Pajiba

Haven't we seen this kind of pissing match a dozen times before in as many years--every time some contract comes up for renewal between a content provider and a cable service?

One side always airs some dire threat about how the other side is going to take your Matlock away, or whatever. It's a bargaining ploy, nothing more.

This does not mean that I don't hate the shit out of Time Warner, though. Viacom as well, come to that.

While I would in no way, shape or form miss any MTV/VH1 channel - in fact, I would say "good riddance - Comedy Central would be a bit of a blow. But I could live without any new South Parks.

However, I do have to back Time Warner Cable for their fortitude not to cave into the NFL Network and their ridiculous demands. Even as the NFL slapped more games on Thursday nights for their own Network's benefit, TWC still has not added the station.

With that in mind, I could easily see TWC dropping Viacom's channels. And if they would cut us subscribers a break due to that, fine. But I bet my "locked in" rate stays locked in no matter how many channels are added or dropped.

This is the first time I've ever been thankful that we were forced to switch from TWC to Comcast.

Now if my fucking On Demand would only fucking work for the first time in four fucking days, I might be happier with Comcast. But they fucking suck. Long and fucking hard.

Fuck.

Same thing happened with DishNet about a year back, it's a negotiating ploy, just make your voice heard.

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it, Barnes & Noble is selling tote bags with Stephen Colbert on them! My knitting bag is now full of truthiness and wikiality.

Wait a minute...Pookie has a wife?! Yow.

Yeah, we had DirecTV once upon a time. Except for that lose-reception-in-a-high-wind problem, they were pretty much aces.

However, I have to be fair: TW's service here (South TX) has been quite good. But if they actually do deprive me of Stewart and Colbert, I b'leeve I will switch me back to some DirecTV.

Dirty fightin' goin' on...according to Ms. Finke,

"Viacom also placed full-page advertisement...featuring protests by its media programming characters, including Dora the Explorer who is shown crying because she is being taken away from her fans." [emphasis mine]

This is actually kinda fun.

There's always Hulu/Comedy Central's website.

"..And to the lovely ladies of Paheeba...."

Mmmmmmmm...yes go on...

Hmmm...I don't have a working TV--not even rabbit ears--but I watch everything on-line. I'm extremely devoted to The Daily Show and the Colbert Report, for instance. I adore Hulu--all the content minus all but three of the commercials plus viewer comments on the bottom plus webisodes and occasional interviews or deleted scenes. Plus, I have a computer at work and don't have a TV there. It's perfect for me but I realize that I have this question: does viewership on Hulu count toward a show's numbers? Does my rabid devotion get communicated to Comedy Central? How do the numbers work on something like that?

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it, Barnes & Noble is selling tote bags with Stephen Colbert on them! My knitting bag is now full of truthiness and wikiality.

I bought one of those a few months ago! He hangs in my kitchen and keeps me safe from bears.

"Lainey just loves it when we discuss how tight we are. ..."

*head explodes*

Of course I'm drinking at work.

Just one of the many reasons we *heart* TK.

Stupid work computer! I want to read Lainey's fb! Dammit! That's it, I'm quitting my job so I can sit online all day on fb & Pajiba. From my lovely new cardboard box.

"Lainey just loves it when we discuss how tight we are. ..."

*pick tongue up off floor*

Uh, well, uhm, shit, well, uh....

Yeah, funny part is, it has NOTHING to do with me. They're just launching into their own lascivious, filthy whorish ways...and I LOVE them for it!

PS: While on the subject of Slim's head exploding (not even gonna' go for the easy joke there. Not gonna' do it. Nope. I'm too classy with a k!)- can any of you do a split ACROSS THE ENTIRE FLOOR?? I just wanted to close '08 out with a bang. (again, not gonna' go for the easy joke there.)

PPS: Julie, you're the twatwaffle! :P

Man, I feel bad for all the folks that have shit cable/satellite. I have this SureWest Fiber Optic service and it is AWESOME. About $100/month and I get the tits TV package, high speed internet and my phone service. The service is killer and I don't even have to pay some douchehound my first born son to come out and fix it if it breaks.

I will take the SureWest cock out of my mouth now, thank you.

Seems as though someone has been doing their Kegel exercises.

Time Warner lost NBC for several weeks here in Austin. They eventually caved and reached an agreement, but by that time, we had switched to AT&T U-verse. We love it. It kicks Time Warner's butt, and bundling cable, internet and phone, we are saving over $100/mo for the same features (for MORE features) over what we had before.

