For more than five years, Time Warner cable customers have been shut out from seeing the NFL Network.  While life goes on for most of the 12 million plus Time Warner customers, rumors are once again out there that the National Football League is once again looking for an agreement with Time Warner, which would add millions of dollars yearly to the bottom line of the league.  Will a deal finally be struck allowing the NFL Network to be broadcast on Time Warner?

According to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, talks have once again started between the parties.  While the NFL remains head and shoulders above other sports leagues in the United States, the NFL Network hasn’t gained the traction that the league and owners expected when it was launched eight years ago.  Even the addition of eight prime time regular season games starting in 2006 hasn’t made a difference to Time Warner management, which has balked at the asking price to carry the all-football network.  Other big cable companies like Bright House Networks, Cablevision, and Wide Open West also remain out in the cold when it comes to the NFL Network.

The current average paid by cable providers for the network is 81 cents per month per subscriber.  DIRECTV grants access to the channel to all of its customer base with the exception of those on the Family package, while DISH Network offers the channels in the America’s Top 200 package and higher priced packages.  New deals were struck between the NFL Network and Suddenlink Cable in 2010, and Charter cable just this month, returning the network to millions in time for the upcoming season.

The NFL obviously wants the network in as many homes as possible, which could be one of the major problems with getting a Time Warner deal done.  Many cable companies have introduced premium “sports tiers” which cost the customer around $5 a month and include a few additional sports channels.  If Time Warner were to place the NFL Network on such a tier, the audience would be limited to just a few million customers at most.  The league would prefer that Time Warner place the NFL Network on a digital cable tier, which would reach the majority of Time Warner’s 12 million homes.

If the NFL Network were placed in the majority of Time Warner systems, and using the average price of 81 cents per customer per month – it would mean an additional $75 million in revenue for the NFL annually.  Time Warner has certainly been holding out for a lower price considering the number of customers they bring to the table.  Higher programming costs mean higher cable rates in the long run, something Time Warner has to be sensitive about considering the competition they face from newcomers like U-verse and FiOS.

On the other hand, football starved fans continue to select the content provider that gives them the most action.  If Time Warner subscribers continue to leave to find the NFL Network on other carriers, then the cable company will be forced into a deal just to retain customers.

One of the reasons people are in love with cable and satellite TV is the DVR units provided by these companies. No longer do you have to sit through commercials and content that you aren’t interested in watching. Simply record your favorite shows, then watch them at your convenience without the commercial. If you are in an area served by Charter cable, then this brief Charter DVR review will get you up to speed on what you can expect to find with their digital video recorder.

With your Charter digital recorder, you will be granted full control over your television. View habits quickly change once you get a DVR, as you will be freed up from a specific schedule. You will no longer have to plan you life around certain programs, instead you can simply record a show or series though the Charter DVR, then sit down and watch it at your convenience.

Current Charter DVRs being given to customers are the Motorola 6416/3416 and have a 160GB capacity. These will save up to 100 hours of SD content, which falls quite a bit below the Dish Network DVR which offers up to 200 hours of SD recording. The Charter DVR HD capacity is 21 hours of recording. As long as you aren’t needing to save a lot of content Charter should do the trick for you, but if not you may want to take a harder look at the satellite TV alternative.

If you are doing some shopping and are interested in the Charter DVR price, here is what you can expect to pay. For 2010, the current Charter price for digital video recorder service is $15 a month. This fee is for each room in the house where you want a Charter digital recorder. If you want two or more rooms hooked to DVR service, then an alternative to consider is the Dish Network DVR, as some of their units are designed to work in multiple rooms. Also, if you live in an area where AT&T U-verse or Verizon Fios TV is being deployed, both telco TV providers have introduced multi room DVR units that can feed three or four TV sets in your home.

Charter DVR boxes are dual tuner devices. That means they have the capability of recording two shows at one time. You can also watch one show while recording another with these Charter boxes. The DVR is fully controlled by the same remote control that you use for your digital cable, and you can quickly and easily navigate through on screen menus to decide exactly what you want to record or delete. Overall, the Charter DVR will certainly save you plenty of time, but they are a bit more expensive when looking at the monthly fees charged by satellite TV providers like DIRECTV.

Charter cable is one of the big players in the United States today. But while big cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner cable seem to be in the news quite a bit, Charter cable seems to fly under the radar. That may be due to the territory covered by Charter, which is generally more in the mid-to-small markets cities. What should you look for if you are comparing satellite TV vs Charter cable?

