Comcast Resorts To Cheap Measures In Order To Appear Cheap

Over the years, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Comcast (CMCSA). On one hand, I love having access to high speed internet and high definition cable television, but I also resent their monopolization over my entertainment choices. Because they’ve worked out sweetheart deals with cities in the Bay Area, I have little choice but to use their services. If I owned my own home, I could consider satellite, but as a renter, I’ve found very few landlords who are willing to approve a dish.

I probably should have been upset about their latest fee increase, when the Toeman warned me about it, but it didn’t hit home until I got my latest Comcast bill and saw a 6.5% increase on the price of my television. This follows a 6% increase last year and a 10% increase the year before. What makes this fee increase even more frustrating, is that I wouldn’t have to pay it if I would just break down and become a Comcast DVR subscriber.

It’s been no secret that Comcast has objected to the cable card mandate, but what most people don’t understand is how big of a threat the stand alone DVR is to Comcast. What the public thinks is a $5 surcharge, is really a difference of $56 per month for my own situation. Over the years, Comcast has fueled their corporate profits by upgrading a massive analog cable base to their digital platform and they’ve done that by bundling these digital services with DVR and HDTV features.

If you actually compare the basic analog tv lineup to the basic digital tier, there are few differences between them. When I asked a Comcast rep which new channels I would get as a digital subscriber, he cited the Hallmark channel, CSPAN2 and ATV as reasons to upgrade. Not exactly a very compelling lineup.

Because Comcast knows that people won’t upgrade for CSPAN2 alone, they force their customers to upgrade, if they want any advanced services. This means that the real cost of HDTV and DVR services has been buried in the forced digital upcharge that subscribers pay.

In the Bay Area, Comcast currently requires you to subscribe to their Digital Preferred Plus package before they’ll rent you a DVR. The problem with this package is that it has an ongoing rate of $98.45, plus an additional $11.95 for the DVR. This comes to $110.40 per month or over $1,300 per year. Now in all fairness, this package also includes HBO and Starz, but if you don’t care about these channels, Comcast still won’t rent you the DVR unless you pay for them.

Now compare this to the $54.29 that I was paying as an analog sub. As a lifetime TiVo (TIVO) owner, my only additional monthly cost is the $1.95 for both cablecards, which means that I’m saving $650 per year by not being suckered into Comcast’s digital packages. Even when you consider that I paid $800 for a series 3 TiVo, plus $300 for the lifetime transfer and another $300 to upgrade to a massive hard drive, I still come out ahead, after a little more than two years of service.

If you are a stand alone user, chances are you are already taking advantage of the analog loophole. Because Comcast has to provide cablecards, it lets you bypass the bogus $9.99 HDTV “converter” charge. If you are a non HD standalone user, then you probably prefer the basic package anyway, because it means that you don’t have to mess around with the annoying IR blasters.

By raising prices on their analog subs, Comcast is effectively adding a non-DVR tax for people who have chosen to go outside of their system. By increasing the price on the basic television, but not digital subs, they are effectively penalizing their competition.

If Comcast wants to raise rates, they should have to do so evenly. Instead of forcing consumers to buy channels they don’t want, they should instead be offering a la carte DVR services that don’t require the digital subscription. I can understand why they would want to encourage people to upgrade, but they shouldn’t be allowed to abuse their monopoly in order to appear cheaper than their competition.