Netflix, the streaming video and DVD service, saw its stock price soar over 22% Thursday after reporting earnings results that beat Wall Street expectations. The company said it added 610,000 new customers last quarter, in a …
Comcast
You’re Paying $100 a Year to Watch Sports on TV—Even If You Don’t Watch
As a rule, consumers don’t like paying for things they don’t enjoy. Even so, despite the widespread consumer desire for an a la carte model, in which pay TV customers could select (and be charged) only for the channels they want, …
Gotta Have Cable: Has the Cord-Cutting Trend Slowed Down?
Month after month, hundreds of thousands of cable TV subscribers keep closing their accounts. Roughly a half-million subscriptions were canceled in the second quarter of 2011 alone. Even so, there’s an argument that 2011 isn’t …
Is Pay Per Channel Cable TV Inevitable?
Most consumers like the idea of pay per channel cable TV, in which the customer would select a la carte the channels he actually watches, rather than pay for a bundled service with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of channels that are …
Comcast’s Internet Essentials: $10-a-Month Service for Low-Income Families
If you live in an area served by Comcast and your kids receive free lunches at school through the National School Lunch Program, you may qualify for a new Internet service from Comcast, which costs just $9.95 a month.
Can Comcast Cut Waits for The Cable Guy?
As a consumer, nothing is more annoying than being told to wait for the cable guy during a ridiculously long window – yes, we’ll fix your system, but our repairman will arrive between noon and 4 p.m. When he’s then late, or doesn’t show up at all, smashing the set with a baseball bat sounds like a reasonable response.
139 Money Tips: Father’s Day Freebies, Designer Clothing on the Cheap, Most Annoying Bank Fees
This week’s link roundup also includes simple rules of thumb for buying everything from coffee to a home, and insights as to why personal finance can be as tricky—and messy—as potty training.
Big Cable Isn’t Scared of Netflix, or That People Are Too Poor to Pay Monthly Bills
At an industry event this week, cable executives laughed off the idea of large-scale “cord cutting,” or that Netflix and Internet video could one day replace their businesses. They also justified high prices charged for cable …
Surprise, Surprise: Basic Cable Costs More in Towns without FCC Regulation
Guess what happens when regulators don’t restrict cable rates, and when there’s not much legitimate competition in the marketplace? Cable companies jack up the rates. Whodathunkit?
180 Money Tips, Holiday Gift Edition
Including links to more than 80 unusual and unusually thrifty gift ideas, along with money lessons from “The Simpsons” and money lessons for irresponsible 20-somethings, smart financial moves to make for the holidays and dumb financial moves that’ll make you fat.
All the Rage: Customer Service Rage
At some point or another, haven’t you ever felt like taking a hammer and bashing the computer of a customer service representative?
Pay TV and At-Home Movies, by the Numbers
Here’s a big roundup of statistics revealing just how much we love watching TV and movies at home, how much couch potatoes are willing to pay for such services, and also where it looks like things are heading from here.