Price is of course a primary consideration, especially as many Americans are still struggling in a down economy. Charter cable does follow in the footsteps of their big cable TV brothers, in that their cable TV rates are fairly high once you get past any promotional specials. Charter cable TV rates vary from area to area, so its best to either call or visit the Charter cable site to get specific rates for your area.

Satellite TV rates have also gone up in the past few years, but overall remain between 10 to 20% lower than Charter TV prices. Promotional offers from Dish Network and DIRECTV can usually get you into a satellite TV package for around $40 a month for the first year. Be aware though that both companies require a 24 month commitment as part of the Dish TV package, so you want to be sure you can live up to that otherwise you may face an early termination fee.

Comparing satellite TV HD vs Charter HD is also important if you have recently gone out and bought either a plasma screen or LCD television. Both Dish Network and DIRECTV charge an additional $10 a month fee for HD channels. While they also claim to have between 140 and 150 HD channels, the actual count is closer to 100 once the pay per view and on demand HD channels are removed. Still, satellite HD is far in front of Charter high definition. Your mileage may vary with Charter HD depending on the area, but consider yourself lucky if you can get 50 HD channels with Charter cable TV.

Another consideration when comparing Charter vs satellite is whether you have a place for a satellite dish. If you are a homeowner, then usually a satellite TV installer can find an acceptable place to mount the dish facing the southern sky. But if you live in an apartment or condo, things can get sticky and you may only have one choice – Charter cable. Some areas served by Charter are facing additional competition with AT&T U-verse and Verizon Fios deploying new technology to compete against cable.

A final factor when comparing Charter to satellite TV is the Triple play bundle. Satellite providers don’t really have an answer when it comes to providing high speed internet and voice services. The Charter Triple play can offer you multiple services at a discounted bundled rate, something you may want to factor in when comparison shopping.

If you live in an area served by Charter cable, no doubt you have considered whether it is better to use their cable service or perhaps go with one of the satellite TV companies. In this article, we will compare Charter vs DIRECTV satellite TV, and consider which one will be best for your situation.  Charter cable is currently the fourth largest cable TV company in America, and has nearly 5 million subscribers. DIRECTV is the largest satellite TV company, with 18 million subscribers. Their primary competitor remains Dish Network, who boasts 14 million subscribers of their own.

When starting a comparison of DIRECTV and Charter cable, one thing to do up front is evaluate exactly what services you need in your home, and do you only want to deal with one company for those services. DIRECTV of course is a pay television provider, so you won’t be ordering a DIRECTV bundle of home phone service and high speed internet from them. On the other hand, a cable TV company like Charter has the capability of offering all of these services. While a Charter bundle might seem like the way to go based on this information, considering other factors like price, customer service, and HD channels access are also important.

Now if you do decide that DIRECTV is the right choice for you, the alternative is to use Charter or your local phone company for high speed internet and phone service. Big telecom companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest have partnered with DIRECTV so that you can sometimes get a discount on service, or at least combined billing for DSL, voice, and DIRECTV packages.

Charter vs DIRECTV Channels

If you compare the channel lineups in the Charter packages and the DIRECTV packages, you probably will not see much of a difference. Certainly there are a few channels here or there that may not be found with one company or the other, but generally the major cable channels and local networks like NBC are going to be found with both companies. If there is a secondary cable network you are especially interested in, be sure to either call Charter and DIRECTV and see which package has your channel of interest before ordering.

Now if poor customer service gets to you, pay attention here to how DIRECTV compared to Charter cable. Its hard to argue that ANY pay television company provides great customer service. For years, cable TV built a poor reputation nationally as they pretty much ignored the service aspect of the business. While horror stories about both DIRECTV and Charter abound on the internet, customer service surveys give a better picture of how these companies perform. The latest University of Michigan survey rates DIRECTV at the top of the heap when it comes to customer service beating out Dish Network, Time Warner and Comcast among the biggest providers. Unfortunately Charter cable came in at the opposite end of the rankings.

According to the 2009 ACSI survey, Charter cable scored a 51, which was a decline of 5.6% when compared to their 2008 score. DIRECTV scored a 71, which was a 4.4% increase over their 2008 score. While Charter cable is currently in bankruptcy, it really doesn’t excuse being the lowest rated cable or satellite provider in America.

