# Go to Hell Comcast Cable **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 31, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697 "2003-10-31T18:26:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thewiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@thewiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thewiz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/1 "2003-10-31T18:26:26Z")
From the Dallas Morning News (registration required) but here’s the relevant quotes: [Comcast to Raise Prices](http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/business/stories/103103dnbuscomcast.ba826.html) … “A spokeswoman said the rate increase reflects the increase in the value of its service and noted that Americans were watching more cable programming than broadcast television. … ‘The quality of cable programming has increased dramatically,’ said Angel Biasatti. ‘Viewers are voting with their remotes.’” … "Comcast’s expanded basic increase is higher than the national average of 8 percent from July 2002 to July 2003, said Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America. Mr. Cooper noted that Comcast has successfully negotiated decreases in the costs it pays cable networks for programming, even as it raises rates to consumers. " … I call bullshit. More people are watching cable, meaning you have more subscribers, and you’re raising rates for everybody??? And you got discounts from your suppliers meaning that less cost plus a rate increase equals more profits??? And you wonder why people are choosing satellite over cable??? Not to mention the crappy service and less than stellar reception I got on my cable system. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/2 "2003-10-31T18:56:37Z")
thewiz: And let’s not forget that the way Comcast gets their friggin’ signal is…you guessed it!..SATELLITE! So, some days I’m watching a show and the signal goes to heck, Comcast puts a little blurb on the screen informing me there’s a problem with satellite reception at their end. But since they’re fully aware of that, what’s with their ads blasting satellite tv companies? Isn’t (shouldn’t) that be in violation of some truth in advertising laws? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/3 "2003-10-31T19:02:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Expanded basic cable service will cost $30.50 a month beginning Dec. 1, up from $27.86, while basic service will remain unchanged at $11.49. That’s not that much - I dropped my expanded basic here in Knoxville (also Comcast), because it increased to $39 a month from $32. And add in 9% sales tax on top of that, and you can figure on $50 a month for cable. Now I send them $25 every three months or so for the basic cable at $9 a month. Comcast is the devil - I can’t wait until I’m living somewhere where I can have some other cable company. I hate them in general, and I can’t disagree with your wish for them to go to hell. (by the way, that link requires registration). ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/4 "2003-10-31T19:02:47Z")
You think Comcast is bad, try Cox. God, the cable here sucks. Nonetheless, I understand. That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/5 "2003-10-31T19:24:01Z")
This is one case where I would actually have some sympathy for cable operators (you have no idea how difficult that is to type), if they would only _tell the fucking truth in their press releases_. Cable prices keep rising, not because Comcast and Cox are getting rich, but because Disney, AOL Time Warner, and Fox are getting rich off of the fucking [carriage fees](http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/031023/1945002109_1.html) they charge the operators. Then, to make it worse, they make it a condition of carriage that the operators have to include the channels in their basic package. Because they know that if they allowed us to decide on a channel-by-channel basis what we wanted to pay for, a lot of us would decide we could do without Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And a lot of non-sports fans could do without ESPN and Fox Sports, two of the worst carriage-fee offenders. But Comcast was too chickenshit to mention this in their press release, so they peddle some song-and-dance about how “quality has improved”. Yeah, right. I’m getting the same crap I was ten years ago, except with more outages and more extra channels that I never watch. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/6 "2003-10-31T19:30:38Z")
Oh, Comcast is _beyond_ evil. I hate them. And forget all the BS about “the increase in the value of its service” and all that rot. Comcast needs to scrounge up the funds to pay for Iverson’s 4-year, $76.7 million contract extension. Ptooey. I hate Comcast. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/7 "2003-10-31T19:56:19Z")
Comcast here won’t give me Oxygen. I’m switching to satellite. I WISH I could switch to Time Warner or Cox instead… Fucking monopolies. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/8 "2003-10-31T20:22:59Z")
