Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Advertised costs for TWC TV + Internet in NYC, it's a jungle out there

I want TV and internet access. I don't care who I get these services from, but I don't want to pay a lot (< $100/month) and I want decent service. By TV I mean video on my HD TV, not HD on my computer. And by decent service I mean I want a fair amount of HD channels, including all local channels in HD, and internet speeds at least equivalent to what I have now.  Getting internet access from a provider other than TWC is nearly a non-option for me. I could get TV stations over the air and use Boxee or Roku (and then get Netflix/Hulu), but Time Warner Cable in New York City is the obvious choice for both do for now I'll focus on this.
Since I want two different services from TWC the company states that they can offer customers a discounted bundle, a "Double-Play" bundle is what they call it. I currently have a "Double-Play" bundle, you can see my monthly bill here, but I'm gauging a reset here so let's see what TWC offers and what the prices are from the purview of a new customer.

TWC does provide a pricing list for their services. These are the two advertised Double-Play packages that would be for me:

Double Play Packages (monthly)
Dig Starter Pak & 
HS Online Basic .............$99.90

DTValue & 
HS Online Std** ............$124.75

**Your choice of earthlink Standard
  or Road Runner Broadband.

The earthlink branded service offered by TWC is not worth it so Road Runner is the one I want. I only want the "Dig Starter Pak" of channels. There's only one Double Play bundle that offers the Digital Starter Pak so that would imply I'd have to go with the "HS Online Basic" service (aka Road Runner Broadband Basic). Broadband Basic is a step down from the Road Runner Standard plan I have now and would mean much lower download/upload speeds which I could not tolerate.

Is $124.75/month the best deal there is for TV + Internet? Adding DVR service and HBO to this bundle is what I have now. There's no other cheaper Double Play bundles?

New TWC customers are offered a deal to sign up. Let's see what some of these deals are all about. Such deals would not apply to me under normal circumstances but could be used for leverage when I call looking for a better deal. Here's an advertisement I came across: "Get the best package for you, right here." And here's a screenshot:

Recent TWCNY advertisement

It adverties:
TV + Internet
$79.00 per month for 12 months
Digital TV with 200+ digital channels,
No-fee HD and FREE TWC TV &
WatchESPN Apps. Road Runner Broadband
with speeds up to 10 Mbps.
That sounds like what I want and for just $80 a month! Not sure what "Digital TV with 200+ digital channels" is or what channels are included, maybe this is the Digital Starter Pak? Is DVR service included? I think not, but even if its $15 more that would still be $35/mo cheaper than what I pay now. I click the link to get more details and to see if that package is the Digital Starter Pak (if it's Digital Starter Pak I'd know what the channel lineup would be), but none are forthcoming as you are asked to enter your address as opposed to getting more detail on the package. I don't recall getting a deal that good when I first signed up.

Here's another More Of What You Love, and there's a $150 cash back offer to boot. Some screenshots of these ads:

Another recent TWC advertisement

Rebate offer linked to prior TWC advertisement
This looks like a similar deal even though it appears to have some differences. But it has services I want and the totals are under $100/month, plus this one give you a VISA gift card.

And here's yet another marketing page touting the TWC Featured Offers:

And another TWC advertisement

The details of the offer I'd care most about:
$89.99/Month For 12 Months 
SAVE $12.20/month 

TV: Digital TV + HD DVR
Internet: Up To 10 Mbps
  

Digital TV includes:
  • Over 175 HD channels and cable- exclusives including Start Over, Look Back, No-Fee HD, and over 200 digital channels
  • HD DVR box and service
  • A variety of HDTV channels including free local HD
  • Movies On Demand and Free On Demand
Road Runner Broadband includes:
  • Download speeds up to 10Mbps

All the advertised offers for new customers are $30 or more cheaper per month than what I have now (minus HBO) and this last one is like $50 cheaper. I guess the trick would be to get TWC to put you back on one of these new customer pricing deals. Their normal pricing is just simply pricey.


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