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DirecTV Kept Charging Regional Sports Fee While Channel Was Blacked Out

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday November 13 2019, @08:31AM   
from the business-as-usual dept.

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for soylent_red

DirecTV kept charging regional sports fee while channel was blacked out

DirecTV and Comcast are being investigated by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who objects to the TV providers continuing to charge regional sports network (RSN) fees despite not providing one of the major regional sports networks. While Comcast is giving customers partial bill credits, DirecTV apparently hasn't done so.

Weiser sent letters to the AT&T-owned DirecTV and Comcast on October 23, asking why the companies kept charging RSN fees after they stopped providing the Altitude Sports network. The network broadcasts games played by the state's major professional basketball, hockey, and soccer teams (the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and Colorado Rapids, respectively). The AG's letters said that Comcast's and DirecTV's conduct "may constitute a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act" and "may result in the imposition of civil penalties up to $20,000 per violation." The letters also said the AG is investigating other potentially misleading fees.

[...] Weiser's office gave both companies until November 7 to respond. Comcast said it will provide an additional, more detailed response to the AG by then. AT&T's DirecTV division hasn't responded to Weiser's office yet, Weiser's office told Ars today. We contacted AT&T today and will update this article if we get a response.

The actions of DirecTV, which apparently hasn't offered credits to customers, have been "very concerning," Weiser told The Denver Post.

"Based on early conversations with DirecTV and AT&T, we didn't believe they were taking the request with the seriousness that they should," a spokesperson for Weiser also told the Post.

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Original Submission

• DirecTV headquarters: Aspen Conference Room DirecTV headquarters: Aspen Conference Room (Score: 2) by Booga1 on Wednesday November 13 2019, @08:50AM (1 child)

  by Booga1 (6333) on Wednesday November 13 2019, @08:50AM (#919766)

  Apologies to the original writers...

  HR #1: That brings us to...Altitude Sports.
  Executive: Which distributor owns that sports channel again? ESPN? Fox?
  HR #2: They're the local Colorado team affiliates. It's one of those smaller networks we haven't gotten around to buying yet.
  Executive: Oh, yeah.
  HR #2: Yeah, we can’t actually get them to sign the latest contract, and the current one expired.
  HR #1: I looked into it more deeply and I found that even though there is no contract, they're still getting air time.
  HR #2: So we just went ahead and fixed that.
  Executive: Great. So um, we just dropped it off all of the customer's plans or what?
  HR #1: Well just a second there, professor. We uh, we fixed the *problem* so they won’t be receiving any airtime anymore. These things just work themselves out naturally.
  HR #2: We always like to avoid confrontation, whenever possible. Problem solved from your end. Let the customer service phone line take the heat.

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		2

• Re:DirecTV headquarters: Aspen Conference Room (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday November 13 2019, @05:40PM

  by Freeman (732) on Wednesday November 13 2019, @05:40PM (#919931) Journal

  Sounds like a ripoff of the script from Office Space.

  --
  Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"

  Parent