Flow drops Starz, Showtime, TMC; introduces "Premiums"

[BW]

Anyone caught this yet? Sounds horrible, but I guess we have to accept it. I'll miss TMC the most.

Highlights:
Flow will begin charging extra for movie channels ($64.99 each)
The current HBO will be replaced by HBO Latin America (HBO-LA) and HBO Caribbean.
Starz, Showtime, The Movie Channel will be dropped altogether
G4TV is now in an optional package for digital customers.

http://www.newsday.co.tt/business/0,67123.html


HBO signs up Flow

Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited has signed an agreement with HBO Latin America Group for the license to air HBO, Cinemax and Sundance Channels after almost two years of negotiations. Customers will now have to pay an additional fee to access these movie channels via the company brand, Flow from January 2008.

The announcement came at a press conference and signing ceremony held yesterday at the Hotel Marriot where Columbus also announced the inclusion of the Caribbean sports channel SportsMax as an optional package on Flow Digital cable service from November 12.

Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited president John Reid announced that from December 1, Flow will begin to air all 19 HBO LA Channels and customers will have a free preview of all for the entire month.

The Movie Channels (TMC), Starz and Showtime will cease to operate on November 30, he explained.

After the preview, analog subscribers will have to pay $64.99 for a premium movie package which includes channels by HBO and Cinemax.

Digital subscribers have the choice of three movie packages: Flow Flicks- HBO, Flow Flicks- Max and Flow Full Flicks costing $43.99, $64.99 and $79.99 respectively. Additionally, Reid said three new channels will be included in the basic digital package, The Africa Channel, Property Plus and NFL Network, which was included earlier this month. New optional packages will also be made available for certain interests and will include the new channels made available by HBO Latin America.

The channel, G4 TV will be taken from the basic package and included in the optional package, Flow Fanatic. Both parties expressed satisfaction with the new agreement. Javier Figueras affiliate sales vice-president of HBO Latin America, who signed the agreement on behalf of HBO said Columbus will not have to pay any retroactive fees for providing the channels prior to the agreement. “This is a new relationship between us and Columbus Communications and we are pleased with the agreement,” he said.

The agreement, according to Reid, will make Trinidad and Tobago the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean with which the HBO group has an agreement.


You know, I really have to question why anyone would want to subscribe to these "premium" channels. In this day of DVD rentals, fast internet connections..and *cough* (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v55/PikachuMan/BG_18-01-07_Front.jpg).. there are other methods of getting your movie fix.

edit: whoops, forgot to mention prices are going to go up across the board again in November, for both digital and analog subscribers. Press Release (http://www.flowtrinidad.com/watch/content.cfm?contentID=4C4E10BD-F347-70A2-E5560A22A482E985).

[dhal]

steups

[IN-A-QUANDRY]

I only care about TBN, Civilisation, Travel, Discovery and Living and Sci Fi. The rest are crap outside of the news channels.

[sylvestter]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

i won't be able to watch dexter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

daz real crap though. they should allow people to subscribe to showtime and startz as well...

[Huma]

Rubbish. Real rubbish.

I commend their moves to become legit, but by killin the movie channels and G4, they just cut my TV-watching enjoyment in half. Now all I have left is History Channel and whatever station showing a Law & Order at any given moment.

[sylvestter]

how much does directv cost in comparison?

[Huma]

That is what I want to know.

What is DirecTV's website? I want to check their costs and line-up.

[BW]

I saw this link posted on another local forum.

http://www.directvcaribbean.com/channel_guide.php?id=26
They have the channels, prices and packages listed in $TT and $US.

No Starz or Showtime available with them either. Apparently, those two companies don't allow for any non-US subscribers (at all). The only way to get them would be to somehow get a DishNetwork setup (easier said than done).

Also bear in mind that DirectTV has no way of getting all those new local, cable-only channels. That's a deal-breaker for me.

[sheppy]

THis is ridiculous...No Showtime??? NO dexter ?? WEEDS??? TUDORS???? ***!

blasted 3rd world....Flow is officially toots...half d time d channels breaking up and showing crappy...gettin stuck mid frame
now we gettin the world of HBO for a setta money...is only so much Bill Mahr i cud watch

[lollybob2]

at least we still gonna be able to see tell me that you love me...

why the arse they didnt drop mtv and vh1 to save some money.. have nuthin there anyways

and we ever gonan get back the golf channel? how bout actual espn?

So yuh cable bill gonna be somethin like

210+ (basic)
25+ (sports)
30+ (the 7 channels from the group thing)
80 (movies)
-------------
345 (hahahahahahahah) +
25 (for a next cable box)
--------
370 (they must be mad in their arse) +
138 (installation per outlet!!)

I will watch my computer screen yes...

[sylvestter]

i will have to start to download dexter illegally!

[skl]

any idea about the Western Channel ? that's part of starz network.that going too ?

[sylvestter]

any idea about the Western Channel ? that's part of starz network.that going too ?

yes. the existing movie package will be discontinued.

there is no HBO or Cinemax western channel.

[SSDD]

no dexter :o no tudors?!? :o
i hate flow i was so looking foward to the new season of tudors :(

[AirFalcon]

Yeah I heard about the change. Most of the ppl I spoke to at work just fed up with flow. They put them on the same level as TSTT. It will probably be better to get broadband internet and look for new sources of entertainment on the web.