New customer Deals

So lets look at the pricing and package structures of both Charter and DIRECTV satellite television. Both Charter and DIRECTV offer deals if you are a new customer. With DIRECTV you can take $26 off of your package price for one year, as long as register for your rebate, and register your email address online and accept e-mail from directv.com. Charter cable deals are as follows:

Charter starter cable is just $9.99 a month for six months. This is an absolute bare bones basic cable package, which has your local channels and a few other networks tossed in. Most will want to start at least with the Charter digital cable package, which is $49.99 a month for the first six months. Charter on demand programming is also included here, which will give you access to more than 6,000 shows and movies each month. The regular price for this package is $70 a month in the St. Louis Missouri market, but you may want to check the area you live in as cable TV prices can vary based on the region you live in.

Finally, the Charter HD package is $54.99 a month for the first six months, and it includes everything in the Charter digital bundle plus of course any high definition channels available in your area. Normal Charter pricing on this package is $70 per month after six months.

Now if you are looking at comparable bundles from DIRECTV, the first option is the Family package, which runs $29.99 a month. This is the one package that DIRECTV does not offer a discount on if you are subscribing as a first time customer. Now if you are looking to compare a DIRECTV package with Charter Digital cable TV, the two offers that are most closely aligned are the Choice package and the Choice Xtra bundle.

The DIRECTV Choice bundle is currently priced at $29.99 per month for the first year, while Choicextra is $34.99 for the first year. Both of these prices reflect the $26 dollar a month discount discussed earlier. As far as channel selection, Choice has 150+ channels, and Choice Xtra has 200+ channels counting audio and video networks. By comparison, the Charter digital cable package has about 100 video channels and 45 commercial free audio channels in the lineup. HD access can be added to any DIRECTV package for $10 per month.

So who comes out on top when comparing Charter HD vs DIRECTV HD. This debate is pretty much over before it starts, as DIRECTV is one of the leaders in offering high definition content, while Charter cable lags behind both satellite and other cable companies. While DIRECTV claims to have more than 130 HD channels, they count their pay per view offers in that number. Actual HD channel count on DIRECTV is in the area of 84 when Premium movie channels are counted according to this unofficial chart.  Charter HD has about 63 HD channels total, though 33 of those are limited according to the same chart. Your actual HD channel count could be quite different depending on your area, as HD channels are not rolled out nationally with cable TV providers as they are with satellite TV companies.

If you are one who goes for the all inclusive type of package, both Charter and DIRECTV have something along those lines, just be prepared to shell out quite a bit of cash each month for this option. The DIRECTV Premier package is currently about $110 a month, then you would have to pay another $10 a month for HD, and $5 per month for each additional receiver. This package will give your more than 265 channels total, including more than 30 commercial free premiums like HBO. Charter has a similar option, which is basically the Digital Home with HD, then adding on the premiums at $36 for all of them together. Added to the promotional price of the Charter digital package with HD of $54.99 a month and the Digital view channels for $20 a month and you will be looking at $111 a month for the first six months before the price goes up.

Video on Demand – Which is better?

Another consideration when looking at a comparison of DIRECTV vs. Charter cable is the On-demand platform offered by each company. Charter has deployed on demand content like other big cable companies like Comcast and AT&T U-verse, though they have fewer selections at this time. Right now, Charter offers more than 6,000 titles in their on demand library, which kind of pales in comparison to Comcast’s 17,000 plus titles, or the 18,000 offered by Verizon Fios at this time. Then again, how much TV can one person really watch? DIRECTV offers their own on-demand system as well, but it relies on the customer having their own high speed internet connection, which you don’t need with Charter on demand. While the DIRECTV on demand setup is workable, it can be a bit frustrating compared to the robust on demand platform of Charter, or any other cable TV company for that matter.

Attention Sports Fans

Now if you are a hardcore sports fan, you certainly don’t want to be left out in the cold when it comes to the big game. If you are serious about your team, you may want to seriously consider DIRECTV over Charter cable, as the sports programming options are far superior on satellite TV.

The basic sports channels can be found on both Charter and DIRECTV. These include ESPN, ESPN2, and other regional sports networks like Fox Sports. The area where DIRECTV holds an edge is in carrying the premium sports packages, and some of the secondary sports channels like the NFL Network. Everyone of course is familiar with the NFL Sunday Ticket, which is an exclusive of DIRECTV.   But it goes quite a bit further in that DIRECTV carries, all of the sports bundles, and Charter doesn’t carry many at all.

