Anyone here work for Comcast? I need the name of a higher

[yy4me]

up decision maker to whom I could write a letter.

Regardless of some of my thoughts about their customer service, I have no problem with their offerings. I had enhanced basic package but do to major changes in my life now, I had to drop it to basic.

My problem lies in the fact that of the 20 stations I get, 2 are PBS, and that is fine. I get ABC, NBC, CBS--OK. Also included is our town managed channel, New England Cable News and the Cooking Channel. Most of the other channels are foreign language stations (3)or home shopping channels(3). There is very little choice other than the above mentioned. I don't even know the call letters for the ones that are left. (one has been taken already for digital conversion) This all means that I get 8 out of 20 that are of interest. Twelve are useless or not an option

This is a complete waste for me in terms of other options. Our area should be divided in a manner that has a different demographic. The towns near me are not foreign language predominant.

I did call them about this years ago but could not get anywhere in my attempt to explain our needs.

[CK_John]

1. I think you would get more traction with a letter to your local newspaper and

letter to your local town,city or village council members. In many areas they bid-out cable services, for which they expect wink, wink generous campaign donations.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. I doubt that it would do any good

Their attitude toward suggestions of allowing customer choice (other than "add this package with more channels you don't watch") is contempt. They're Comcast, so they don't have to listen to customer suggestions.

I was in the same boat as you with higher channels. I had extended basic: eighty channels, of which I actually watched two in the higher tier. My solution was to dump the higher tier and go with basic-basic, which seems to be what you have. I still don't watch over half the channels, but paying for twelve channels I don't watch is better than paying for 60 channels I don't watch.

I'd dump Comcast entirely except that I wouldn't be able to get PBS or local weather, plus I get a discount on cable Internet.

In many other countries, they have "a la carte" channel selection. You can buy either packages or individual channels.

[NJCher]

3. I have a name for you

And I have similar concerns. The Comcast here in Jersey has Tru, the most worthless true crime channel ever. If you thought Courttv was bad, Tru is 10 times worse.

I am PM'ing you with the name and address.



Cher

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Until we get a new FCC chairman...

One that is an activist for consumers and not big business like Kevin Martin, you will see no substantive changes from Comcast. They are, perhaps, one of the worst companies, for their consumers, out there. While Kevin Martin has(because he is a telco buttboy...) nibbled around the edges of Comcast, he really has done little or nothing to address their terrible business practices and contempt for their consumers.

[onenote]

11. Kevin Martin hates Comcast with a passion

Why, exactly, has never been clear. Many suspect it has to do with Comcast rejecting Martin's demands that the cable industry agree to greater regulation of "indecent" programming.

Comcast, deservedly, has a rotten reputation in terms of customer service. But, oddly enough, customer service is not regulated by the FCC -- its regulated by the local governments.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

13. FCC can still apply pressure.

That said, it is widely recognized that Martin is angling for a job with VZ or ATT after he leaves. That is why he has been after Comcast and the other cablecos, to appease his corporate masters and make sure he gets a job.

Now, ATT? There's one he should be dogging.

[SmileyRose]

5. getsatisfaction.com/comcast

may or may not help.

[Phred42]

6. Cancel and go to the Dish

[onenote]

8. I doubt dish is a viable alternative for this poster

If this poster is only taking the most basic package offered by Comcast, there probably isn't anything comparable, price-wise from Dish. The lowest priced package from most cable operators is under $20. The cheapest package from Dish is $20 and that doesn't include any of the local broadcast networks -- you have to pay extra for those. And they wouldn't get NE Cable News or the local government channels from Dish.

[comtec]

9. but he might be able to get those off the air

and a digital tuner should be reasonably priced?
here the 3 gov channels (Nederlands 1,2,3) are free and digital off the air.
I imagine the local stations will do the same?

[onenote]

10. in the US, the government channels are not available over the air

The local stations are available over the air but you'd need an antenna and a device that allowed you to switch from satellite to over the air broadcast reception. They exist, but they're not always reliable.

[comtec]

12. Yes I know, When I was in Hayward I had antenna + sat

My sat receiver was on the Video input of my TV and the Apartment building had a big antenna, so we kind of had cable-ish :)

[Clark2008]

15. Not everyone can get Dish

My husband gets it free where he works, so we signed on... problems is... we have tons of trees, our neighbors have tons of trees and there was no line of sight.

Satellite, therefore, is not an option for everyone.

[onenote]

7. they almost certainly are legally obligated to carry most of those channels

I don't know your situation precisely, but it sounds like you subscribe to the lowest-priced "basic" tier of service. By law, cable operators have to carry all of the television stations that are deemed by the government to part of the market in which the cable community is located. That market can be pretty large in some cases. The stations that have to be carried include not only the big 4 networks, but a lot of smaller channels, including home shopping channels and channels affiliated with foreign language networks like Univision or Telemundo. The operator has no choice but to carry these stations. The basic tier also has to include the local "access" channels that the local government requires the cable operator to carry. Not sure what the "Cooking Channel" is, so I can't explain that one. New England Cable News probably doesn't have to be carried, but such regional news channels typically are included in the basic tier by most cable operators.

In some instances, cable operators have built centralized facilities that serve a wide area encompassing communities in multiple "markets". Where they can, operators try to tailor the line up to the particular market, but because they may be required to pay copyright fees for the out of market channels even if they don't carry them everywhere, they tend not to go to the expense of creating individualized line ups for different markets.

[hunter]

14. What, me worry?

My quality of life improved greatly when I decided television was pointless and said goodbye to Comcast.

Comcast will continue to send you bills for a few months and offer to reconnect you for free, and blah, blah, blah, but eventually they get tired and go away.

If you must, Dish is okay.

In a perfect world there would be a great banquet of entirely local digital television and radio channels. Any Joe, Jane or local government would be able to set up a radio or television station inexpensively, with strict limits on non-local network content. Instead we get giant corporations monopolizing the local airways to force feed us their toxic brainwash.

We the People need to take back earth-based radio and television broadcasting, and force all the big corporate broadcasters into space.