DirecTV pulls Rob Lowe ads

[tzjung]

The thing is....I don't see how DirecTV is being deceptive.

1.) DirectTV is offering most channels in 1080P vs 1080i that most cable companies offer HD in. Win for DirectTV
2.) Customer service....we KNOW that Comcast is known for being voted the worst company in the US several years running, mostly due to over-pricing and terrible customer service.
3.) Being up 99% of the time. That is an easy one to prove, although it is really annoying when there is bad weather and the satellite signal predictively fails.

 

[SaraV]

 

[CyCrazy]

Is that what your wife told you?

Now that's funny right there!

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Hearing the intro from St Elmo's Fire in the background always made me smile...but some of those Rob Lowes were reeeeeeeeally creepy...

 

[CY88CE11]

The thing is....I don't see how DirecTV is being deceptive.

1.) DirectTV is offering most channels in 1080P vs 1080i that most cable companies offer HD in. Win for DirectTV
2.) Customer service....we KNOW that Comcast is known for being voted the worst company in the US several years running, mostly due to over-pricing and terrible customer service.
3.) Being up 99% of the time. That is an easy one to prove, although it is really annoying when there is bad weather and the satellite signal predictively fails.

The ones mentioned in the article as questionable are the claims that DirecTV has better picture and sound quality than cable, and that DirecTV has more sports channels than cable. Those are the ones the NAD said were unsupported.

 

[3TrueFans]

I just ate this tuna sandwich I found on the bus.

 

[MeanDean]

As a mandatory Comcast customer (comes with the Condo association dues) I can tell you their customer service is poor.

The only thing worse is their Guide/Selection format. Whereas the little bitty cable company in Clarence IA lets you program favorites so you only scroll through channels you want, the Comcast guide is a nightmare. Scrolling by individual channels, every 5th click is a pay-per-view option.

The channel order makes absolutely NO sense (ESPN and ESPN2 are adjacent channels but ESPN News is 70 channels away. I don't even know where ESPNU is but its at least another 100 channels away from ESPN News.

The Spanish language channels (dozens of them!) are mixed in with the English channels somewhat, but then there are whole spans of nothing but Spanish language channels with the occasional English one stuck in between there somewhere.

I didn't even know that we got FOX Sports 1 until I physically scrolled through all the channels and finally found it in the 400's somewhere.

Also no way to program the guide to just show the channels in your plan. Select a channel and if you don't get it you get the error message, if you do get it, you get it. But no way of knowing until you select it.

No sorting/searching by types (Sports, Drama, Movies, Comedy), just a crappy block guide. And the Guide also has so few characters in it you often have no idea what the show it as it will truncate after 1 or 2 words. Lastly, the guide is often completely wrong. The show you selected isn't the show that's actually on the channel.

Comcast's crappy reputation is 100% legitimate.

 

[isuforlife]

i like the naked girl on a horse now

 

[Incyte]

At $135/month for DirecTV for 3 HD tv's, I think my DirecTV days are coming to an end.

 

[HFCS]

They're not complaining about the Rob Lowe characters. But rather the claims he made about reliability and quality.

I wonder how accurate Comcast's commercial claims are? If I were DirecTV, I'd start unloading both barrels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLCeIu2zIa0

And remember this gem from their Customer Service Dept?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYUvpYE99vg

Time Warner Cable's (Comcast's monopoly buddy) marketing failed to tell me how I would need to become a prisoner in my home for 38 hours across four days in order to get my internet connection set up. Hope DirecTV slugs them right back.

 

[CarlHungus]

There are many reasons people hate comcast. This isn't a reason to hate them, but it certainly doesn't help their image

 

[IceCyIce]

If you can't beat them - File a lawsuit

 

[jbhtexas]

Time Warner Cable's (Comcast's monopoly buddy) marketing failed to tell me how I would need to become a prisoner in my home for 38 hours across four days in order to get my internet connection set up. Hope DirecTV slugs them right back.

Be thankful that merger hasn't been approved yet, and pray that it doesn't get approved. As bad as TWC is (and I have TWC), Comcast is worse. For one, Comcast has caps on Internet data in many markets. So far, TWC doesn't.

