Clever commercial, Comcast...but you're wrong

This post will no doubt confuse those who accused me of taking money from Comcast for writing last week's piece on Comcast's Internet usage cap.

If it helps them feel better, they have my permission to suppose that DirecTV offered me a larger bribe. It isn't true, but they don't seem to care about the truth, anyway.

But those of you who have read some of my even earlier posts may have noticed that I'm not exactly happy with Comcast, and that while I get my Internet access from Comcast, I actually get my TV service from DirecTV, a company I happen to like a lot. (Even though it disappoints me sometimes, I pay my DirecTV bill every month--and the company has never paid me a dime.)

So when Comcast picks a fight with DirecTV, I'm not just going to stand idly by.

In this case, it's a fight over which television provider offers more high-definition programming.

Comcast is currently running a clever commercial based on a fictitious game show called "You might think DirectTV has more HD than Comcast...but you're wrong."

In this show, contestants are asked whether Comcast or DirecTV offers more HD "choices" in a given place and time--for example, in Chicago at 7:12pm.

The answer, according to Comcast, is always Comcast. (I'm as shocked as you are!)

The trick here is that Comcast includes all of its On Demand content and comes up with the entirely artificial figure of 500 "choices." So this comparison has a factual basis...but it's still wrong.

It seems to me that the more relevant comparisons--the ones that would actually be useful to customers trying to choose between these services--involve the number of channels and the total amount of programming available on Comcast and DirecTV.

Based on my own research, the channel comparison goes overwhelmingly to DirecTV by a score of 88 to 35, for channels from external providers.

The 35 HD channels on Comcast's "All Channel" list for Cupertino, Calif., sorted by channel name:

A&E - HD, ABC Family - HD, AMC - HD, Animal Planet - HD, Cinemax - HD, CNN - HD, Discovery - HD, Discovery Science - HD, Disney - HD, ESPN - HD, ESPN2 HD, Food Network - HD, FSNBA , HBO - HD, HGTV - HD, KBCW - HD, KGO - (ABC), KNTV - (NBC), KPIX - (CBS), KQED - (PBS), KRON - (IND), KTVU - (Fox), MHD, MOJO HD, National Geography, NFL Network HD, Sci-Fi - HD, Showtime - HD, Starz! - HD, TBS HD, Theater HD, TLC - HD, TNT HD, Universal HD, VS/Golf HD

The 88 HD channels on DirecTV's "Premier" package plus local channels for the San Francisco Bay Area, also sorted by channel name:

A&E HD, ABC Family HD, Altitude HD, Animal Planet HD, Big Ten Network HD, Biography Channel HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network, Cinemax HD East, Cinemax HD West, CMT HD, CNBC HD+, CNN HD, CSN Bay Area HD, CSN Chicago HD, CSN Mid-Atlantic HD, CSN New England HD, CSTV HD, Discovery Channel HD, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPNews HD, Fox Business Network HD, FSN Arizona HD, FSN Cincinnati HD, FSN Detroit HD, FSN Florida HD, FSN Midwest HD, FSN North HD, FSN Northwest HD, FSN Ohio HD, FSN Pittsburgh HD, FSN Prime Ticket HD, FSN Rocky Mountain HD, FSN South HD, FSN Southwest HD, FSN West HD, Fuel TV HD, FX HD, HBO HD East, HBO HD West, HD Theater, HDNet, History Channel HD, KBCW HD (Ind), KGO HD (ABC), KNTV HD (NBC), KPIX HD (CBS), KRON HD (Ind), KTVU HD (Fox), MASN HD, MSG HD, MSG PLUS HD, MTV HD, National Geographic Channel HD, NBA.TV HD, NESN HD, NFL Network HD, NHL Network HD, Planet Green HD, Sci-Fi Channel HD, Science Channel HD, Showtime 2 HD, Showtime Extreme HD, Showtime HD, Showtime HD West, Showtime Showcase HD, SNY HD, Speed Channel HD, Spike HD, SportSouth HD, SportsTime Ohio HD, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD, Starz HD East, Starz HD West, Starz Kids & Family HD, Sun Sports HD, TBS in HD, Tennis Channel HD, The Movie Channel HD, TLC HD, TNT HD, Toon Disney HD, USA Network HD, VERSUS HD/GOLF CHANNEL HD, VH1 HD, YES HD

If we throw in the number of pay-per-view channels, the score would go even more toward DirecTV. I can't find exact figures for this comparison, but it looks as if Comcast has, at most, only a few HD pay-per-view channels, while DirecTV has dozens. (DirecTV claims a total HD channel count over 130, but I can't figure out exactly where that number comes from.)

As for the comparison in programming, well, all those extra HD channels on DirecTV carry many programs per day and hundreds per month--each. Even if we throw in the on-demand programming from Comcast, it would lose by a landslide.

The cheap trick of making a comparison at exactly 7:12 p.m. doesn't mean anything to me because you can't watch 500 channels at one time. I think the bottom line is simple: over the course of a day, week, or month, DirecTV delivers well more than twice as much HD programming as Comcast.

DirecTV has its own on-demand service now, based on Internet delivery to DirecTV high-definition DVRs. If we counted that as well, it would only extend DirecTV's advantage. But I don't think that it should count--it's a different kind of service.

This does bring up an interesting point, though. DirecTV on-demand programming would count against Comcast's usage cap, whereas Comcast's On Demand service doesn't--a point made frequently in the comments for my post last week.

But that line of argument just doesn't work for me. Comcast On Demand doesn't travel over your Internet service at all; it comes in through the digital cable service. Both services may come into your home on the same cable, but they don't share bandwidth. This ought to be obvious--even if a customer is using all the bandwidth available from Comcast's Internet service, there's no interruption to Comcast cable TV service.

In fact, you don't even need to have Comcast Internet service to get Comcast On Demand. So of course it's true that Comcast On Demand programming doesn't count against the Comcast Internet usage cap.

This doesn't mean that Comcast is giving its On Demand service an unfair advantage. It's a classic fair advantage. Comcast deployed a cable infrastructure that has enough bandwidth to carry two services; the company is entitled to run two services and treat them as separate businesses.

Some people seem uncomfortable with the idea of businesses having rights, but this is equally a question of individual rights. Comcast has rights because Comcast's stockholders, managers, and employees have rights. In this case, these rights include setting the terms and conditions for the company's services. If it was your company, you'd insist on the same freedom.

[MjLawless]

Not that I am defending Comcast, but I think there should a comparison directly linked to the commercial. Maybe they showed you the wrong market commercial. The Chicago market has more HD channels than the 35, as right off the top of my head, I notice Comcast also has USA HD and few of those other 88 channels.

[jbart610]

I Live in Philly market and I get the same "7.12pm in Chicago" commercial. Also, where I live, D*TV has many many more HD programs at any given time than Comcast (I actually looked into switching to Comcast, but the numbers were overwhelmingly in DirecTV's favor). It irritates me to have to watch something on TV that is a plain old lie.

[aka_tripleB]

The commercial also clearly state that Comcast has more HD programming in any city at any time. You want to know how many HD shows Comcast has where I live? Zero. Sure, that might have something to do with what Comcast defines as a "city," but I'm sure there is somewhere that meets its classification of city that also has no service from Comcast. So what's written in the article isn't the only lie found in the commercial.

[jduncan999]

In most areas, there is only a single provider of broadband internet service. This is a monopoly situation. In an open market, companies should be permitted to set their own rules for providing their services, and the public will vote with their feet. Where a monopoly is involved, the rights of the public must be protected by public rules.

[Stewrx]

I always thought Comcast was telling a "whopper" about their HD offerings. I have one of their digital packages & can't find 88 choices. It sure is nice that they're holding me hostage (no other cable choice).

[ivorycruncher]

I wondered if the location made a difference in the amount of available HD content. However, the commercial is STILL misleading, because even though they specified Chicago, the commercial implies that no matter where you are, Comcast has more HD than DirecTV, which certainly isn't true.

Just fyi, I don't subscribe to either DirecTV or Comcast, and both companies have their problems, but I do not and will not support any company that enforces unfair policies like download caps onto their customers without alternative plans, and outright lies about the extent of their services while trying to promote themselves.