With Charter, you will only be able to subscribe to the following sports packages if they are of interest to you: MLB Extra Innings, NHL Center Ice, ESPN Gameplan and ESPN Fullcourt.   With DIRECTV, you can get all of these packages, plus these if they are your cup of tea: NBA League Pass, NCAA Mega March Madness, MLS Direct Kick, the previously mentioned Sunday Ticket, and NASCAR Hotpass which is actually free at this time.  Obviously most of these premiums sports packages are going to cost you some money, but keep in mind you won’t even be able to get them on Charter.  The NFL Network is another important sports channel that is not carried on Charter or Time Warner cable.

Another consideration is DVR service, and because of the convenience and popularity of digital video recorders, you definitely will want to get one with either Charter or DIRECTV.   The Charter DVR will run you $15 a month for each DVR, while with DIRECTV it is currently priced at $6 per month.  You really won’t notice a significant difference in the functionality of the DVR with either company, so price is really the main thing to look at here, and DIRECTV comes out ahead.

As mentioned earlier, both Charter TV and DIRECTV want your business, so they offer deals to new customers to get you to sign up.  DIRECTV offers include free installation and a discount for a year.  Some of the additional Charter deals are as follows.  Charter offers the Digital home, Digital view, and 2 premiums package for $80.99 a month for 6 months, then the regular price is $94 a month.  The basic Charter triple play offer is $69.97 for limited basic cable, 1.5 Mbps DSL and Digital phone.  This is good for 12 month then goes to the regular price of $104.97.

Charter Digital Cable plus  5 Mbps Internet package is $93.98 for six months, and includes one premium channel but no Charter phone service.  The regular price here is $138.99 a month.  The Charter Ultimate Bundle includes anything and everything from the cable company.  Charter Digital home, Charter HD, and 3 Premium movie channels kick off this package.   Added next is 10 Mbps Charter high speed internet service, and finally Charter Telephone with unlimited local and long distance calling to the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico rounds out the bundle.  Total price here is $165.97 for one year, then $200.97 after the promotional period.

Additional Charter packages are available which mix and match different levels of cable, internet, and home phone service to your specifications.  Full details can be found at their website charter.com or by calling Charter customer service at 1-888-438-2427.

For further information, please browse our Charter cable review, or visit our homepage to start learning more about satellite TV.

If you are moving into your first home, you may finally have an additional choice when it comes to your cable provider. Generally, those who live in apartments have to obtain service from the local cable TV company, unless they have a private balcony where they can put a satellite dish. But when you move into your own home, you have the choice of getting either cable or satellite TV. In this article, we will review your options when it comes to comparing pay television providers.

DISH Network vs Cable

DISH Network is of course one of the pioneers when it comes to challenging the old cable TV monopoly. After starting operations in the early 1990’s, DISH Network has grown to serve nearly 14 million customers in the United States today. The combination of low rates and high quality HD content makes DISH Network a company you should consider when looking at your satellite and cable TV options.

Cable television has its own advantages. Whether you are served by one of the large cable companies like Comcast or Time Warner, or one of the smaller cable operators, there is quite a bit to consider when considering what cable TV can offer. Most cable TV companies offer triple play bundles of service, allowing you to deal with one company for your voice, high speed internet, and video service. Oftentimes you can get is bundled discount when you have all of these services through your cable company. Cable TV companies also offer great On demand content, giving you literally hundreds of options when you sit down to watch a little TV. Alternatively, cable TV is generally more expensive than the satellite TV companies, DISH Network and DIRECTV.

Because channel lineups and content is fairly similar when comparing DISH Network vs. cable, lets first look at the pricing of these two options. Usually, if you are a new customer you can strike a good deal with either Dish TV or your local cable company. Because companies are always looking for ways to increase their subscriber base, they are willing to offer discounted rates, free premium channels, and free equipment in order to entice people to subscribe. This is true with satellite TV, as DIRECTV and DISH Network deals are always available to new subscribers.

The regular DISH Network prices are what you should consider if you plan on keeping satellite TV service for the long term. Packages like the Classic Bronze 100 are regularly priced at around $45 per month, while the Classic Gold 250 is about $63 a month. Add $10 per month if you want HD content and you have a starting point to compare DISH Network to cable TV in your area. Right now, the current DISH Network offer discounts the package you select by $15 for the first 12 months of service, so you can save $180 overall in programming costs.

Cable TV prices of course vary quite a bit depending on the area you live in and what other services you take from your local cable company. We have provided reviews on Charter cable and Cox Communications, but your best way to determine what rates prevail in your area is to call your local cable television company. Be sure to ask what the cable rates are after any promotional period, as they are often deeply discounted during the first year of service for new customers.

