Sen, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) yesterday suggested that “big corporations” removed the History Channel from his DIRECTV package because he has been critical of the channel’s alleged lack of history programming. The Iowa Republican seemed to point the finger of blame at DIRECTV.
See an update of this article.
“My reward for blasting the History channel for not having any history is that I hv (have) to subscribe anew,” Grassley wrote on Twitter at 8:25 a.m. ET on Saturday. “So direct tv took it out of my package. That’s how big corporations fight back.”
At 3: 14 p.m. ET, the TV Answer Man responded to Grassley’s Twitter account that DIRECTV earlier this year had actually removed the History Channel (owned by A&E Networks) from the basic Entertainment plan for all customer accounts, not just Sen. Grassley’s account. . The channel is still available in the Choice plan and above.
The History Channel is available in Directv’s Choice and above plans. It used to be in the slightly cheaper Entertainment package but no longer. https://t.co/Q6G2rE9Npj
— The TV Answer Man (@TVAnswerMan) December 11, 2021
(The Entertainment package is $5 a month cheaper than Choice in year one for new subscribers while it’s $20 a month cheaper in year two for two-year contract subscribers, and all customers who are no longer in two-year agreements.)
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Ninety minutes after our tweet, Sen. Grassley posted a new tweet:
“Just spent 45 mins finding out why I don’t hv history channel Negotiations btwn 4 channels incl history & Direct tv Results: if I want history channel my bill go fr $65 to $99 I’m not paying $34 for history ch when not much history /or should I change from Direct to DISH??”
Just spent 45 mins finding out why I don’t hv history channel Negotiations btwn 4 channels incl history & Direct tv Results: if I want history channel my bill go fr $65 to $99 I’m not paying $34 for history ch when not much history /or should I change from Direct to DISH??
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 11, 2021
DIRECTV’s Twitter customer service team then jumped in with its own response:
“Senator Grassley, we’d like to look into this with you. Please send us a DM so we may assist you,” the satellite TV company tweeted.
Sen. Grassley did not respond publicly to the DIRECTV tweet.
While the veteran senator first suggested the History Channel was just removed from his package because he says the network should offer more history-related programming, he has criticized the channel for the same reason for years. Grassley is one of many History Channel viewers who believe the network has emphasized reality shows and conspiracy documentaries in recent years over actual history.
The History Channel is owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Disney and Hearst.
The TV Answer Man has asked both DIRECTV and Sen. Grassley for a comment and will report back here if we receive one.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
Speaking of Removing channels,
WHY did DirecTV Remove the “SELECT Package” for new customers ?
FAMILY (on non all-included pricing), SELECT, PREFERRED XTRA, AND XTRA are all available to existing customers (as in, as long as you already have service you can switch to it).
Loyalty/retention can switch you to any one of those as they’re basically one of the ways we “save” customers.
I believe you can grandfather the History Channel into your package but have to call them up. Also A&E Channel.
Channel line-up update Effective 12/8/2021 your DIRECTV channel line-up will no longer include A&E, History, Lifetime and Vice channels. Go to directv.com/channel-opt-in to add back the four channels at no additional cost.
Why did this happen ?
Greed. Money
My God, it’s like both DirecTV and Dish want to purposely run off every single customer.
Because you complain the rest of the Direct TV viewers suffer ?
Your job is to pass laws and protect our freedoms, not take them away. I bet you are so proud to have eliminated a great channel. You should be asking about the History books in our schools that are eliminating the complete history of our country and rewriting it with lies and garbage. Do us all a favor and attack a worthy project, that is your job, Right