Investigate your options. I wouldn't want to be a stockholder in TWC these days. You can't be the devil for years and expect good things to keep coming to you forever.

My two cents.

...my wife was telling me for the longest we should go back.

Posted by: Pookie at December 31, 2008 10:32 AM

Pookie...wife...

*head explodes*

I hate Time Warner and they just got over that bullshit thing with NBC. I had to go to a freaking movie theater to watch The Office (if I was feeling rich and didn't want to watch it online the next day. I have weird priorities.)

I should just ditch cable anyway. Between Hulu and Netflix, I don't really need it.

And hold on, Pookie lives in Austin? That explains a lot of the screaming I've been hearing at night.

There's also a cable company, something-or-another Horizon(s) involved. I have Dish Network, and I think I've only lost signal once in bad weather. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Good for TW for standing up to rate hikes. For endless repeats of Mad TV? I won't miss any of those channels.

If my baby girl doesn't get her Noggin in the morning Ima gonna have to kill some people.

Attention Pajiba Overlords: It would appear that your Shill/Plant Filter is malfunctioning (see FMS NYC). Please correct this deficit with all haste. Thank you.

I was really pissed (like, havin' a stroke pissed) about this when I heard about it on the local morning newscast I was broadcasting this morning, but then, I calmed down (to below stroke levels) when I remembered that Time-Warner covers the other side of the Tri-County region; I'm on Comcast.

But, that don't mean Comcast won't follow-suit, if Time-Warner holds.

Fuckin' BUTTholes...

That's okay Rykker...

*holds Rykker's hair back*

This is the last freaking straw. I'm writing my landlord and begging them to drop my building's contract with Time Warner.

I cancelled the bastards' service in November because they screwed up my bill and I couldn't talk to the correct person to fix it. At. All. I first got transferred to billing, who then said, "well, you didn't pay part of your bill (because it wasn't a service I had with them--of course I'm not going to pay that crap!), so you're going to have to talk to collections." Collections then proceeds to say, "well, this is a billing error, so you're going to have to speak to billing!" Back at billing, they can't touch anything because collections has frozen my account, and then collections proceeds to tell me that they can't correct billing issues. Back and forth, back and forth.

Half the time, billing or collections would transfer me to a line that hung up in my ear or went to some other kind of dead end (the wrong department or an answering machine that would NEVER call you back).

I finally asked one of the little turds if there was anyone who was over both billing AND collections who could correct my issue all at once. There isn't! Well, there isn't according to every idiot from Time Warner I spoke with. No, there wasn't a physical office where I could complain about either department's epic fail, either. Their office in my town would just put me on the phone with someone I've probably already spoken with from the same inept departments. Apparently billing and collections are two separate (possibly outsourced?) entities--what kind of retarded company does this to its customer service department?

Oh, and don't get me started about their promises of 24-hour customer service, either. Basic help with your box and on demand type stuff is 24-hour. The people I needed to talk to were NEVER there outside of my busy hours of the day. I don't want to skip school or a meeting or whatever to talk to you bastards. I want to chew you out when I get home, and when I have time. Just like I expected when I went with a company that advertises 24-hour customer service, damn it!

Dealing with their damn phone system would drive anyone nuts. Pardon the master's thesis on epic fails, but I hope they're the next company to fail, and I hope the feds fart in their general direction if they ask for a bailout. Now they've taken away channels, some of which (COLBERT!!!) are people's (read: my) only reason for signing up for cable in the first place? It's the cable company's responsibility to get their negotiating done BEFORE the shit hits the fan, and it's their responsibility to deliver the channels that customers signed up for. This blackout nonsense is absolutely irresponsible, and I hope it blows up in their face.

As the original post said, for the assraping they charge for their services, and for their complete lack of adequate customer service, they can certainly afford to pay Viacom whatever the fuck Viacom's demanding. They sure as hell aren't spending a cent of it improving their customer service.

BTW, if you're in an apartment building that has a proprietary contract with TWC, I'd love you to join me in writing in to your owner to drop the contract. They have a monopoly on a lot of the buildings where I live and I'm certain that's why they charge so damn much for so damn little. They know you have to go with them no matter what. Bastards!

You people still pay for TV? Daily Show/ Colbert Report in their entirety w/limited commercials: hulu.com.

Fuck Time Warner. Dump them. Perfect excuse now. Otherwise, you're just whining.