The Road Runner High Speed Online Service offers downloading and surfing speeds that are over one hundred times faster than dial up, giving the family access to the web for banking, shopping, downloading music and games or doing research for school and other projects. Their digital phone service includes local and long-distance calls to anywhere in the United States for one low monthly rate, with popular calling features given at no extra charge.
Their cable programming packages include sports and movie channels, with access to familiar favorites like network programming, children’s programming and music channels. Their programming and prices are competitive with other companies, offering quality entertainment the entire family can enjoy, at affordable rates that fit into the monthly budget.
Time Warner Cable, along with other cable TV providers, negotiates contracts with broadcast companies like News Corp, the company that owns Fox Network. The prices that are negotiated in these contracts are the determining factor in how much a subscriber pays for monthly cable service. Traditionally, there has not been a lot reported about this process. However, recently, when it was time to renew a contract with News Corp., Time Warner Cable had to involve their customers, due to the incredible price increases News Corp. was proposing.
Time Warner Cable felt the suggested price increases were unfair to their customers and left the decision up to the customers. Time Warner Cable package customers could choose between paying more, with a price increase of up to 300%, or to go without the programming if News Corp. did not lower their prices.
To educate their customers on the contract process and what News Corp wanted, Time Warner Cable launched a campaign, with information released in print and online. They set up a website at www.rolloverorgettough.com, a site that allowed customers to vote on whether Time Warner Cable should pay excessive rates to continue to provide desired programming to their customers, with the customers ultimately paying the price, or going without certain programming if it meant the prices would not change.
Over 600,000 Time Warner Cable customers logged on to the site and voted, with over 95% of all voters declining any price increases, even if it meant losing programming. With such a large response coming from their customers, Time Warner Cable is able to “get tough” and avoid high costs being passed down to their customers.
Time Warner Cable has stated on the “roll over or get tough” website that, once Fox was able, these same high prices would be imposed on customers to other cable TV providers and satellite TV providers, as well as the phone companies that are offer viewing packages. In other words, Time Warner Cable feels that these proposed price increases are a problem that might affect everyone in the future.
Posted by larry dixon at 10:37:00. Filed under: General
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