Other option - Cable or Dish for ~$11/month

electrictroy

Comcast is advertising local channels for only $10/month. No need for the headache of an external antenna.

The Dish website provides local-only service at $6/month. There's an additional five dollar service fee on top of that, which yields a total of $11/month. LINK: https://customersupport.dishnetwork....prepAddress.do ----- Bottom: "Locals for non-qualifying packages are $5.99 per month." So if you don't buy the Family Pack or other packages, you pay $5.99/month plus fees.

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TV Band/whitespace Devices will block my Baltimore/Philly stations. No more channels 2,3,6,10,11,12,13,17,35,45,57,61,65

NonMcTubber

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At least from my limited perspective, the nearest comcast cable does not come within 8 miles of me, and while Dish at $11/mo. might be an option me to receive local channels, but why would I pay either to receive my local channels via satellite when I get them totally free OTA and also get the multicasts satellite or cable do not offer in local channels.?

I note on another thread that you advocated I sell my antenna, so electrictroy, how much are you willing to pay for my 17 yr. old radio shack VU 160XR, after all, it will do a better job on VHF high than your present antenna system!

As for something not from my limited perspective, I can see some people being willing to pay Dish or Comcast that 10-11 bucks/mo.
for their local if they are unable to get locals channels OTA.

__________________
High definition is not the definition of my life.
But knowledge is power and HD does have some potential to increase content variety and choices.

JB Antennaman

My answer would be that the low rate that they advertise is a teaser rate. Something to get their foot in your door. Once you look at the cable and get good service on a daily basis, then they will give you a free programming from time to time.

When the free programming ends, you miss it and you call them and spend a couple of bucks for more service. Then they give you some more free programming and you get teased in a little further.

Before you know it, you are paying $70 a month for cable / Sat. TV..

Local cable and Dish service providers do not have the bandwidth to transmit all the local programming. In the end, I get more stations with my $450 antenna set up than you will with your $11 a month cable bill.

$11 x 12 = $132 a year.

Let's say my antenna set up lasts 10 years.

$132 x 10 = $1320.00

That is if they keep their present rate of $11 a month for 10 years.

That means that my antenna set up is only about 1/3 the cost of cable.

It's the difference between leasing a new car and buying a new car.

You get a 3 year lease and you put X amount down and you pay a little more than you would for a car payment and in 3 years, you turn the car in and you might owe them a couple of thousand dollars on top of that if you put too many miles on it or if you did any damage.

Or you can pay the other 50% they figure you still owe, and you end up paying 140% the cost of buying it outright.

Either way you end up loosing money.

If I don't have the $11 a month to pay the cable / Sat. bill, nobody is going to come and shut my antenna off.

That is why it is called Free Television.

Feel free to comment on this subject, because I don't know it all and I would like to hear other peoples opinions.

crabby_bob

I think I found a dish website with a similar offer here. It was a little confusing because the website makes the following statement.

"Dish Network offers a choice of a Locals-only package for $9.99 a month, or our new Welcome Pack or DishLATINO Welcome Pack for $9.99/mo. ($14.99/mo. with locals where available). Dish Network's new Welcome Pack and DishLATINO Welcome Pack each feature 20 standard-definition channels with something for everyone in the family."

But it lists the following requirements:

* Must be a new, first time subscriber
* Must subscribe to minimum of DishFAMILY, Classic Bronze 100, DishLATINO or Great Wall TV Package
* Must provide a valid social security number

I chatted with a service rep a couple of days ago and told her all I wanted were the local channels and she never mentioned that such a package was available. I was told by garys that you need to call to order it. I was going to call but decide to play with my antenna a little more to see if I can get at least 1 "local" channel. I can almost get WHDH and WCVB

Stewboat

FREE TV! I couldn't agree more. 20 years ago I sold my home and bought another a few miles away, I had cable at the old house and the cable was working at the new house when we moved in. The cable company was going to charge me $15-20 bucks to hook it up, even though it was hooked up and I had been a paying customer for a couple years. I told them they could un-hook it for free instead, they could forget it . Up went the antenna, I have moved 7 times since, 4 of which were into new homes that I have had built, and always up goes the antenna. Currently I live in Winlock WA, when I built this home I checked into Sat, I am 70+ miles form the transmitters, but when I added up what it would cost for HD service on three sets, I figured antenna again was the answer, no matter what it cost. Again, the antenna worked great, granted there was some trial and error, and most people would have given up before they put a set of stacked yagis 20' above the peak of there roof, but they would be the one's forking out $70.00 per month for something that should be free.

BrewerGeorge

Now you tell me.

Bob WB3LEQ

I would NEVER give them my SSN! What valid reason would they have for this? They need an ID card, then show them your drivers license. Maybe they intend to hire you so you can work for your monthly bill? I can read the upcoming headlines: DISH NETWORK SYSTEM HACKED - THOUSANDS OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS STOLEN. That's one list I will NOT be on!

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static1701

I had comcast for a year and then they raised the rates so I canceled. Since that time, I get a flier from them about once a week offering me a great deal to come back. I am happy with my antenna setup and have no plans to ever pay for tv again. What I never understood about the cable providers is that they will spend $$$ on getting a new customer but treat an existing customer like crap. When I was younger, I worked in retail and the company would show us charts on how hard it is to get a new customer and how important is is to keep one once you have them. They would show the value of that customer over their lifetime..stuff like that. I don't understand why the tv providers don't see the value in keeping a customer once they have them. In my subdivision, I see new antennas popping up all the time. Makes me happy

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JB Antennaman

My brother had the Dish Network for 10 years, he was the first person in the family to buy a Sat. Dish system. His landlord at a house that he rented - was a installer for the Dish Network.

