Thanks for listing them out.
What are y’all doing temporarily to get ESPN back?
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After some deliberation, I am cancelling Spectrum and moving to FuboTV. They look to have the best sports option and provide a good quality feed.
The only thing I am missing are the turner networks TBS, TNT, etc, but for me those are only for NBA, so plan to cover with NBA League Pass.
In addition, I have decided to cancel my bundled Hulu and Disney+, but will keep espn+. I already own all the movies I like, and their streaming content has not been very compelling to me of late.
I have always been very happy with Spectrum, and I support what I understand is their objectives on all of this. But, blacking me out on US Open and CFB opening weekend is unforgivable.
I just wish there was a way to get sports w/o giving ESPN any money.
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I can't make any major moves til next month because I need Ballys for baseball, and my current Spectrum deal is sweeter than any streaming alternative. Thankfully, I'm only missing 1-2 ESPN games per week, and at the moment, I'm content to listen to radio and watch the condensed game later. If we're still in this situation come October, I'll switch (probably to Sling at first), but I really hope that cooler heads prevail.
Fubo TV has Bally and the cheapest plan is $72 a month I believe. Looking into switch with them.
How are you guys watching, or planning to watch Ballys? Do you use their own app?
Nothing for the moment. Hopefully wait this one out, although that scathing Spectrum letter seems like it might not simply be a matter of time any more.
I’m currently just watching Highlights because Bally’s subscription is way to high for $20 a month.
What did the letter say? Shoot Spectrum is losing so may customers during this time. I have seen so many customers cancel there service and subscribe elsewhere. It’s funny that they are offering a Fubo subscription for $20 off for two months.
There used to be a little 'glitch' with Fubo and Channels. You could subscribe to Fubo and paid for one period then put the subscription on pause and the Fubo app and web access would show as blocked for pause but external access didn't update to be blocked. Channels would still work just fine.
It might be Spectrum’s intention to abandon TV and lay the blame at Disney’s feet. Spectrum loses its TV customers but retains the higher-margin internet base. Actually, not a dumb move.
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No idea. I have yet to find it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/business/charter-disney-cable-fight.html
Anyone got a link to the investor letter?
The Future of Multichannel Video - Moving Forward Or Moving On (charter.com)
Notable that Charter is stating "Failure of TV Everywhere" explicitly.
Thanks for posting that PDF. It's interesting. Understanding this is Charter's position letter and biased towards their own viability, here's what I took from it;
- Disney is watching other entities that aggregate TV channels (Multichannel Video Programming Distributors, MVPD), or even one network for that matter, basically holding the content for ransom, and apparently succeeding, or expected to succeed.
- Disney is their own MVPD, and they create their own content. Charter doesn't create any real [valued] content to my knowledge. Disney doesn't give a crap what Charter thinks. I would imagine other services that broker Disney content will experience this same heavy hand of Disney soon.
- There is a number that Disney will sell their content for, Charter doesn't like it. Most of Charter's customers probably wouldn't like it, but they could offer it as an 'Disney package add-on' for the Disney price demand. Disney will probably offer the same services at a lower rate than Charter can provide it for, see #2.
I think Charter's letter says that they aren't in a good position to continue brokering video content, and they are basically warning investors of a breakdown that has been in progress for over a decade, due to their own fault, and that of industry and technological changes.
So, to the consumer, if you don't value the service, don't buy it. There will be casualties, and the US and other nations will come under hard times again at some point in the future, which will create another whole new landscape for these media companies.
I used to hate cable TV, because I had to buy all those channels I never watched, not really realizing that they had some real buying power at the time. Now, looking back, I don't know if we'll ever see all TV service aggregated like cable once did - that time is apparently over.
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I just ditched Spectrum TV. I used the streaming app exclusively on Apple TV and pulled the TVE stations into channels. The service was reliable and great, but losing these stations and the $22 for local broadcast fees finally pushed me to cancel.
I’m going with YouTube TV for now. I had zero issues pulling the TVE stations into Channels and I can cancel at any time with a few simple clicks. Don’t get me started on the frustration of trying to cancel Spectrum 
I'm not sure that this Channels DVR forum realizes the impact that this will have on the future of linear television. Not just the Charter/Spectrum provider.
That $23 for local channels is ridiculous. Especially since I already get them using and hdhomerun. Without them my bill would only cost $35 total.
I'm with Spectrum on this one. Someone has to draw the line in the sand. Although I did have to change 7 out of my 15 channels from my TV Choice package. But I doubt this will ever reduce my cable bill.
I just got my monthly bill and instead of providing a refund or discount for the loss of the Disney services, they added another dollar a month for TV services. A dollar isn't anything to worry about, but the concept of acknowledging they are providing less services for an increased monthly fee seems like their usual train of thought.
I think it's probably just Charter/Spectrum's time to stop offering TV services.
I currently pay for what Spectrum calls 'gig' Internet. Rarely do I ever see a full gig down (this with a fully wired connection to the cable modem using a very fast PC with the latest nvme drive), and the upload of course is just 35 to 40 mbits/sec. Relatives nearby just got setup with fiber, 300 down, 300 up, for $30/month guaranteed for 3 years. As soon as that comes to my neighborhood, I have no idea how Spectrum could continue any form of business.
My parents had their bill raised to $74.99 for 300/10 service. 2 price increases in a year. My gig internet costs less. I called spectrum and they did not care. It's robbery for that service. No discounts for military and seniors. Horrible company.
I don't know about the military, but they do have senior discounts, if the senior qualifies. I know a couple seniors that are currently paying just over $20/month for broadband Internet. It's 35 down and 5 up, which is plenty sufficient for these seniors.
I think they started here and had to fill out some forms:
https://www.spectrum.com/cp/broadband-get-qualified
I believe the price has remained the same for nearly 3 years now.
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The channels are back! Well, most. Some channels aren't coming back including FXX, FXM, Freeform, and Nat Geo Wild.
Edit: Here's the press release.
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