Television: Cincinnati Bell Jumps On Time Warner

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Cincinnati Bell Jumps On Time Warner

Score one for Cincinnati Bell. The company is trying to cash in with Time Warner digital cable customers angry about missing the big season finales last Thursday due to a computer failure.

On page A9 of today's Enquirer, Cincinnati Bell has a color advertisement promoting it's "total home bundle" with DirecTV, home phone and Zoomtown. It reads:

"The season finales of Grey's Anatomy, CSI, and ER: Cable's Latest Victims."
"How were last Thursday's season finales? Thanks to Time Warner's cable outage, subscribers in Greater Cincinnati didn't get to find out. Fed up with cable? Switch to a name you trust...."

Do you have Zoomtown & DirecTV? You happy with the service and reliability?

24 Comments:

at 5/23/2007 12:16 PM

utech said...

I have had ZT for about 6 months now - no noticeable difference. Also have DirecTV for the last 3 months. Lost my signal twice for about 10 minutes each time during the bad storms that came through but other than that no service problems. Do miss the WCPO Weather channel though!
Only had to fight with TWC over some billing errors for 5 months, not to mention them sending out their sales goon who semi-forced his way in my house, insulted my wife and had to be asked repeatedly to leave. TWC never returned my call to assure me that this is not how they operate.

at 5/23/2007 12:17 PM

Anonymous said...

We switched from Insight in Northern KY to DirecTV a few years ago. We are totally happy with DirecTV. Better picture, less cost, fewer outages (except for really heavy storms, and then the most it is out is 5 minutes) and they don't raise their rates all the time. I don't have Zoomtown and DirecTV through Cincinnati Bell. I have Zoomtown through Cincinnati Bell and DirecTV through DirecTV. I highly recommend DirecTV.

at 5/23/2007 12:46 PM

Anonymous said...

Fraud alert:

For all of you who took the time to vote on Channel 5's top five at five between 10:30 and noon today, the stories you voted for are not the same as the ballot AFTER noon.

Here was the first list:

Stories For May 23 -- Voting OPEN

Please pick up to FIVE stories:
Fire destroys part of Maysville landmark; investigators searching for cause
Smog alert issued for today: What do you need to stay healthy, help control problem?
Clermont County man to be sentenced for killing teen who walked on his lawn
Gas prices already at almost $3.50 a gallon; what you can expect for the holiday weekend
Possible ash borer beetle sighting in Anderson Township could lead to wood quarantine
Body found in Iraq may be one of three U.S. soldiers that went missing last week
Break-in at Clermont County elementary school forces school to close for day
Drug bust in Butler County yields cash, 55 pounds of pot
911 tape released as near-drowning victim recovers at Children's Hospital
Another AG Gonzales assistant testifies before Congressional committee on fired attorneys

AND THE SECOND! Note that the last item has changed. Think its fair to change the ballot mid-election?

Stories For May 23 -- Voting OPEN

Please pick up to FIVE stories:
Fire destroys part of Maysville landmark; investigators searching for cause
Smog alert issued for today: What do you need to stay healthy, help control problem?
Clermont County man to be sentenced for killing teen who walked on his lawn
Gas prices already at almost $3.50 a gallon; what you can expect for the holiday weekend
Possible ash borer beetle sighting in Anderson Township could lead to wood quarantine
Body found in Iraq may be one of three U.S. soldiers that went missing last week
Break-in at Clermont County elementary school forces school to close for day
Drug bust in Butler County yields cash, 55 pounds of pot
911 tape released as near-drowning victim recovers at Children's Hospital
Final results in on Bengals' Chris Henry drug test

at 5/23/2007 12:54 PM

Anonymous said...

DirecTV is so much better than TWC. I also get my locals with an outdoor antenna, so I can watch every station, including channels 25 and channels 38. Plus, I can watch the CW in HD out of Dayton. The CW isn't in HD in Cincinnati.

Utech, if you have a digital television you can watch the WCPO Weather Channel on 9-2.

at 5/23/2007 1:04 PM

Anonymous said...

Warner lost my business when they refused to pick up ESPNU and I missed
several UC football games and a slew
of UC basketball games. I am not paying 50 bucks a month to watch infomercials and shopping channels.

I already dropped Roadrunner when they wouldn't work out a decent price for me. I am willing to pay $100 for
phone, TV and internet. I think that's a fair price.

When I called them up to tell them to pull their cable modem they actually offered me a lower price
then what I was asking for but I
told them they'd have another chance in a year when my current deal expires.

at 5/23/2007 3:16 PM

Anonymous said...

The only thing more difficult than trying to watch satellite TV in bad weather (get used to watching more snow than combined populations of Minneapolis and St.Paul) is trying to disconnect from the service. The goons who staff that desk make drill instructors look like Little Bo Peep by comparison. Not a viable alternative to cable, unless pain is something you relish

at 5/23/2007 3:34 PM

Anonymous said...