It was about $40 a month when he had it turned on and everything worked for the first couple of months. Then they started cutting programming and raising the fee's.

I was the second person in the family to subscribe. My dad was the third.

Then one day my brother got the bright idea that he was going to call the Dish and have them turn it off. That's when they start crying - saying how you have been a customer for 10 years and what can we do to keep you as a customer?

They gave him a Digital recorder for free and a second box for free, gave him 3 months of free programming and also cut his bill by $10 a month.

To me, that is just a slap in the face.

I pay my bill every month and instead of them saying to me = you are a good customer and paid your bill on time every month and we are going to reduce your rate for your service, they say - hey we need $4 more a month every time you turn around.

The social security number is so they know it isn't the same person, who just changed one part of their name and had it turned on again.
There are people that only see the FREE part of the ad's on tv and in the fliers that comes in the mail.

They have the Dish for a year, then they go to Comcast for a year, then to go to Direct TV for a year, then they go back to Comcast and all they do is jump around and some of them don't even pay the bill the last month or two - until the service provider decides to shut it off.

The whole time, I am the sucker that pays my bill every month and doesn't get a break for being a good customer.

Most of the television programs that people watches is on local OTA.

The programs you will miss is Monday Night Football, NASCAR, Hockey, Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers.

Everything else, including Jerry Springer and American Chopper - you can watch with a VCR programmed to receive it in the middle of the night when some network like the CW or Fox broadcasts it.

electrictroy

You don't have to give any company your SS number. You can request a generic customer number, and by law they must assign you one. I called Dish and stated I want *nothing* but local channels. The customer rep asked "Are you sure?", I said yes, and then she comfirmed I could get ~12 local channels for $6 a month plus $5 service fee. I think that's a good deal, not for me, but for someone like my parents whose antenna only gets 4 channels with no ABC or CBS or PBS.

JBantennaman: You only listed the flat cost but did not include the antenna installation fees which for many persons is absolutely necessary, since they don't know how to do it themselves. That brings total cost to around $300. My brother is one of those persons who, rather than give himself a headache, would rather just call Comcast and have them connect his TVs with the $10/month, 20 channel service. YOU would not. My post is addressing those living in Philly who can't get ABC6. My post is addressing those living in Southern Lancaster PA who can't get ABC27 because it's too far away. My post is addressing those living in Baltimore or Washington or Boston or L.A. who cannot get channels 7,9,11,or 13.

For those persons the cable or dish option may be a solution.

I had local-only service when living in Bel Air Maryland and it worked great. Always perfect reception, never had to fiddle with an antenna, and Comcast provided channels from D.C. which would have been impossible to get from my location 80 miles away.

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TV Band/whitespace Devices will block my Baltimore/Philly stations. No more channels 2,3,6,10,11,12,13,17,35,45,57,61,65

ziggy29

Probably for a credit check, I would assume.

Still, one has to remember that even with a "teaser" rate you're going to have additional receiver fees (with more than one set), HD fees perhaps, DVR fees perhaps (if you want one), and so on. So by the time all is said and done, unless all you have is one SD set with no bells and whistles, you're well on your way to $20 a month or more.

NonMcTubber

We also have to remember that for Dish to get you those locals for $11.00/mo., Dish has the upfront investment in a satellite Dish, and satellite receiver, some coax cable and has to pay an installer to get it going. Its a pretty big up front investment that will take a very long time to pay back at $11.00/mo.

Cable, as long as they have near to your house lines near you, does not have as big of a upfront investment.

__________________
High definition is not the definition of my life.
But knowledge is power and HD does have some potential to increase content variety and choices.

electrictroy

That's probably why Dish charges you $11 instead of the $5 that local channels normally cost. The higher rate helps pay for the equipment (which is typically provided free with a contract).

Comcast put a frickin' box in my front yard. I was tempted to charge them with trespassing, but I figured I wouldn't get anywhere with that. The Town Commissioners think they can appropriate my land at any time they feel like it, so I'd probably lose in court. There's a lot of mis-information being spread by you and others. First-off, Dish service includes hooking-up two television sets as part of the basic rate, and Comcast service has no limits on how many TVs you hook-up (just keep splitting the coaxial line).

Second, most people are only trying to keep their old analog sets working. They aren't interested in HD, but if for some reason they desire to see 720p or 1080i broadcasts, Dish provides them at no extra charge. Every local station is sent in HD.

And finally the "teaser" rate doesn't exist for Dish. They've always provided locals for $11 per month. Heck they provide basic cable for only twenty a month - Dish is one of the cheapest ways to get TNT, USA, Nickelodeon, et cetera.

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TV Band/whitespace Devices will block my Baltimore/Philly stations. No more channels 2,3,6,10,11,12,13,17,35,45,57,61,65

pappylap

I almost choke each time I see my local cable affiliate advertise upgrading to HD for only $5.00 more a month they neglect to include that HD programming to ESPN, TNT etc is $15.00 more and of course the pay movie channels are even more...........

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blindowl2006

I read a lot of the post here but don't have much time to reply...I had an old Dish 2700 with the Welcome Pak for a couple of months and it died. After several phone calls to dish I got a box (321) I think with dual tuners...for $29.00. No lease I insisted that I own the equipment. So we spend $10 or so a month in addition to the Free OTA stuff..about 30 channels. In the last year I put in 4 other dishes for FTA (Free To Air) stuff. 3 Ku band dishes and 1- C band dish with receiver. New and used parts, I probably have $300 in it. Probably get about 500 channels including the odd ball stuff....No hacking 100% legitimate stuff. Tv from all over the world. So while the neighbors look at me like I'm nuts with 5 dishes....I tell them they're nuts for spending $100 a month for the half dozen channels they regularly watch. Long live OTA and FTA! Blind