persuade you to vote for “Get Tough.” Confusing? I’d say so.
No doubt TWC faces tough decisions on programming costs, which analysts predict will spike for the cable operator this year, between retransmission payments to broadcasters, proposed regional sports network hikes and other factors. As Mike Reynolds noted in our first report on the TWC site,
“Time Warner Cable has been engaged in a long-running dispute with NFL Network, which remains on its distribution sideline over pricing and positioning issues. Perhaps more pressing is an array of expiring contracts with various Fox properties, many of which were set to conclude at the close of 2008, but were tabled until this year. According to sources, some of the properties involve include: FX, Fuel, Speed, Fox Soccer Channel, and a number of its regional sports networks. Moreover, Time Warner Cable faces retransmission-consent negotiations with Fox Broadcasting.”
TWC also faces tough competition, such as from Verizon FiOS in Manhattan, where I live.
Today, the FCC is expected to begin discussion on eliminating the so-called terrestrial loophole that allows cable operators to withhold some programming from satellite and phone company video providers if it is distributed by fiber and not by satellite. If and when that happens, it eliminates a key competitive advantage TWC and Cablevision have in New York: HD versions of Cablevision’s MSG channels.
All that’s to say, Time Warner Cable doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room to pass along big rate increases and wants to enhance its ability to tell the public: we had to drop or refuse to add this programming in order to keep your rates low. It needs political leverage with which to “Get Tough” with programmers. (Programmers reply: As if the house that Fred Dressler built hasn’t always been tough!)
Still, just for fun, I’d have liked to vote “Roll Over.” The contrarian in me just couldn’t resist voting “Roll Over.”
WES commented:
TWC is just like my old health plan. Raise the rates every year and reduce the coverage or in TWC's case, content. There are so many channels that have little or no viewers that they keep on the air. Why not let customers pick just the channels they want and charge them accordingly. I don't speak any other language than English so I don't need the other channels. My wife and I only watch about 15 to 20 stations. Why do we have to pay for content we don't ever watch? Because of the greed of the cable (or satellite) companies. Our rates are going up over 8%. What is that money being spent on? SPEND IT ON KEEPING FOX!
DJG commented:
It all about provding value. If TWC can provide value to its customers by dropping FOX and other programming then fine. But if the customer values what Fox provides it would be good business for TWC to provide that value.
twemployee commented:
you guys are all hilarious crying about loosing some chs who cares about fox shows now about the nfl network tw wants to add it to the sports tier bec not everyone want to have it and no the price on the sports tier will not increase
Anonymouse commented:
Brighthouse; you lose FOX, you lose my house, including RR.
What do you asses do with the money you suckup from all the advertising? Let alone the usurious monthly cable rates.
Pigs get fat, Hogs get slaughtered!
A word to the wise is sufficient, (Ms Eyce, my Latin teacher),
foxlicker commented:
twc are cunts - plain & simple
Leah commented:
Fox carries quite a few programs I truly love and can't wait to see each week such as Bones and Glee. This is abominable. When I signed up for time warner cable it was with the expectation that I would continue to receive the channels I already pay for! The country is already in a recession and if TWC would like to keep their customers they should consider actually providing the service their customers expect and pay for. I am sure with what they are charging TWC is making a tidy sum from each of us. And the commercials that TWC is running are insane. They say they want our opinion but...The choices according to them are: 1) Pay through the nose to receive the same programming you already do or 2) Continue to pay the same rate for inferior service. If TWC chooses to remove Fox from their roster I suggest their other customers do what I intend to...Demand a significant rate DECREASE or the reinstitution of Fox!
ala carte please commented:
The answer is ala carte services. TWC does not want this because they make too much money.
I'll gladly pay $1 per month for FOX.
Jill Lopez commented:
I find it suspicious that our president told us to quit watching fox and now we are in danger of losing fox. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. A little suspicious indeed.
wakeuppeople commented:
Living in America the way you people attempting to roll over is hilarious. Why would one assume that when a company is doing well, they are greedy? TWC is like every other company like coax, direct tv, verizon, uverse---(they all are going through these rate changes). The only difference is that TWC decided to help voice its customers opinions as to why broadcasters like the NFL network and Fox should not raise their rates. If I were all of you against this, I would take a look in the mirror, ask yourself, if you owned this company, would you not want the opinions of consumers buying your service to give their opinions? TWC may be looking for a emotional appeal to their customers, but which company has cared enough to do this before? So you TWC boycotters can keep rolling over like an obdient dog and take it deep. I'm staying with a company that will hear my opinion.
Matty commented:
NFL network is trying to charge every customer by asking TWC to put its channel on a standard package. Not everyone is subscribed to digital cable and the NFL knows that, so it wants to be like a ESPN channel which is provided in the standard package. However, ESPN broadcasts all sports 365 days a year while the NFL network really is only for 1 sport for the season. Its not worth it to TWC to put it in a standard package. so they want it in a sports tier where there is a tennis channel and MLB network and NBA tv, makes sense, but NFL doesnt want that, that want to be able to charge so much per sub so they can get more money for 8 games that used to be broadcasted for free on FOX or CBS. So why should TWC pay for 8 football games that used to be free?? Shame on you NFL
Rob commented:
TWC ads are full of lies and misdirection. I'm a UVerse subscriber and I'm enjoying the fastest Internet connection I've ever had... even when recording 4 Standard Def TV Shows or 2 HD TV Shows. If you believed the TWC ads, my poor old copper wire should have blown out and left me with no service at all because AT&T was stuffing too much in such a little pipe. rofl... I called them on that and filed a complaint for false advertising with the FTC.
