Washington, D.C. (October 15, 2006)
-- DIRECTV owners must pay $9.99 a month for the
satcaster's package of High-Definition TV channels.
However, there may be a way to reduce or perhaps eliminate that fee for up to a year.
Got your attention? Keep reading.
Every Sunday during the current National Football League season, DIRECTV has dropped one high-def channel from its lineup. The first week, TNT HD went black; the following week, Universal HD; and then HDNet.
The reason: DIRECTV needs extra satellite space every Sunday to air Fox and CBS' high-def broadcasts of the games as part of its NFL Sunday Ticket PPV package.
DIRECTV must drop a HD channel for the NFL Sunday Ticket.
So, to make room, the satcaster takes one regular HD channel off the air during Sunday afternoon when the games are played.
However, the practice has enraged some subscribers who say they are being cheated.
However, there may be a way to reduce or perhaps eliminate that fee for up to a year.
Got your attention? Keep reading.
Every Sunday during the current National Football League season, DIRECTV has dropped one high-def channel from its lineup. The first week, TNT HD went black; the following week, Universal HD; and then HDNet.
The reason: DIRECTV needs extra satellite space every Sunday to air Fox and CBS' high-def broadcasts of the games as part of its NFL Sunday Ticket PPV package.
DIRECTV must drop a HD channel for the NFL Sunday Ticket.
So, to make room, the satcaster takes one regular HD channel off the air during Sunday afternoon when the games are played.
However, the practice has enraged some subscribers who say they are being cheated.
"I take exception to
DIRECTV removing one of the HD channels included in
my $9.99 HD Package in favor of bandwidth necessary
to provide NFL Sunday Ticket to other subscribers,"
one TVPredictions.com reader said in an e-mail
letter to DIRECTV. "I subscribe to the HD package
and I expect to be able to view any of the channels
in that package at any time, day or night. If you
cannot provide the level of service for which you
are charging $9.99, then you need to credit my
account until such time you are able to provide
uninterrupted service."
The letter writer tells TVPredictions.com that DIRECTV's Customer Service department agreed to credit his account by $9.99 a month for a full year.
Yes, that's right, he will get DIRECTV's HDTV programming package free for a year.
As a DIRECTV HDTV subscriber, I thought I would call and ask for a refund today after noticing that TNT HD had been dropped to make room for the Sunday Ticket HD broadcasts.
After a few moments pause, the Customer Service rep said she would give me $5 a month off my HD package for three months.
Well, it's not a free year, but I said I would take it. Afterall, $15 is $15.
So, there you have it. I'm not saying that you will get a refund if you call to complain.
But I did.
The letter writer tells TVPredictions.com that DIRECTV's Customer Service department agreed to credit his account by $9.99 a month for a full year.
Yes, that's right, he will get DIRECTV's HDTV programming package free for a year.
As a DIRECTV HDTV subscriber, I thought I would call and ask for a refund today after noticing that TNT HD had been dropped to make room for the Sunday Ticket HD broadcasts.
After a few moments pause, the Customer Service rep said she would give me $5 a month off my HD package for three months.
Well, it's not a free year, but I said I would take it. Afterall, $15 is $15.
So, there you have it. I'm not saying that you will get a refund if you call to complain.
But I did.