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Cable/Satellite Mudslinging
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging | comment |
There are two mediums used by companies to deliver television service: cable and satellite. Oftentimes, a service provider's commercials are mostly dedicated on discrediting the quality of the other variety of service. Cable companies air commercials about how satellite dishes lose their signal when it rains. Satellite companies air commercials about how cable has limited availability, costs too much, and locks you into unreasonable contracts. And phone companies, which stream TV networks over a DSL internet connection note Through IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), show commercials about both. These commercials are usually seen as cheesy, low-budget, and filled with Bad "Bad Acting", even though they come from big-name companies such as Comcast or Spectrum that should be able to afford better production values. An example is a Time Warner commercial that showed pictures of a cheetah, rabbit and snail and told you to "pick the fast one". Apparently, rabbits are faster than cheetahs. (At least at doing one thing.) Cable companies don't go after each other, however. That's because cable companies will not wire an area if there's an existing cable operator, almost like a mob staying out of another's territory.note This is a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, specifically the Cable Act. This is why the City of Los Angeles has 11 companies licensed to provide service anywhere in the city, but none of them operates in any area where there already is a cable company operating. Previously, the two major American satellite companies, DirecTV and Dish Network, tended not to target each other. Perhaps they figured that as long as there are people who still have cable, those are the ones that they should pursue.note The two other major companies back in the 90s, USSB and PrimeStar, were unusual cases. USSB, owned by Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting, originally shared satellite space and equipment with DirecTV; DTV carried most of the popular cable channels, PPV, etc. USSB had less channels, but carried anything from Viacom (MTV, Nickelodeon, etc.) and most of the major premium networks (HBO, Showtime, etc.); eventually Hubbard called it quits and USSB was absorbed into DTV by 1999. As for PrimeStar, it was owned by the cable companies themselves. However, it too wound up being bought by DTV in 1999, as its' relatively antiquated equipment and service (larger dish, no on-screen guide) meant it was less popular; the cable companies couldn't agree on what direction to go in, and intentionally targeted the service to areas where they weren't operating. They were in the middle of upgrading themselves to be on par with DTV and Dish (using some assets from Rupert Murdoch's failed American Sky Broadcasting venture {some other assets were sold to Dish Network}) when the buyout happened. The two companies have considered merging at least twice, but both times plans have fallen through. In 2010, Dish declared open season on DirecTV, proclaiming that Dish is the cheaper satellite company. DirecTV responded with ads claiming better channels in their basic package and more HD programming. Cable is not an option for residents of rural areas not serviced by any cable company, rendering those ads pointless for them. The same is true of satellite ads shown to people renting from a landlord who doesn't allow satellite dishesnote though in the U.S., federal law forces almost all landlords to allow the small dishes used by DirecTV and Dish or who have no clear view of the southern sky. Some markets require additional dishes to receive local stations or HD programming, presenting an additional hassle for satellite customers. Finally, satellite TV providers cannot provide phone and internet service the way phone and cable companies can, making it impossible for their customers to take advantage of triple-play bundles. This last point has changed in the U.S. since DirecTV was bought by AT&T in 2015. The development of "triple-play" — phone, TV and data in a cable connection — might turn the tables on this practice sooner or later. Satellite has historically been far more expensive and less efficient for data and phone than wired services, at least in urban areas. Something else that has also begun to change the playing field is (usually cheaper and more convenient) online viewing through services such as Hulu, Amazon Instant Video / Prime, and Netflix, leading many to ditch either cable or satellite entirely. Of course, this may just mean that the cable / satellite providers pursue the remaining market all the more aggressively. (For example, partnering with cable and satellite TV networks to provide apps for phones and devices like the Roku that require logging in via the cable or satellite provider (and therefore a subscription to the cable or satellite provider). Or encouraging them to add on services like Internet and phone, or DVR service, which also usually comes with an additional fee.) Additionally, while satellite TV subscriptions have begun to dramatically decline, both DirecTV and Dish operate "cord-cutting" services (DirecTV Now/AT&T TV Now for the former, Sling TV for the latter) to keep up with the changing marketplace. Sub-Trope of Competing Product Potshot. |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_3986593 | type |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_3986593 | comment |
The over-the-top dramatic nature of the ads, especially the Stop the TV Tax side with their ads of various everyday people on the street being asked their opinion on the "TV tax", was parodied on The Rick Mercer Report. | |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_7fa9264d | type |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_7fa9264d | comment |
The satellite wars intensified in 2010, with DirecTV running ads attacking cable and Dish Network at the same time, using the format of To Tell the Truth. Dish Network responded with ads claiming that they have more HD channels, which only works if On Demand feeds of single movies count as "channels". DirecTV responded by noting that these aren't really "channels" and that many of Dish Network's other HD channels are only HD part of the time. They are also airing ads noting that they have exclusive commercial-free broadcasts of programs such as Friday Night Lights and Damages that Dish Network does not. | |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_b0e1bc07 | type |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_b0e1bc07 | comment |
A series of commercials in summer 2016 show an average family whose Internet provided by the cable company has just gone down. Apparently first thing after it went down the cable company went as far as to lock the family in their houses a-la Big Brother because rather than use the time the Internet is down to go out and have some family time away from technology, the family is left panicking at home and with nothing to do, even going as far as to spy on the neighbors using their working Internet. | |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_f2041376 | comment |
LivingTV was a bit more subtle in some of the promos for Charmed that aired while the series was running on Channel 5 - "Hi, I'm Rose McGowan and you are watching LivingTV, the real home of Charmed." (Justified in this case as Living has shown the entire run numerous times, whereas Five let the final season go to Channel 4.) | |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_f655ed11 | type |
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| Cable/Satellite Mudslinging / int_f655ed11 | comment |
Even small companies in barely-relevant regions get to have this, as Alaska's two locals, GCI (primarily the cable company) and ACS (the privatized version of formerly-public phone utility company ATU, merged with Internet Alaska, the first non-AOL ISP in the state) both regularly trash each other in various commercials - ACS largely on price (they resell Dish Network as well), while GCI goes on and on about DS Snail - while using one of the cast of Frasier and his pet snail. And yes, GCI also uses the same reliability accusations that many national cable companies use - in spite of ACS being proven more reliable by studies by independents and funded by both companies... In spite of both using the same phone network. ACS takes this further when talking about their cellphones, not just trumpeting their proven-superior network and team of testing vehicles for helping to keep things that way, but also by running Verizon's nationwide ads - because ACS' network also happens to be the Verizon network in Alaska, and ACS gets the Verizon-exclusive phones, in spite of them being fully separate companies. Naturally, AT&T is the primary target of these ones, in part because GCI's cellular division has essentially given up, instead getting a deal with the State of Alaska to offer unlimited calling and texting to individuals who qualify for specific welfare-type plans for $1/month. |
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
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Advertising Tropes | |
| TheWeatherChannel | seeAlso |
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| To Tell the Truth / int_66d91572 | type |
Cable/Satellite Mudslinging |
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