Making television easy again. By Phillip Swann
Q. We have Dish and I want to get the new HBO Max which comes for free with HBO. But I can’t order HBO on Dish because it doesn’t have it. How come Dish doesn’t have HBO? — Sheila, Budd’s Creek, Maryland. Sheila, Dish has been without HBO now for 20 months due to a
Q. I read your article saying DIRECTV didn’t raise prices for us existing subscribers. That is absolutely not true. My monthly bill was $69 a few months ago and now it’s over $130. How can that be? They just raised prices, didn’t they? — Mary, Corsicana, Texas. Mary, no, they didn’t just raise prices for
Despite accelerating customer defections, AT&T today raised the first-year monthly price for new subscribers to DIRECTV and AT&T TV. The company, however, has not raised monthly fees for its live streaming service, AT&T TV Now, nor for DIRECTV and AT&T TV’s existing customers. New subscribers to DIRECTV now must pay $59.99 a month for the
AT&T has closed AT&T WatchTV, its $15-a-month streaming service, to new subscribers, and old customers who want to re-subscribe. In a notice posted at its web site, AT&T says service will not be affected for existing WatchTV subscribers. “Standalone WatchTV is no longer available for new sign ups or to re-subscribe,” the statement reads. “Existing
Q. I would think that AT&T would have sold DIRECTV to Dish by now. Do you have any idea what’s holding up the deal? Is it Charlie Ergen being Charlie Ergen and asking for a low price? — Manny, Newark, New Jersey. Manny, AT&T has said it’s not inclined to sell DIRECTV, but the company’s
Q. I’ve been watching the Smithsonian Channel on DIRECTV, but it’s not there anymore. How do I get the channel back?! It has some great documentaries! — Hank, Toledo, Ohio. Hank, DIRECTV in March offered a free preview of about 50 channels to help Coronavirus shut-ins pass the time. However, the preview has ended, or
Q. I read your story about the reasons why you should get DIRECTV. When will you write about all the reasons why you shouldn’t. I can think of a lot as a former DIRECTV subscriber! — Cheryl, Lansing, Michigan. Cheryl, as you note, I wrote this week about the five reasons why you should subscribe
Q. I’ve been seeing these new commercials from AT&T with that really pretty brunette. Is that the same girl who was in their commercials a few years ago? She looks very familiar from the commercials or maybe it’s from some TV shows. Who is she? — Dave, Big Spring, Texas. The new AT&T commercials, which
Q. I was thinking about getting DIRECTV because we have Internet issues where we live. But I have read about AT&T not running it well. Is there still a good reason to get DIRECTV? What are the benefits? We now have Netflix and Hulu. — Susie, Cambridge, Maryland. Susie, that’s a great question. While it’s
Q. I have HBO through Hulu on my Roku and I am supposed to get HBO Max, too. But I can’t seem to find the extra programming that everyone is talking about on HBO Max like Friends. What am I missing here? — Christi, Taos, New Mexico. Christi, welcome to the confusing world of HBO
Q. I have DIRECTV, but I was thinking of using the Internet to watch TV. I know AT&T just started HBO Max, right? But is there something like that for DIRECTV? I remember something called DIRECTV Now. Is that still in business? — Maria, Indianapolis. Maria, you sound confused, but don’t despair. You are not
Q. I have DIRECTV and I used to get channels for Fox, NBC, ABC and all the networks from New York and Los Angeles, but now I just get Fox. Why is that? Didn’t you write an article saying AT&T got new agreements with everyone but ABC? — Jim, town withheld. Jim, I will try