We've had DirectTV for 7 years. We LOVE it. We had to deal with poor customer service from Time Warner, but it was the NFL package that sold us on moving to the dish. We lose service during VERY heavy storms, usually for a minute or two at the most. We lost our cable service ALL THE TIME for no reason... so losing a few minutes because of a storm is no big deal.

at 5/23/2007 3:39 PM

Anonymous said...

Cincinnati Bell Wireless is the worst service I have ever had. I had it for three months. They kept messing up my bill. No wonder they offer no contract wireless. As for Time Warner...I am stuck with them. My apartment will not let me have a dish on my balcony. We need another cable provider in the area to gain competitive pricing.

at 5/23/2007 4:40 PM

Anonymous said...

Cincinnati Bell Wireless is the best! Never a dropped call. Zoomtown is much better then Road Runner.

at 5/23/2007 4:49 PM

Unknown said...

I've been a happy DirecTV customer for over 9 years now!!

at 5/23/2007 4:57 PM

Anonymous said...

To 3:16 anon, sorry about your experience trying to disconnect from satellite. I actually just switched from DirecTV to Dish Network and had no problems with ending my service. I was happy with DirecTV, but Dish offered me a better HD package. I have an 18 month contract, but I'll live with that and re-evaulate then. I have both Cincy and Dayton local channels and receive both (with outdoor antenna) in HD. AND I got an HD DVR for free too! DirecTV could not match the deal so I switched with no hassles at all.

As for the fraud alert with Channel 5....who cares? No one on this thread did.

at 5/23/2007 8:47 PM

Anonymous said...

Let me get this straight, anon 12:46...you're upset because of a change in a non-scientific online poll for a TV station. Strange. When I vote, I don't recall seeing any contract saying "things will never change".

You're taking this more seriously than even 5 does.

at 5/23/2007 9:42 PM

Anonymous said...

I have both ZT and DTV. I'm very pleased with both. I especially like that ordering DTV through Cincy Bell gives you a $6 if you bundle with ZT. The $6 credit on my DTV bill offsets the cost of DVR service. It is very rare for me to have an outage in either service.

at 5/24/2007 12:11 AM

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:57 - apparently you did.

at 5/24/2007 9:23 AM

Anonymous said...

To Anon 3:16 & 12:11, did I comment anything related to your post except saying no one cared? Nope! Although, I do stand corrected, one other person made fun of your failed attempt to bash 5. Who cares?

tootles, Anon 4:57 PM

at 5/24/2007 10:38 AM

Anonymous said...

FRAUD ALERT 5: Come on, do you really believe 5 lets the voters choose the stories. It has been fixed since day one. The news director sways the 20 to 30 votes each day. If that wasn't true then why doesn't 5 put the tally up after each vote comes in like other polls do.

at 5/24/2007 12:43 PM

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't a news organization operate above reproach when it comes to conducting a poll? How can you trust the reporting if the whole basis of watching the show is fraudulent? You can laugh it off as not-important, until you really look at the lack of journalistic integrity of changing a ballot mid-poll without any notification of the change. A news operation needs to be honest with its viewers/readers/listeners on everything - or you can't trust anything.

at 5/24/2007 2:12 PM

Anonymous said...

Your apartment can't forbid your use of a dish. It's a FEDERAL LAW!
Ask 'em if they know about it!

at 5/24/2007 3:32 PM

Anonymous said...

i find it very interesting that no one has said how much they like TWC's customer service or prices.

at 5/25/2007 9:43 AM

Anonymous said...

I have had time warner, dish and now I have direc-tv, by far direct tv is the best, and remember they are going to add a lot of HD channels.

at 5/25/2007 4:04 PM

Anonymous said...

I, too, am stuck with cable because I don't have anywhere to put a dish. My TWC cable turns itself 'off' nearly every day. So if I try to tape something during the day while I'm at work I may not get it. I also noticed on my TWC bill charges for a 'variety tier' which turned out to be some lame channels I don't watch. I canceled that as well as the hard copy cable guide which I never use. As for Cincy Bell I have more dropped calls than ever before.. had one just today, but Cincy Bell is the one my employer uses and my employer supplies my cell phone... so I really shouldn't complain.

at 5/27/2007 11:28 AM

Anonymous said...

Dish Network subscriber here. Lots of HD Channels and all the Cincy and Dayton local channels (which are free with or without cable/satellite) with an antenna. The Dish DVR will record the locals and give you the guide with a 30 dollar antenna. TWC is terrible for HD.

at 5/29/2007 10:34 AM

Anonymous said...

I unfortunately, still use TW.I have had probs with them since day one a year ago.I pay more for cable and phone than people with phone,cable,and internet. How is this fair?Well, Cincy Bell offers $20 each.Call and ask.When I move here soon, no more TW.
One time a service man came out and left his tools and had the nerve to call me and ask if I would bring them to him!

at 8/26/2007 2:22 PM

Anonymous said...

We switched to RoadRunner when we dropped our home phone. No real difference for us performace wise. With both my husband and myself having cell phones, we couldn't justify the 20 + bucks a month just to have the home phone.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Cincinnati Bell Jumps On Time Warner

24 Comments: