Directv,et all This is in the form of a question Internet

Hi, I used to work for directv and a couple different cable companies. The satellite companies seem to be the most consistent with their packages. You get a pamphlet and you know how man channels you're getting (most are channels you'll never watch) and how much you're paying...for the FIRST year! Then the price significantly jumps after the first year! BEWARE! 

Ive worked in the cable industry for years and I still cant figure out their pricing packages! A lot of that has to do with them offering more than TV alone. Cable companies offer Internet and Phone also so that confuses stuff. Anyways back to the pricing, most cable companies will offer the promotion price for 6 months to a year WITHOUT a contract. Not only that, after the promo period a lot of customers will call in to cancel and negotiate another promotion price or cancel and sign up under their spouses name to get the promo price. 

So it seems like the cable company is the way to go, right? Dont be so sure of that! So with cable companies, you get signal via a series of cable strung throughout the ENTIRE city! A LOT OF THNGS CAN AND DO GO WRONG because of that design. Cable companies have an entire department of 'service techs', each with full routes everyday, with the sole purpose of responding to 'outages' or stuff that went wrong in the cable plant. With Satellite companies, the dish on your house receives the signal wirelessly through rain, clouds, snow, and sunshine so there is FAR less things to go wrong because its so simple! 

Now we examine the installers, with the cable company, they usually train the installers about 6 weeks! Thats a huge commitment for the company to make sure the installer is properly trained. Depending on the company though, that can mean nothing if they dont have quality control setup because installers will get lazy. Now when I got hired on with Directv, my training consisted of 3 DAYS!!! Some companies will train up to 2 weeks, though. For me it was "Heres how to drill a hole through the wall, attach the cable to the house, and point the dish" boom, done! That being said, they DO NOT have strict guidelines and no matter how much they think their installs are quality, they AREN'T! And they DO NOT adhere to industry standards, NEC (National Electronic Code) or NESC (National electric safety code) standards. So with the satellite companies, chances are you're getting a sh***y install. So if you go with a Sat company, hopefully the installer knows how to properly point your dish (you'd be surprised) and you get an install that doesnt look ugly. Id watch both installers (especially the Sat ones) like a hawk and dont let them do anything to your house unless it looks professional. Oh yeah, with the Satellite companies, most of them DO NOT have Quality Control department in place. Ive seen installs in sacramento, ca and they have a QC department and their installs there were somewhat decent (the QC techs were all previous installers who didnt hack it at doing installs). And Ive seen installs in smaller cities and they OBVIOUSLY do not have QC departments. I only wonder how apartments and homeowners dont sue them for shotty workmanship. 

I know this was above and beyond what you were asking, but hopefully it gives consumers good insight into what to expect between the 2 different kinds of companies. 

Ps. NO! a la cart channels will never happen. Contracts would be 'impossible' to establish with each and every station. Because of that, a la cart channels would not be cost effective. 

pss. You're most likely going to get a scratched and dinged up cable box with the cable company. But a New or  "new looking" box with the sat company. 

psss. If you go with a sat company, YOUR DISH WILL LOOK UGLY!  It will stick out like a sore thumb. Therefore DON'T EXPECT IT NOT TO!

i would like an answer  about directv and other cable companies why do they have the right to lock you into a contract.

The don't have a right - you don't have to accept their PROMOTION.  That's what they are doing-they are offering a promotional price, that is significantly less than the regular price in return for your commitment to their services for a fixed length of time (usually 2 years.)  The problem is when the promotion is OVER, and regular pricing goes into effect or someone cancels the service before the obligatory period is over-than an early termination fee is assessed.

Dish and Directv will allow you to sign up AT THE REGULAR PRICE without a fixed term of service.  However, this monthly rate is much higher than their promotional price of $25 or $29 per month.

The cable tv companies will allow you to sign up at their  regular price without a fixed term of service as well.

Unfortunately for some consumers, they fall for the promotional price advertised on TV, billboards and magazines WITHOUT READING THE FULL TERMS OF THE PROMOTION-then they are surprised when the promotional period (usually one year) is over and the regular pricing goes into effect.

The same thing occurs will cellular telephone companies.  Their scheme is a little different in that they offer you a free cell phone or a popular cell phone at a significantly reduced price in exchange for a commitment to use their services for a fixed term-usually 2 years.  If you don't mind paying the retail price for your cellphone, you can sign up with any cellphone service, promotion free so that you are not obligated to continue using their service.

With any of these promotions, it is normal that an EARLY TERMINATION FEE is assessed if the consumer cancels the service before the obligatory term is expired.

I hope I've answered your question.