Intheknow commented:
Art Vandelay - Time Warner, Inc bought the Indian channel, not Time Warner Cable. They are two separate companies. Tempting to connect the two, but not accurate.
laugingatyou commented:
You guys are hilarious. What kind of business do you work for the Salvation Army?
Jaxxty commented:
Whats funny is most of you guys actually think Dish or vios are any better. The bottom line is they are all CORPORATIONS!
Its not communism its captialism. I love how that in the last 20 years it became EVIL for a company to make a profit. Its refreshing to see one industry in America actually being in a postion to have this debate.
At the end of the day its up to the customers. If you dont like it DONT FREAKING BUY IT!!! Catv, Dish, or Vios are not a utility company you dont NEED it to live.
Let the two giants duke it out and then make your voice heard.
The whole communist thing is just dumb. Communism wouldnt have this problem due to the fact that all Tv broadcast were ran by the government... Stop being dumb.
Scott KC commented:
Can you get ala carte from Dish, Direct, or AT&T? Go ahead and try. Try to get Versus on Direct. Can't! Cause VS did the same thing that Fox it doing and Direct ended up dropping them. This isn't just TWC, it's all providers. The program sources want more money and if the providers don't stand up to them, rates will go up more that they do already... no matter who you decide to choose as your provider.
John commented:
I'm in the Syracuse, NY area and Time Warner has had a rate increase every year for the past few years. Quite frankly, anybody who thinks that greedy Time Warner will not have an increase this year by standing tough and possibly dropping a channel or two, is just sticking their heads in the sand.
CableGuy 48 commented:
I agree GimmeABreak. The programmers are the primary cause of the unwanted channels that are included in the vaious packages. I applaud TWC for trying to hold the line. These rate increases affect all providers including DirectTV, Verizon, ATT, etc. You can switch providers, but you'll eventually run into these same issues with them too. Ala Carte will cost us more in all likelyhood, because the programmer will have to charge more. It's a vicious cycle that has been created over decades, and can't be fixed as easily as we think! TWC trying to hold the rates they are charged is at least an attempt to start fixing things.
GimmeABreak commented:
The programmers asking for TWC's lunch money are not the small upstarts that need the advertising eyeball protection of a low bundle position to stay viable so the the consumer has diverse choices. These guys are the schoolyard bullies that can withstand placment in a high pay tier and still make money. They are increasingly abusing their monopoly power to extort unearned profits while the cable operators continue to rack up debt to keep up with technology and competition. The programmers are the real dictators here.
Ed commented:
The TWC business model is fouled. The TWC customer already overpays because of the way TWC "packages" cetain more desirable stations with many so-so channels, forcing people to pay for offerings they could care less about. So it's their own fault for being threatened to have to raise already inflated "package" prices to levels that may cause customers to give-up and go satellite. They should let us pick and choose each individual channel to create our own cable line-ups: 1) if someone wants an expensive sports channel or FOX News, then that customer pays for it; 2) if the customer decides some individual channels are too expensive, then those stations will get the message; 3) if TWC knows that customers no longer want to pay for unused portions of "packages" that are created to sell the more expensive channels, then they'll get the same message. These inflated stations AND Time Warner Cable are gouging us!!! And if TWC doesn't have the book-keeping technology to offer each customer the "ala carte" menu and do accurate billing, then TWC should just get out of the way.
William commented:
I agree with the overall theme, that TWC generally operates in a monopolistic and greedy manner. The recent rate increases are ridiculous, but, for them to cry foul is worse. I live in a condominium in Cleveland, Oh. Which means my only choices are running Directv through windows, or TWC, so I really have one choice.
They have terrible customer service as well. I expect them to continue to lose market share to Directv, Verizon and ATT.
Art Vandalay commented:
Now TWC has bought an Indian network for $126 million. But they can't agree on terms for the NFL Network. Their hypocrisy knows no boundaries.
Kell Varnson commented:
What's so offensive is that they claim to be doing this for their customers and when I got my bill yesterday, my rates went up by 10%. Meanwhile, last year they had record profits and are threatening to take away programming. Would you run your business like that?
Zamboni commented:
I think it's hilarious these former monopolists want to paint themselves as consumer advocates!
Dr. Van Nostrand commented:
More on NFL Network vs. TWC. Time Warner's position is to put NFLN on a sports tier so that "only those who want it can pay for it". Meanwhile they have put the MLB Network (which they own in part), the Golf Network, NBA TV, etc. on the digital tier. So, they are not consistent in their public reasoning. The real reason is that want to push the NFLN on their sports tier and immediately jack up the price of it knowing that most will buy it just for the NFLN. So, for example-- if the sports tier is now $4.95/mo, they will jack that to $7.95/mo-- while the NFL will charge only about $.75 for it. That way TWC will pocket $2.25 in pure profit to add to their record profits. They are so disingenous. Wake up people.
Dr. Van Nostrand commented:
Exactly. Smacks of communism. I voted "Roll Over" and you can see what pops up. I emailed them and told them that propaganda and manipulation is for communists. And they wonder why people are leaving them by the thousands for satellite and telco. Hopefully people will get their heads out of the sand and this will back fire (as it should) on TWC. Their position on the NFL Network and MASN (Mid Atlantic sports) is totally inconsistent with the industry. But, their monopolistic mindset still exists.