My local cable outlet is Comcast, and they do not carry FSW. They claim the satellite providers have exclusive rights to FSW. This strikes me as BS. Can anyone tell me cities which have FSW on the Comcast Cable line up? Thanks.
You're right, that is BS. I get FSW on AT&T Digital Cable. I don't know about Comcast or regular cable though.
Comcast is pushing FSW off their cable systems as they claim it competes with their Outdoor Life network, which shows the Tour de France as their centerpiece event. Sachin
They do carry FSW, but only when they feel like it. And that is not very often. Basically, every local show that can pre-empt FSW will. If you have a choice for StarPower, grab it.
Re: Re: FSW on Comcast Cable I've seen this statement quite a bit on BS in the past. Has anyone from Comcast actually stated this? I ask that because these two channels are completely different. There's no way they compete for the same audience.
Comcast-No; Satellite-Yes I used to have Comcast Digital because they carried FSW. Then they dropped it. At different times I called Comcast to discuss their carrying FSW. Each time I got a different answer. I immediately dropped digital service, then got Dish (they now carry my local networks) and am very satisfied. Comcast told me I didn't get FSW, when I'd be talking to them and watching the channel at the same time. Then after they dropped it, they told me I never had it. When they finally conceded that I had it, they couldn't understand why it was now gone. Then they said it would be back "soon". The only reason I switched to satellite was FSW. I let Comcast know that--many times over. I even filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau for a record of poor service and dropping FSW without any notification. After all their advertising about satellites losing their reception (it seems these ads were on every 5 minutes), I was almost starting to believe them. I'm glad I didn't. I'm very happy I made the switch to Dish.
At the moment, I have FSW on AT&T Broadband here in the Chicago suburbs. I've not yet heard any talk about the ramifications of the takeover by Comcast, my cable rates haven't gone up (yet, I'm sure they will) and FSW is still there. Hope it stays. Luckily, there are other areas out here where there's another competing cable company. Perhaps I'll be moving around this summer.
I had basic cable and I got AT&T Digital Cable just for FSW. Now I hear that Comcast bought AT&T or something and will take FSW off. Whenever that happens I will go to Dish.
Re: Comcast-No; Satellite-Yes I had Comcast Digital and I dropped it for the same reason. They don't carry FSW in my area and they were always screwing up my MLS Shootout subscription. Double (even triple) billings. Lost service. Reorder. Claimed I never ordered it in the first place. With FSW and Shootout on DirecTV, I don't see any reason to work. I'd watch soccer all day if I could get away with it. On the other hand, I have a wife and a toddler who need attention. I can make him a fan soon. My wife would rather watch Lifetime.
Comcast Digital in Washington DC carries FSW. But I believe that is only because their competitor Starpower also has it. What a lovely thing cable competition is.... in about 3 markets.
Re: Re: Comcast-No; Satellite-Yes I had the same problem with Comcast. I got it fixed by talking to the local GM. Still, it bothered me that I couldn't have FSW. Last week, I was at Circuit City, they had a great deal on DirecTV and I bought it. I had it installed on Saturday and I cancelled Comcast this morning. The crappy thing is that I lose the local sports channel, owned by Comcast broadcasting teams owned by Comcast, but I guess that's what I have to do to separate myself from the bad service the I overpaid for. I'll miss the Flyers on TV, but I'm happy to not have to deal with Comcast anymore.
Had the same dilemma with the Flyers. I'll miss them, but I figure I'll have the playoffs on espn. With two toddlers, the games are usually over by the time I get them in bed. Besides, FSW is worth it.
