If you’re a satellite or cable TV subscriber, you’ve become accustomed to yearly rate hikes.
There’s nothing you can do but weep.
It’s not like you could live without “Breaking Bad,” right?
(If you went to Centennial High with Aaron Paul, tell me it’s not crazy seeing him on that show.)
But as bills keep growing faster than paychecks, more consumers are actively seeking ways to lower the cost of that monthly gut punch from TV providers.
It’s often as easy as a phone call.
TV guru Phillip Swann, president and CEO of website TVPredictions.com, says pay-TV subscribers have never had more power.
Savvy consumers will call customer service. They negotiate. And, because competition is fiercer than ever, these companies often listen.
What’s the harm in asking nicely for a lower monthly bill? Or for additional channels?
“It can be done,” Swann says. “You can do it.”
Chances are, you’ll be offered a carrot of some type. Sometimes it’s three months of a premium channel such as Starz. Other times — particularly if you’re no longer under one of those dreaded two-year contracts — they’ll actually knock $5, $10, $15 or more off your bill for three months, six months, even a year.
Dish Network just raised rates this month. DirecTV’s prices go up an average of 4.5 percent on Feb. 7. And CableOne? A call and email Friday to a Boise sales manager was not returned by press time. But you know what’s always coming down the line eventually in the pay-TV world.
It’s not necessarily the fault of the TV providers. The costs they pay for entertainment content on your zillion channels keeps skyrocketing. Nevertheless, strapped consumers just can’t afford these bills.
You may have heard of people who “cut the cord” — ditch satellite and cable TV entirely. Some turn to Internet streaming devices such as Roku and add streaming Netflix or Hulu Plus for a minimal monthly cost.
But Swann says the idea of cord cutting as a widespread phenomenon — and serious threat to pay-TV — is ludicrous.
“Statistical surveys have shown it to be B.S.,” he adds. “We’re talking less than 1 percent of the nation — if that.”
(As a sports fan, I can tell you: Cord cutting definitely is not in my near future. There’s just no content.)
This year, Swann says, it’s more likely that increasing numbers of consumers will try to find ways to shave costs off their rising pay-TV bills.
“People are going to look at their bill, scrutinize it very carefully and decide what they can do without,” he says. “And that’s bad for premium movie channels.”
Indeed. I’m not sure I’d want to be the suit running HBO or Showtime right now.
Do you really watch those channels for movies? Or are you hooked on one of their original series? If so, could you wait and watch “Game of Thrones” or “Homeland” when they come out on DVD — or through whatever pipeline the next new technology brings?
These days, there’s almost always another option.
If you’re a pay-TV subscriber hoping to save a few bucks, that option might be the idea of considering a lower-cost introductory offer from a competitor.
Becoming a “free agent,” as Swann calls these consumers.
“They’re just getting better deals,” he says. “They’re shopping around.”
Or it could be as simple as making a 10-minute phone call to your current provider.
Either way, prices are going to keep heading up, up, up — in 2013 and beyond.
“It’s a time to seriously evaluate your monthly bill and to decide what you really need and want,” Swann says. “It’s a time to get on the phone with your TV provider and say, ‘What can you do for me? Because I’ve been doing a lot for you.’ ”
TONIGHT IN ‘THE OTHER STUDIO’
Tim Johnstone and I will spin new music from Mike Cooley, Jim James, Foals, Skrillex, The Joy Formidable, Camper Van Beethoven and more.
“The Other Studio” airs at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM The River.
IN SCENE FEB. 1
- A preview of what’s to come in movie theaters in 2013.
- Sly Stallone is back on the big screen in “Bullet to the Head.”
- What does it mean to live in a creative community? Some of Boise’s most innovative thinkers will gather at the Esther Simplot center on First Thursday and address the issue.
