Comcast Sweetens Deals In Advance Of DTV Switch

Cable MSO offering deals on services as part of DTV transition initiative.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/8/2008 8:05:00 AM

Billing it as part of an initiative to help viewers prepare for the DTV transition in February 2009, Comcast is offering a year of free basic cable service to customers that also take at least one other service like phone or Internet access.

It is also offering a year's worth of basic cable for $10 a month, and giving current customers free hook-ups for additional sets in the home.

Cable has increasingly been using the DTV transition as an opportunity to pick up new customers with the message that viewers are taken care of if they have cable. “The simple fact is that basic cable is the easiest path through the digital transition..." said Derek Harrar, GM and senior VP of Comcast’s video services division, adding "with no new boxes, no new remote, no antennas and no reception issues.”

But Comcast also provides a Web site with DTV information on all the options, including buying a digital TV or a DTV-to-analog converter box.

Talkback

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HOW ABOUT CURRENT SUBS?

Existing Comcast subs just got a rate hike. Now expanded basic in my area is $58/mo. With DTV's superior picture (MUCH better than analog cable and NO extra compression of HDTV), how about offering a break to existing customers who might be tempted in tough economic times to put up an antenna and be content with FREE HDTV and no cable at all?

If existing customers aren't offered a comparable break, some are going to churn. It's already happening, according to your own stats.

Adam Smith - 10/8/2008 4:22:00 PM EDT

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