Comcast sux If I had not cleaned out my email files the other day I would have been happy to send you the note I got from the Comcast reps. They told me they dropped FSW because Fox wanted too much money for them to run the channel. I asked FSW and they said it was Comcast running them out to make sure there was no conflict with OLN. Oh and I should say Comcast raised the rates about every 3 months and got me onto Digital plus service by telling me that's where FSW was and then when my 90 days free were up, they pulled FSW! I went to DISH and love it! Well worth it. Because Harrisburg-York-Lancaster is considered one Metro area, we now have locals! So when the Comcast sales rep stopped at my house the other day, I told him EXACTLY why he will never get my money. Here they are hurting because with the locals and the competitive price, they are getting killed by DISH and DIRECT TV. I really don't understand it because they have so many soccer broadcast rights in Philly and DC. But hey, they lost me for good!
good, maybe when they realize that all these people are leaving because of no FSW they will get it... Maybe not, nevermind.
I'm in eastern PA and got Dish as soon as I moved out of my apartment and into my new house. Originally I had to pay an extra $5.99 for the Philly local channels. This summer Dish upgraded me for free: a bigger dish (36 inches) than can handle feeds from 3 satellites, a 4 room switch and free locals including Telemundo, Univision and the really local news channel. I get the Top 150 package for $40. I turned a friend onto Dish and became a Dish club member: free monthly magazine, $5 off my monthly bill for a year and 7 free pay-per-view movies. The picture is cystal clear, I get Dolby digital sound and the service very rarely goes out. During the recent heavy X-mas snow storm my service was un-interrupted. I know Dish/Direct TV is not for everyone (apartment/condo dwellers) but it definitely works for me. FSW is simply the best for us footy fans!
Re: Re: Re: FSW on Comcast Cable Not for the same audience (though I watch both) but for room on the cable system's channel lineup. I'm guessing Comcast thinks most cable providers think they have room for one non-mainstream sports channel. By Comcast promoting OLN and pushing FSW off it makes OLN look like a bigger channel (more subscribers), which would hopefully cause other cable systems to choose OLN over FSW when they have to pick which one to fill that one non-mainstream sports channel.
To an extent, I can see why Comcast picks the channel lineup they do. To compete with a dish service, they need to offer the multiple HBOs, the sports ppv packages, and the ridiculous numbers of ppv movies and events. They also need to offer the wide tange of kids channels because parents want that stuff. There just isn't the same channel bandwidth on digital cable right now to offer everything that the dish can. It bothers me that Comcast didn't offer more variety and that their service was so bad. This is a company that pockets more than 60 cents of every bill in profit, but they can't offer good selection or friendly competent service. It also angers me that rather than compete head on with the dish by offering comparable variety at a good price with good service that they hold the Philly area hostage by keeping the local sports channel off dishes. Microsoft took a lot of heat for their business practices, and I see the way Comcast operates as just as bad if not worse. The way they protect their industry with muscle instead of quality and the way they beat down competition from companies like RCN is disgusting. With Comcast being a local company, I wanted them to suceed and do well, but not by cheating me and other customers. So far, I'm happy with the dish. It's nice to have FSW finally. New Year's day will be soccer day for me, so I'm excited about that. I just hope DirecTV keeps me happy because I'm down to Dish Network as my last option. Hopefully, this is my final Comcast rant.
Speaking from experience, you'll be a lot happier with DirecTV than with Dish Network. I was praying rosaries that the FCC wouldn't allow Dish Network to purchase DirecTV the way they intended. Customer service at Dish Network is atrocious. When I had Dish Network, there was an argument every month, and I'm not exaggerating. DirecTV isn't especially soccer-sensitive, but they're friendly and they'll work with you. -Cheers
comcast sucks !! they used to carry FSW on their digital cable and than it's gone for no reason, thats when i turned to direct tv.
it was great, but, i would be much more happier if they throw more games with US players in it : Hotspur, Blackburn, Birmingham or PNE, Huddersfield, and maybe a bit of bundesliga games: Hannover, Nurmberg or St.Pauli.
Gotta say that I've never had any problems with DISH's customer service. In fact, I got 3 months of Showtime free without even asking when some tech glitch messed up my system for a couple of days late last year. DISH straightened out the original problem, then, a few days later, I had a message on my answering machine apologizing for the inconvenience and telling me about the free Showtime as compensation. All I could think was how this was a world away from what it was like dealing with Time-Warner.