 

[runbikeswim]

I guess I don't get why the issue with cable companies. I hated Direct tv always being down every time there is a storm, and with TWC I can count the times on one hand I have had service issues in 8 years. The only problem with all of them is the cost, and Direct tv, Comcast, etc. should be more worried about streaming services and the new Apple integrated tv rumored for 2017. We'be started testing Roku with sling, hulu, etc.

 

[CyFan61]

I found them to be only mildly humorous. Just thought it was a little petty of Comcast to complain about it. Come up with something funnier, fight fire with fire!

Serious? If your commercial is funny enough, you can just make stuff up?

Comcast sucks but so does DirecTV, and Time Warner, and Mediacom, etc. Maybe they wouldn't suck so much if they all competed with one another in the same markets, but instead we are doomed to a TV oligopoly that just... well, sucks.

 

[brianhos]

I have not seen anything inaccurate about those commercials. Will cable be pulling the commercials where they say directv goes out when it is windy?

 

[HFCS]

Be thankful that merger hasn't been approved yet, and pray that it doesn't get approved. As bad as TWC is (and I have TWC), Comcast is worse. For one, Comcast has caps on Internet data in many markets. So far, TWC doesn't.

I just moved from where Comcast was my only option for solid high speed to where TWC is.

So far TWC is $13 a month cheaper for a more consistent connection at a similar tier. Still, the wait windows were INSANE...10 hour wait window three days in a row where the guy didn't show and didn't call.

 

[jbhtexas]

I guess I don't get why the issue with cable companies. I hated Direct tv always being down every time there is a storm, and with TWC I can count the times on one hand I have had service issues in 8 years.

I don't have enough fingers or toes to count the number of service issues I've had with TWC over the past 5 years. The most annoying is that when we have the seasonal temperature change where the temperature goes predominantly above or below 60F, my Internet becomes unreliable or completely goes out for several days, because the temperature controller on some upstream piece of equipment freaks out. First, I have to call tech support and get the tech out to verify that the modem signals are out of spec, and then he has to schedule a line crew to come out, and it goes from there. For some reason, it's not sufficient that this issue is well-documented and the initial techie can see remotely that the modem signals are way out of whack, we have to go through this stupid game.

Furthermore, in TX, TWC went to court and got all the city franchise agreements invalidated. Before that, at least we could file a complaint with the city, and the city could pressure TWC to do something. Now, we have to complain to the state PSC, who does...nothing. The only authority the PSC has is to approve companies to operate in a service area, and this approval is given something like every ten years. So in theory, the PSC could deny to renew a company because of poor service, but that has yet to happen. Where I live, there is no other option for high-speed (100 MB) Internet, which I need for work, and TWC has no accountability.

I will say that the techs that come out are generally very nice and understanding.

So there you go...

 

[ImJustKCClone]

As a mandatory Comcast customer (comes with the Condo association dues) I can tell you their customer service is poor.

The only thing worse is their Guide/Selection format. Whereas the little bitty cable company in Clarence IA lets you program favorites so you only scroll through channels you want, the Comcast guide is a nightmare. Scrolling by individual channels, every 5th click is a pay-per-view option.

The channel order makes absolutely NO sense (ESPN and ESPN2 are adjacent channels but ESPN News is 70 channels away. I don't even know where ESPNU is but its at least another 100 channels away from ESPN News.

The Spanish language channels (dozens of them!) are mixed in with the English channels somewhat, but then there are whole spans of nothing but Spanish language channels with the occasional English one stuck in between there somewhere.

I didn't even know that we got FOX Sports 1 until I physically scrolled through all the channels and finally found it in the 400's somewhere.

Also no way to program the guide to just show the channels in your plan. Select a channel and if you don't get it you get the error message, if you do get it, you get it. But no way of knowing until you select it.

No sorting/searching by types (Sports, Drama, Movies, Comedy), just a crappy block guide. And the Guide also has so few characters in it you often have no idea what the show it as it will truncate after 1 or 2 words. Lastly, the guide is often completely wrong. The show you selected isn't the show that's actually on the channel.

Comcast's crappy reputation is 100% legitimate.

TV guide.com

Saves all kind of time, more user friendly than any onscreen guide I've seen so far...

 

[MaccloNe]

Everything sucks after the 500th time that you've seen it.

Not the case with models or porn stars.