Ugh. I haven’t had Comcast, but where I live has a fucking contract with TV Max, so we couldn’t get Time Warner. They aren’t even allowed on the premises – we had to get DSL, because of the stupid contract with TVMax I can’t have Roadrunner internet. At least DSL hasn’t sucked like I thought it would. TVMax has horrible channel selection, the menu thingy for the programming sucks and is slow, the reception is terrible and it’s way too expensive for what it is. We’re going to get a dish next month, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/9 "2003-10-31T23:20:36Z")
Well, they’ve already lost me as a customer. I have my cable internet with them, due to lack of other options, but there’s no way I was going to pay $35 a month for basic cable. It just wasn’t worth it to me. I have rabbit ears, and I’m sticking with them. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/10 "2003-11-01T02:25:18Z")
Cuck Fomcast. Bastards. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/11 "2003-11-01T17:19:20Z")
Cuck Forporations. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/12 "2003-11-01T18:38:05Z")
I fucking hate Comcast too but it’s because they keep fucking changing the channels around. I just got used to what was where, had my favorites assigned and now they go and change the. CNN has been on 33 from time immemoriam. Fuck them. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/13 "2003-11-01T21:37:46Z")
Smeghead, get a splitter, hook you tv to your computer cable and voila, free cable tv. It’s the same wire, dude! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/14 "2003-11-02T19:39:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elbows \* > \*\*Smeghead, get a splitter, hook you tv to your computer cable and voila, free cable tv. > > It’s the same wire, dude! \*\* It’s also illegal. Don’t advocate illegal activities on the SDMB. Lynn For the Straight Dope ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/15 "2003-11-02T19:53:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\*It’s also illegal. Don’t advocate illegal activities on the SDMB. > > Lynn > For the Straight Dope \*\* It’s also unlikely to work. What TV channels you receive is controlled by switches set in the control box outside your house. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/16 "2003-11-02T20:42:38Z")
Well, I wish my basic cable was only 35. The absolute lowest, most basic cable I can get with Adelpia is $42 a month. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/17 "2003-11-02T21:02:51Z")
Comcast definitely sucks. For some stupid reason we’ve got them for both our cable and internet (for now; currently considering SBC’s DSL offer). And our internet connection is pathetic, it cuts out frequently - this past week has been particularly bad, with hours-long disconnects. So we called for a repairman & he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. However he did take a look at the outside connection box & disconnected the HBO and MovieChannel we were apparently getting in error! For $50 a month, I thought the least they could do was throw in a couple of movie channels, but apparently it was a mistake. Problem fixed = Not. Free movies = Gone. Plus what’s with all those crappy “Paid Programming” channels? Hours and hours of advertising we’re apparently paying for. When Time Warner first came to our neighborhood in Ohio back in 1982 the pitch was all about “commercial-free programming”. Total joke. And MTV doesn’t even show videos anymore. Bleh. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/18 "2003-11-02T23:37:51Z")
**fessie** , when I had that problem, I had to get a supervisor out to my house (and shut my large dogs away from the supervisor and technician). Turns out that my cable line was corroded, and my signal kept cutting out. Sometimes I watch MTV2, but generally I don’t bother, as I don’t like rap/hiphop. Or at least, I have never enjoyed a rap/hiphop performance yet. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/19 "2003-11-03T00:27:31Z")
My apologies, I forgot all about that, it won’t happen again. ---
**Author:** ![sycorob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@sycorob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sycorob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697/20 "2003-11-03T04:16:30Z")
The service is bad too. Dude showed up 2 hours late for his 4 hour window, and he thought he was making a digital install. I kept trying to tell him that I was getting basic service, but he insisted, and plugged it in. 10 hours later, the box still hadn’t synched up, and I called Comcast. They basically laughed at me and told me that I didn’t have digital cable. Don’t tell _me_, dammit, tell your tech. Then they started threatening to charge me for the box if I didn’t return it in 30 days. We eventually set up for a guy to show up and pick it up, some random dude just showing up at 9 at night, still not sure how that works. And for all this, I got to write them a check for $50 for installation. Thanks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-comcast-cable/210697.md?page=2)