While cable TV is often more expensive than DISH Network when looking at video service, you can get a better deal with cable triple play offers. Usually, you will get a basic cable package, high speed cable service, and local phone service for around $100 per month. After a year though, the price usually goes up, so be aware of any deals like this when comparing the overall price against Dish TV.

Next, an important consideration when comparing cable TV vs. DISH Network is picture quality, and HD content. This has become even more important over the past year, as millions of Americans have gone out and purchased HDTV’s and want the best content for these expensive television sets. You probably won’t notice much of a difference when comparing cable TV against DISH Network when you are watching standard definition programming. Where most notice a difference is when it comes to HD content. In this area, DISH Network beats most cable providers in both the picture quality, and in the number of HD channels available.

Right now, DISH Network Turbo HD has more than 140 national HD channels, recently passing DIRECTV for the most HD content. Now you really won’t get that many HD channels depending on the package you select. For example, the Classic Gold 250 package actually has 80 HD channels. Where are the rest? Basically there are quite a few PPV channels in HD, and also premium movie channels in HD like the various Starz and HBO feeds.

On the other hand, you won’t find nearly as many HD channels with your local cable TV company. Only the Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse cable options are going to come close to the HD content offered by DISH Network. Most cable companies are still struggling to upgrade their networks to provide more HD content, so the number of HD channels available from area to area can vary quite a bit. Also, some cable companies like Time Warner have been better about HD deployment, while Charter cable has been one of the worst when it comes to providing subscribers with high definition.

When it comes to getting your local channels in HD, you will probably find that both DISH Network and your cable TV company are able to do this. DISH Network now covers more than 90% of U.S. households when it comes to local HD programming. Check with your local cable company and DISH Network if this is a high priority for you.

Going in a different direction, on-demand programming is an area that has grown significantly in the last few years. Cable TV companies have pioneered on demand access, setting up huge server farms in order to provide subscribers with 24/7 access to all kinds of programming. Most of the big companies like Cox, Comcast, Brighthouse, and Time Warner cable (TWC) offer On-demand at no extra charge. Usually you have to have a digital cable package or higher for free On-demand access.

With DISH Network, they have made a big push in promoting their Movies On Demand offer. While you can watch pay per view movies at any time, you still have the fees associated with VOD, usually $5-6 per movie. Dish TV does offer many of their titles in 1080p, which is the best video quality available today. When it comes to regular TV programming, there is not much at all with DISH Network compared to cable TV, as DISH Network has to push the content to your DVR and there is limited space available. A definite edge goes to cable TV if you use On-demand frequently.

Another consideration for many when comparing DISH Network vs. cable TV is the availability of sports programming. Here you will find things to be fairly similar between your local cable TV company and DISH Network TV. The major sports networks like ESPN, ESPN2, and your regional sports networks are usually there with either provider. On most of the higher tiers you will also find the NFL Network, Speed, and a few other sports networks. One network you won’t currently find on DISH Network though is the MLB Channel. They have yet to strike a deal with Major League Baseball to carry the network, and they also do not carry the MLB Extra Innings package, which is on DIRECTV and most cable TV carriers.

DISH Network does carry the NBA League Pass and the NHL Center Ice package, which usually run about $200 extra per year. Both of these packages are also on most cable TV carriers. Where cable television and DISH Network both come up short is when it comes to the NFL Sunday Ticket. This package remains an exclusive of DIRECTV, which recently extended their contract with the NFL for carriage through the year 2014. DIRECTV has stated that it will be making the Red Zone channel available to Dish TV and cable companies, but it is unclear if any other pay television companies will take DIRECTV up on the offer.

If customer service is a concern for you, then comparing DISH Network against cable TV on this subject is another important consideration. Last year, DIRECTV had the highest customer satisfaction rating, while DISH Network came in second place. Big cable companies fell far behind both satellite TV companies, including Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter cable, which posted the lowest score ever measured in the 2009 University of Michigan American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI). While these scores are of course averages and each customer experience is different, you probably will have fewer issues with DISH Network customer service compared to cable.

If you have used a DVR, or digital video recorder, you know how handy these devices are in helping you watch TV. Both DISH Network and cable TV companies have adopted DVR technology today. While you won’t notice a huge difference when comparing the Dish DVR with cable TV DVR units, there are some advantages that go to the satellite TV provider. DISH Network offers their DuoDVR device which can connect one HDTV and one standard definition TV through the same box. DVR service with DISH Network runs about $6 per month, per DVR.   Many cable companies charge extremely high rates on their DVR units, an example being Comcast cable which charges more than $15 per month for DVR service. Be sure to check out how much your cable company charges for DVR service before committing.

