Big cable takes advantage of DTV confusion
Posted by - 04/08/08 at 10:08:00 am
The DTV coupon program allows you to continue watching free over-the-air TV, without needing a new TV or a cable subscription.
(Credit: DTV2009.gov)
In case you didn’t know, the upcoming DTV transition from analog to digital television shouldn’t affect cable subscribers at all. But that’s not stopping cable companies from using the increasingly well-publicized and misunderstood transition to encourage potential customers to cough up more money.
Take this report by HD Guru Gary Merson, who called an NYC-area cable provider Cablevision posing as a regular customer and was told that “due to government regulation,” the company would no longer carry analog channels. As Gary points out, this is patently false–nothing in the government’s mandated transition prevents cable companies from continuing service as-is. They may, however, decide to force analog-only subscribers to get a digital subscription and the requisite box, which of course adds a monthly box rental fee and opens up the possibility of customers ordering lucrative Pay-Per-View and Video-On-Demand services.
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