[umbrae]

These have always been wrong. In my area I have more HD channels (DISH) than friends that have Comcast and I usually get new channels first. Its these On-Demand channels that tops them off and most of these only show a handful of movies at any one time.

[mcs434]

Please dont tell me you are paying extra for those channels. I not necessarily defending comcast but I would take "ondemand" over Biography HD any day. Not to mention those channels you list HBO East - HBO West, come on, who are you trying to fool with that fanboy talk?

Comcast is one of my more hated cable companies, and Im using Directv right now. So far they are both the same, ie changing contract terms, crappy navigation screen, poor channel categorization. The only thing that I see that differs is Cable has ondemand and Satellite has Voom's fluffed HD package. The choice is yours.

[thelemurking]

I was with DirecTV for 6 years and when it came time for me to upgrade my package to HD, they wanted a 2 year contract and for me to purchase the HD receiver for $99 or the HD-DVR for $250. I thought that was outrageous considering I could get a free HD-DVR from Charter with NO CONTRACT. While I may not get all the channels I want in HD like the Discovery based channels or Sci Fi, I have a much better picture with cable than I did with DirecTV. I don't know about you guys, but DirecTV was horrible at displaying black or dark colors... it always looked incredibly pixelated or filled with artifacts, like I was looking at a heavily compressed jpg image.

[jotterson]

Your analysis is biased. What would happen if you did not use "Premier" and just ran the numbers for DTV with a more consumer friendly package, like Plus HD DVR, which has 40+ HD channels, plus your locals. DTV still wins. In fact, here in Atlanta, U-Verse beats Comcast.

Just remember the two happiest days of a DirecTV customer:

The day they get DirecTV.
The day the get rid of DirecTV

[Jim Hubbard]

DirectTV is a SCAM! Stay away from DirectTV!

When we called about the flyer that they sent to our home, their rep promised us 30 days to decide to keep the service if we signed up. When we decided against DirectTV and opted to keep Charter so that we could actually get a signal in rainy weather, they said "What 30 days? You only had 24 hours to decide."

They told us that they can look up every person that ever made a notation in our account.....every person that is except the original sales rep that told us that we had 30 days to return it and cancel the contract. That person they cannot find.

They did NOT mention the fact that you own the dish even if you cancel the service. In other words they will not uninstall the dish or horrid-looking black wire that they tacked onto the side of our white house.

We have blocked them from hitting our credit cards and have filed a fraud complaint against the company with VISA.

We are currently contemplating a lawsuit to get our home back to the condition it was in before they knocked holes in walls and drive screws all around our house to hold up that awful looking cable.

DIRECTTV IS A SCAM!

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Well, that's pretty awful. You can see in my previous posts (linked from this one) that I had problems of my own with the upgrade to the new DirecTV HD DVR. I agree DirecTV is sometimes too pushy and inconsiderate, but I don't think it's a scam.

Anyway, you should always read contracts before signing them. If a promise isn't in writing, you don't have any way to enforce it later.

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[sticks1839]

DirecTV easily beats Comcast in most markets, but your comparison is a bit flawed. Seriously 13+ Fox Sports Network stations? Many of them will be showing the same thing or non-HD programming the majority of the time. And Pay-Per-View channels in HD? Do you mean boxing and ultimate fighting because other than that the only things on Pay-Per-View is usually movies (or porn), and Comcast has its On-Demand service to promote HD movies on a Pay-Per-View basis (and you don't have to schedule it when it's being shown). At least in my market, DirecTV would be good for USA HD (the US Open in non-HD is awful), Speed HD, ESPN News HD, and other big market programming that Comcast currently lacks; but don't pull a complete 180 on the Comcast commercial with "factual", but flawed claims of your own.

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

The Fox Sports channels mostly show regional programming. I don't think they ever show "the same thing."

No flaws here. I'm just reporting what channels are available, not what channels you would like.

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[setgo]

I was wondering where they got that 500 number, because I have no where near that. There should be something illegal about that commercial.