In conclusion, a side by side comparison of DISH Network vs cable TV is the smart thing to do before committing to one or the other. Closely evaluate your personal needs when it comes to a pay television provider, then see which company can meet those needs at a price you can live with.

Charter cable is the third-largest cable company in the United States.  Only Comcast and Time Warner have more subscribers that Charter when considering cable TV companies, while both DIRECTV and DISH Network are also bigger in terms of subscribers, though they deliver the signal by satellite.  Overall, Charter cable serves more than 5 million customers across 29 different states. Charter cable is based out of St. Louis Missouri, and is traded on the NASDAQ exchange.  Often the subject of much speculation, Charter’s largest shareholder is Paul Allen, one of the co-founders of Microsoft.

Compared to Charter cable, both DIRECTV and Dish Network have much larger subscriber bases.  Currently there are more than 30 million subscribers compared to about 5.7 million for Charter.

Like most other cable TV companies, Charter communications has expanded its offerings beyond just video services.  Today Charter can offer high-speed internet, local and long distance telephone service, as well as cable TV service.  Charter cable now offers the so-called triple play bundle of voice, video, and internet, and if you buy all three, you will get a discount versus buying the services individually.  Current promotions offer the triple play offer for $99.97 for one year, a cable TV/Internet package for $74.98 for six months, or an internet only promotion for $24.99 for the first six months.

Charter’s cable service includes a wide selection of television programming. Charter cable offers both basic cable service and Charter Digital Cable offerings. High-definition or HDTV channels are also available, though Charter falls far behind the number of HD channels available through both DIRECTV and DISH Network.  Charter cable is also in the digital video recorder game offering DVR service for an additional monthly fee, along with the on-demand programming that customers demand in today’s market.

The high speed internet service available via cable modem through Charter is available in speeds from 5 to16 megabits per second.  Here’s a faster way to explore the Web. Charter communications offers these different high-speed options for different customer needs. The different options from Charter include the Charter High-Speed package, with speeds up to 5Mbps, the Charter High-Speed Plus which downloads at speeds up to 10Mbps, and finally the Charter High Speed Max which rates at speeds up to 16Mbps.  Obviously the more speed you want, the more you will pay monthly.

Combine with high speed, Charter customers also receive security features to protect against intrusions and viruses. Charter cable high speed internet can also be combined with wireless home networking in order to connect several computers to the same internet connection.

Charter telephone is the residential voice component of the Charter Bundle. It basically includes unlimited local and long distance calling to locations through the Charter cable network.  Additional calling locations include Canada and Puerto Rico for no additional charge. Quite a few calling features are included, similar to what you would find with your local phone company.  These include calling features such as Call Waiting and Caller ID as well as VoiceMail.

Charter cable as mentioned earlier offers these services in bundles. The Charter Bundle is name the company uses for customers who subscribe to either two or three Charter services, like the Charter internet service.  This gives the customer a discounted rate, and the convenience of one bill for whatever services they receive.  Charter currently has about 2.5 million customers, who bundle services.  This of course is great for Charter as they can collect more revenue per subscriber when customers have additional services.

Charter cable has suffered over the past few years though due to an extremely poor customer service record.  While having the option to provide triple play bundles to your customer base is great, that means nothing if your customers are dissatisfied with your company.

Part of this is due to the expansive territory covered by Charter.  Devoid of any high density markets, Charter covers territories in South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Georgia.  Charter is at a disadvantage to both DIRECTV and DISH Network in that the satellite companies have “purchasing power,” higher subscriber counts that can help them negotiate better deals with programmers.   Also because Charter’s network covers such an expansive area, it is difficult to continually upgrade and maintain.

Charter of course also offers high definition or HD programming.  As of the end of 2007, Charter had about 25 HD channels across its network.  By the end of 2008 Charter has publicly stated they expect to have in the area of 40 to 45  HD channels for their customers in most parts of the country.  Charter cable is using switched digital technology in order to deliver more HD using the same amount of bandwidth.  These numbers pale in comparison to satellite TV.  DISH Network and DIRECTV now offer more than 100 channels each in HD.  DISH Network packages now offer more than 100 HD channels, while new Direct TV deals offer free HD for life with a qualifying package.

