Commentary
Why AT&T's Sub-Par HD Picture Is Good For HD Owners
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (May 20, 2011) -- HDTV owners this week got the best news they've had in months, perhaps years. The American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual ratings showed that AT&T's U-Verse's 'satisfaction score' had fallen from 72 in 2010 to 68 in 2011.

Now that's not a major drop and normally might not even be worth more than a sentence or two in a round-up story on the study. However, the reason the American Customer Satisfaction Index gave for the decline is big news -- and should serve as a stern warning to all TV providers in the future.

That reason? The Index said AT&T's score may have slipped due to a rise in customer complaints about the picture quality on their HD channels.

Ah-ha!

For years, HD owners have charged that TV providers purposely dilute the picture quality of some high-def channels to create more system space for other channels and services. But it's been a tough allegation to prove and, until now, it has not seemed to hurt a cable or satellite provider's sub growth.

So what if we dilute the picture quality, the TV providers seem to say, you keep paying us every month.

But now a major study has actually said one TV provider's customer satisfaction rating has fallen because it may have 'messed' with the HD picture.

That's good news for every HD owner.

Why is it good news that a TV provider has "messed" with your picture?

Because lower customer satisfaction ratings usually result in lower subscription totals.

And the lower ACSI rating will hurt AT&T's credibility and standing in the TV community, making it more difficult to market their service.

And this should mean that AT&T's rivals will be less likely to "mess" with their HD picture in the future. Because if they do, it could lead to more customer complaints -- and lower ACSI ratings.

So, you see, sometimes bad news (AT&T possibly diluting the HD picture) can be good news (TV providers might be less tempted to dilute their HD pictures in the future.)

That is, if their customers complain when they see their pictures being "messed with."

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