Choice TV goes off Saturday

Sloop,

You need to correct your post to state Sunday May 31st.

As of this morning, we are still watching Choice TV.

Tippi

Choice goes off at midnight May 31 according the Choice.
Some people have already lost all channels.

Sloop said after Saturday. I believe Sunday the 31st would be after saturday.

OK. Sunday, May 31. Sorry. I just finished installing Dish Network and my customer told me thye had to return their equipment by Saturday the 30th. So I thought Saturday was the last day.

My customer also told me Choice was requiring customers to return all equipment, receivers and antennas so maybe that is not true either?

Sloop

Sloop,

My plans are to return the antenna, box and remote on Monday June 1st.

Tippi

Sloop.

I don't know how a company that is going out of business can demand we return anything. I will when I am down that way naturally but there is no sense of urgency on my part at all.

Pamela

Did Choice require a deposit? If so....How much? I agree with Pamela! Choice installed the antenna and boxes so they should send out crews to pick the equipment up. Some of the antennas I've seen could not be safely taken down by most homeowners. I've seen a few on poles over 20 feet tall!! Does Choice plan to keep the deposit and then let the stuff rust and rot on the homes??
I could maybe see where they might want you to return the boxes to get a refund but they need to remove the antennas.

FYI I've seen many different equipment configurations on choice installations. Some antennas require power insertion and some don't, many runs have amps installed to compensate signal loss, and some were even using the same cable and antenna for both TV and internet. If you have both TV and internet from Choice make sure your next TV provider installer doesn't shut down your internet.

I don't recall paying a deposit with Choice. I never even thought about the antenna. No way am I going on my roof to retrieve it. They want it, they can come get it! I'll take in the box and the remote but that's all they are getting from me.

Here is a funny, I didn't pay the last month's bill. Money is tight and I see no point in paying to have the service for another week. Again, I will pay them but when I get to it. I still have 17 channels on. They can't even get cutting me off right 🙂

Pamela

so, what are the other options?

I called Choice today about the antenna. I have 2 options, make an appointment and an installer will come to the house and remove it for me or if I go with Direct TV when Direct TV is installed they will remove the antenna at that time and return to Choice. I said to the person I thought I could get it, and they told me if I had any fear to just make an appointment for someone to come get it.

Choice said at midnight Sunday night the TV will be turned off. We have the soup to nuts pkg. So far the only two channels down are Showtime and Bravo. The person said I would have TV until that time and then my TV would go dark.

I asked about my Internet service and they assured me that it would continue on. I was told even though TV will go dark, my Internet will still run at the high speed.

The person I spoke to was very reassuring that Choice would continue being the Best Internet provider in the islands and they are not going out of business, only closing TV service.

Do you believe them? The TV goes first then will the internet follow? THey have had many technical difficulties with the internet.

BillD

when i'am in st croix i use sprint broadband internet it is fast and reliable and i can use it any where i go

BillD,

I do actually believe them. Yes, I've had problems with Internet and when I've voiced my concerns they were addressed. I don't think they will go out of business with internet. I've been with them for Internet for many years and have one of those islands.vi addresses.

Choice is a small business in our islands and with any small business I want them to make it. I've enjoyed watching for the past 10 year Choice TV with network stations off island and a good clear/clean signal. It helped me stay connected to the "real world". I'll probably have big time withdrawal symptoms as I'm looking at one of those antennas from RS to attach to my TV. I can't decide who to give my business to so until then I'm going to wing it with a simple antenna to my TV.

Tippi

TV may be going but Internet is here to stay at Choice.

I happen to know first hand that Choice is not going out of business. Choice is adding new internet equipment to improve service for current customers and expand coverage for new customers.

I believe Choice internet will continue to provide service.
Competing on the TV platform was too costly. Being in the Dishnetwork business I would usually only hear from those Choice TV customers that were not happy. I realize many people had good TV service from them but the ones that didn't constantly had channels missing, freezing of pic, no audio, no guide .............
Was told the fix would cost Choice several hundred thousand $$$. That's where having a provider with millions of subscribers becomes the best option. They can afford to upgrade there system.

Sky- why do you believe internet will remain, isn't it as costly to maintain as TV? If Choice didn't have the customer base for TV what makes you think they will have the customer base to grow internet? Are you going into internet business?

Direct TV is now being offered at the Choice office. I guess this way they may be helping people convert?

First of all Choice is a division of ATN which is a large well capitalized telecommunications firm.

In May 2008 ATN had the financial backing to prepare a bid for Innovative in the range of $500 million.

Finally the internet business is a much more profitable business than video entertainment. Programmers collect on average $0.50 for every dollar a cable company collects. On average the gross margin for a cable company would be around 40%. Choice being small and not having the negotiating power of a big operator like Comcast might have been lucky to realize 30%.

The average gross margin for an internet provider is in the range of 80 - 90%. Size isn't as important in this segment as the cost of data transport is much more competitive.

Therefore given that you could use your limited bandwidth to provide either video or internet services which business would you rather be in?

Remember though that the capital costs are high so being in either line of business isn't necessarily a license to print money.

Jim

Sky- why do you believe internet will remain, isn't it as costly to maintain as TV? If Choice didn't have the customer base for TV what makes you think they will have the customer base to grow internet? Are you going into internet business?

No. More profit in internet. You just supply the path (bandwidth), not the content.
Businesses need internet.
I already offer Hughesnet for those with no line of sight to wireless or as a backup for business'.

You guys have convinced me. Choice will remain offering internet. The fact that they might take over Inovative may help. But the cost to provide internet service by cable is not much given that the cable is there anyway for CTV. The problem that Choice has with the TV was that you required an addition box per TV. You can still use the basic servcie on Inovative without a box.

But don't be upset if I post something in the future that says I told you so! Something will happen!

billd

BillD,

Do you have inside information something will happen? A little confused - first you said you're convinced and then closed with ..."I told you so"?

As well if you read "the Source" clearly ATN is out of the running for Innovative, the lenders are taking them over...Rural Telephone something.

Tippi

Innovative isn't for sale any longer. Its biggest creditor (Rural Telephone Finance Co-Op ) decided to take them over rather than take the huge write off that selling Innovative in December 2008 would have required.

Unless the RTFC is willing to put over $100 - $150 million into Innovative ASAP the business will just continue to spiral down.

Innovative blew it big time as did most other telephone companies when they let the very profitable DSL market get away from them. Innovative has less than 50% of the local market with Choice and BroadbandVI having most of the rest.

Innovative also let their cell business go to hell. If they had developed that business instead of letting it go they would have something to offset their loss in landlines. Currently there are 60,000 land lines in the USVI and 80,000 cell lines. Innovative has approximately 1,000 cell customers and half of those are probably their own employees.

If you think Innovative has problems in the USVI you should see their systems in the BVI and St. Maarten.

Jim