As far as video packages go, Charter cable offers a full range of programming packages.  These start with the Charter Basic and Expanded Basic TV services.  These include all of the popular basic TV channels like ESPN, CNN and the USA Network.  Charter of course also offers premium movie networks like HBO, Showtime and Starz for an additional programming fee each month.

If you are a sports fan, however, Charter is not the best pay TV provider.  Charter does not carry the NFL Network, though they did at one time when the network was first launched.  As far as other premium sports packages go, Charter Cable comes up short.  They only offer a couple  of the major league sports packages, those being the MLB Extra Innings package and the NHL Center Ice deal.  Missing from the Charter lineup are the NBA League pass as well as the NFL Sunday Ticket and the NASCAR Hotpass, the latter two packages being Direct TV exclusives.  If you want more sports programming, satellite TV providers DISH Network and DIRECTV beat Charter cable.

Charter cable also offers their own digital video recorder service, called the Charter DVR.  Similar to the DIRECTV DVR and the dishDVR from DISH Network, the Charter DVR give you plenty of flexibility in how your watch TV.  With the Charter DVR, you can pause live TV,  recording one channel while you watch another, and its all controlled from the comfort of your couch via remote control. The Charter DVR is great for controlling interruptions, as you can simply pause whatever you are watching, or press record to finish watching the show later. Charter DVR service does incur an additional fee currently around $15 a month.

With a Charter DVR, you don’t incur an upfront equipment cost that would normally be several hundreds of dollars for something like a TiVO box.  Charter cable leases the unit to the customer, thus if you have any issues you can contact them for repair or replacement.

A final consideration that was touched on earlier is Charters poor customer service record.  Earlier this year the American Customer Satisfaction Index rated satellite TV  providers DIRECTV and DISH Network highest with scores of of 68 and 65. The ASCI report though painted a bad picture for Charter cable.  They came in dead last, tying with the largest cable company Comcast with a score of 54.

Late in 2007 Charter also was rated worst by research firm Forrester Research.  In a survey of national providers in customer service Charter cable rated a “very poor” with a score of 41 out of 100 in the rankings. That was 8 points lower than the next worst of the eight major TV providers which was Cablevision at 49.

Charter cable’s stock price has plummeted in recent months, and currently is below $1 a share.  While Charter has the advantage of the triple play bundle, they also face competition in this area as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse are now offered in many of the same areas that Charter serves. So while the convenience of a triple play might sound appealing, the poor service record of Charter cable may encourage you to consider DISH Network or DIRECTV.

NHL Center Ice is a premium sports package available on satellite TV. Current promotional deals from both DIRECTV and DISH Network will save you money, and get you connected with the NHL Center Ice package. You can start ordering this package now through both DISH and DIRECTV, as the NHL season starts in just a few weeks.
Because NHL Center Ice is an Out-of-Market Sports Package, the package allows its subscribers to see up to forty out-of-market National Hockey League games a week. These are distributed by using local and national television networks to cable, DIRECTV and DISH Network.

One cool thing is that Canadians living in the USA can see a lot more hockey. NHL Center Ice features top Canadian broadcasts, like TSN and Hockey Night in Canada from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It also carries some of the out of region games broadcast on NBC. At times, there are even French language feeds from RDS that may be used if no English-language broadcast is available. Broadcasts from Rogers SportsNet are also shown. Pay-per-view games are included as well. For viewers subscribing via satellite like Dish Network or DIRECTV, both teams’ feeds are available for most games, so you can hear the “homers” point of view. Digital cable subscribers like Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, and Charter cable are limited just the one feed. Cable viewers also have less HD selection. Another reason to get rid of cable and go with DIRECTV.

Some providers offer high-definition or HD broadcasts when available, usually around 20 HD games per week. Several providers put Center Ice on the same channels as MLB Extra Innings or the ESPN Gameplan, the good thing is that the NHL Center ICE usually gets priority because the conflict happens in April, and nobody cares about early season baseball games. This time of the year for the NHL is at the end of the regular season and beginning of the playoffs.

NHL Center Ice may have some negatives; of course it’s not for everyone. The package is best of course for the hardcore hockey fans, they will love getting all of the extra games weekly for all kinds of extra hockey viewing. It’s a great chance to see all the match-ups in the NHL that you would never really see otherwise. All in all, we know how much professional sports cost to attend in person, and as expensive as it can be to go to a hockey games in person between parking, tickets, beer and food, spending the $169 for hundreds of games on HDTV is a cheap price to pay. Get in on the early bird special, and with most companies its only $159 for the whole season.