[KI_geeket]

Bottom Line...Comcast is not Apple & they should find their own marketing scheme rather than trying to rebrand Apples'.

As far as cable companies go, they all lie and try to over-bill for overrate services. I have taken four cable companies to court for billing issues and won each time :D

Don't let them walk on you...push back!! Remember they are more regulated than you are.

[gsmiller88]

DirecTV only has 88 HD channels in San Francisco? That's 12 short of the 100 they claim in their commercial. Let's face it, every company exaggerates in their ads! Especially when they're comparing themselves to a competitor (seriously, how can EVERY car insurance company claim to save you $300+ dollars if you switch?).

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Well, the 88 include only those with ordinary scheduled programming, as I said. There are many additional HD channels. I didn't want to count them because they don't always carry _any_ programming, or they have pay-per-view content, or they're DirecTV's own promotional and informational channels.

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[mikeburek]

The other problem I have with all theses "awesome digital" broadcasts is that with digital, they can and do compress the signal. When there is an outdoor shot and the sky is made up of only 3 shades of blue, that sure is not HD. And during scenes with large areas of black, I feel like I'm watching YouTube. They like to charge more because you are getting a better digital signal, but when that signal gets compressed to lower than analog quality, what's the point?

[coswpeak]

Without this monopoly situation from Comcast, I would have drop them like a hot potato.

[idfubar]

Neither service presently offers "a la carte" pricing and offloading shows from a DVR is definitely not as simple as ejecting a VCR tape. Also, the list which is given in this article doesn't show a PBS station for DirecTV.

Does it surprise anyone that an ad from a Cable TV company might be misleading when attempting to pitch their digital TV offering? I think we're all getting ripped off regardless of the provider (is anyone benefiting from digital transmission aside from the providers?)

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

As far as I can tell, I'm not getting a PBS HD feed from DirecTV, and I don't see one advertised on the DirecTV website.

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[baltm604]

Can anyone please tell me the definition of HD? Is it just that the picture is 16x9 in aspect ratio? Is it the 19mb stream that leaves a broadcaster's antenna?

The real issue here is bandwidth. Comcast does not have enough it appears to compete. , so they compress the video stream they call HD down to 20% of the original stream, they block content to free up bandwidth, and now they are putting caps on monthly consumption to solve their problem.

What I find terribly funny is that Comcast does not compare their service to anyone else but Directv. The bandwidth that Verizon and AT&T provides can deliver many more HD streams with less compression.

Considering Directv's market share, this ad doesn't really compete either, just like Comcast.

[bemenaker]

I switched over from TWC to DirectTV this year for two reasons, DTV has the most HD channels of all options in my area, (TWC, DTV, DishNet), and also because they have the best picture and sound quality too. I would have sacrificed a couple of channels for signal quality. The comparison the HD that TWC was feeding versus DTV's was night and day on picture and even more so on audio. I have absolutely ZERO regrets about my switch.

[gruffbear]

There are channels missing from the DirecTV HD list above - MHD/Palladia, Smithsonian, MGM and Universal. The DirecTV HD channel count also counts 35+ PPV channels.

Comcast also doesn't count HD programming available through DirecTV on Demand which would be more of an apples-to-apples comparison. And Comcast's lower resolution of the available channels also doesn't count.

[Peter Glaskowsky]

Thanks for the additional information.

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[khyberkitsune]

"Both services may come into your home on the same cable, but they don't share bandwidth."

This is factually incorrect - the entire cable network, by definition, is shared bandwidth. In fact, it's all shared bandwith when you get into the engineering principles. They may not occupy the SAME FREQUENCY on the cable, but I'll guarantee you they're sharing the cable's actual bandwidth.

[Peter Glaskowsky]

Well, you're being very selective with your definitions. "Shared bandwidth" clearly describes the situation where there's a finite amount of bandwidth in a channel and one use of the channel takes bandwidth away from the others. That just isn't the case between Comcast internet and Comcast cable TV.

I know what you're trying to say-- that all the bits go over the cable, the cable has a certain amount of bandwidth, and so all the bits "share bandwidth"-- but that just isn't what the words mean, either technically within the industry, or in common parlance.

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