Now if you love hockey and live hockey, there really isn’t anything better that all you can view hockey. NHL Center Ice is perfect package for fans like this. You will get several games every single night. Because of the time zone differences, and games starting on the East and West Coasts, you will have no problem seeing at least a couple of NHL Center Ice games every night. Even better, make sure you have PIP, (picture-in-picture) on your television, especially if it is a new plasma big-screen, then you can watch more than one game at the same time.
If you live in the USA, or are someone who moved from Canada now living in the U.S., it can be cool to see Hockey Night in Canada on NHL Center Ice. That’s what it’s all about, with NHL Center Ice, you get to see your favorite sport, and lots of it.

NHL CENTER ICE gives you viewing access to about 40 out-of-market NHL games every week, plus Premiere Canadian match-ups. Even better, you also get extra select games from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that is during the first two rounds.

Another cool feature is that you can check out what is going on around the league without having to change the channel. How? With the NHL Leaguewide, which is a mix channel with multiple views. This screen shows all the live games that are going on at any given time. See all of the games airing on NHL CENTER ICE at that time.
NHL Center Ice Extra is another cool channel in the package. This channel is a fans #1 source for scores, statistics, game previews, game recaps and schedule information. Statistics consist of league leaders, standings, player stats and more.

Are you an Avalanche fan living in New York City, an Oilers fan living in Dallas or a Kings fan living in Chicago? You can still watch your favorite team even if you don’t live within 1,000 miles of your hometown. Follow the hockey action that you want to see, and also keep up and follow your favorite players from around the NHL.

Whether you’re for the home town NHL team or pulling for your team across the country, the NHL Center Ice package is the only way to follow your favorite NHL teams. This package can keep you up to date throughout the season, and NHL Center Ice is a must-have for any real hockey fan, the 2008-2009 season will be better than ever.
As mentioned earlier, you will see more dual feeds. That means whenever possible, both the home and away broadcasts will be accessible for the home viewer to choose from. For example, if the Rangers are playing the Blackhawks, you’d see the New York Rangers on one channel, and the Chicago Blackhawks on another.

The NHL Network is also added in at no extra cost. The NHL Network is broadcast in both SD and Hi-Definition and is hockey personified 24/7. Programming on the NHL Network includes live games, highlight shows, hockey news, exclusive programs and more.

Unfortunately, the evil blackout still lurks. Blackout restrictions apply to all games that are on NHL CENTER ICE. Blackout restrictions are designed to protect the television rights holders in the competing teams’ respective home markets. NHL Center Ice blackouts, as with other sports packages, are intended to protect the rights of the league’s national, regional, and local broadcast partners. Unlike in the past, a blackout is not because a team has not sold out the game.

So you want the lowdown on blackouts? Here is a general overview:

In the USA, games broadcast by National Broadcasting Company (NBC) or Versus are not part of in the NHL Center Ice package. In addition, NBC has been granted an exclusive window by the NHL, which means during these times no other games can be televised in the United States. This is no doubt to increase network ratings. During this window, other games may be televised locally only by Canadian teams. For instance, if the Calgary Flames are playing the Los Angeles Kings at the same time NBC is televising another game, the Flames may choose to broadcast the game locally (on Sportsnet West, for example), but the Kings are not permitted to televise the game.

Additionally, the game would be available on NHL Center Ice in Canada, but not in the USA. The NBC blackout window typically lasts 2.5 hours from the start of its Game of the Week broadcast. Games televised by Versus are designated as exclusive or non-exclusive for blackout purposes. Exclusive broadcasts generally occur on Monday and Tuesday nights during the regular season.
During these games, Versus has an exclusive window similar to NBC, which usually lasts 2 or 2.5 hours from the start of the Versus telecast. No other games may be televised in the USA during this time. Canadian teams may choose to air these games, and unlike the NBC exclusive window, the Canadian local telecasts are included in the United States. NHL Center Ice package. During non-exclusive Versus telecasts, other teams may televise their games, but the Versus game may not be locally televised.

Yes that blackout information is a mouthful; just know you might not see every single game you want to see on NHL Center Ice, due to all of these contractual agreements between the NHL, NBC, Versus, and the like. With a DirecTV DVR though, you will be able to record NHL Center Ice games to watch later.
The NHL Center Ice games can be found on DIRECTV Channels 769-785 and on DISH Network Channels 543-558.