I going to look for my old antenna now. :lol:

[sylvestter]

i see they moved G4 into the sports package and now they moving E! into the family package.... soon basic cable will be local and religious stations only!!!!

[BW]

i see they moved G4 into the sports package and now they moving E! into the family package.... soon basic cable will be local and religious stations only!!!!

I don't have a problem with that... as long as they drop the price. It's ridiculous a "basic" package costs $210 TT.

[sylvestter]

my bill is currently $210 (basic cable) + $25 + $25 (two additional outlets).
that's $260.

to that i'll now have to add $80 (HBO/Cinemax package) + $35 (Flow Family - including Sony and Warner).

Apparently DirecTv has Sony and Warner in its basic package and the movie package is about the same, but their additional units are $50 each. The only drawback with DirecTv is that there's no CNC3, Synergy etc.

[Cherry]

Looks like Trinidad coming like foreign..I have directv and paying out my nose 360 TT :lol: no prime stations :roll: I was watching dexter, tudors and weeds online at tvlink, but sadist get arrested...will have to wait till the new seasons come on DVD yes steups.

[skl]

man 80% of those basic channels are useless.

[Ali]

as long as i am comfortable with blink, which i hope to get soon :? , i think i'll switch to direct t.v...........any one knows how much is the installation fee for direct tv?

[sylvestter]

any idea about the Western Channel ? that's part of starz network.that going too ?

yes. the existing movie package will be discontinued.

there is no HBO or Cinemax western channel.

i see they moved the western channel to 83...

[AirFalcon]

A guy at work who compares this stuff recently disconnected his direcTV. The movie package they offer, which is now the same one that Flow offers is much worse than the channels flow had before.

There seems to be much more content coming for online broadband users. With both Flow and DirecTV becoming more expensive for the average person I am thinking to get rid of my flow and just stick to the internet.

[vaio]

i dont like the movie channels now being offered....and its more expensive... :(

[Huma]

I really doh mind this new movie package at all.

For starters, the reception is a lot cleaner. I was really impressed (amazed, almost) when I turned to one of the channels early Saturday morning and saw how crisp and clear the signal was.

Secondly, the line-up isn't so bad. It isn't as current as the stations we lost, but since Saturday morning I've seen a lot of movies that I missed in recent years, as well as some older favorites that I was glad to catch up on.
Of course, that has a lot to do with the fact that there are more movie channels now than there were before the switch, but still.

Either way, I can't see myself paying the prices Flow is calling for the bundles, especially since the only bundle that will make sense is the one that includes all the stations, or at least all the HBOs.

[Ali]

hey how come some people getting sportsmax and i not getting it :?

[sylvestter]

the bloody on-screen guide for some of the hbo channels is completely off. some by an hour. some by two.
nonsense.....

ali, sportsmax is a subscription channel.

[Ali]

Yeh but 2 people tell me they getting it.......free :?

i gettin it on my pc and i dont even have a cable box hook up to the pc.......shhhh

[sylvestter]

Yeh but 2 people tell me they getting it.......free :?

i gettin it on my pc and i dont even have a cable box hook up to the pc.......shhhh

i think cnc3 brings it overnight.

[Sirius]

I should be good with the basic, 2 extra boxes (ok, 3 soon enough...) and MAYBE the family combo. Far as movies go, to be honest when I want to watch a movie I buying or renting the DVD anyway...so I won't miss the lost channels.

[BW]

I should be good with the basic, 2 extra boxes (ok, 3 soon enough...) and MAYBE the family combo. Far as movies go, to be honest when I want to watch a movie I buying or renting the DVD anyway...so I won't miss the lost channels.

Me too. The age of fast internet is upon_us, and so movie channels have become nearly obsolete. I hardly watch cable anymore, apart from local channels, a few sitcoms and live events (all of which are covered in the basic package).

Though I wish they still offered The Movie Channel (TMC). That channel shows all sorts of good/classic movies that I hadn't heard about before. They weren't blockbusters, but the movies had more substance than the mainstream fluff being produced. Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) are also pretty good.


For starters, the reception is a lot cleaner. I was really impressed (amazed, almost) when I turned to one of the channels early Saturday morning and saw how crisp and clear the signal was.

That's interesting! I wonder if they are using that shiny new ARCOS connection for that feed? Are you using digital?

[Sirius]

Also to be quite honest I'm a bit surprised at all the moaning and groaning happening on the thread. With the rate of inflation and the increased spending power of many of those who can afford the cable bill, the increased rates come as no surprise to me. This is especially true considering the new digital network and the fact that FLOW has legalized its operation by paying license fees for all its stations; CCTT held no license for a number of channels.

Nobody wants to pay more, but can you really fault FLOW for this move? We have all become spoiled by low rates, but we never seem to consider why the rates were so low. We were paying for analog transmission in a digital age and for unlicensed signals at that.

[sylvestter]

Also to be quite honest I'm a bit surprised at all the moaning and groaning happening on the thread. With the rate of inflation and the increased spending power of many of those who can afford the cable bill, the increased rates come as no surprise to me. This is especially true considering the new digital network and the fact that FLOW has legalized its operation by paying license fees for all its stations; CCTT held no license for a number of channels.

Nobody wants to pay more, but can you really fault FLOW for this move? We have all become spoiled by low rates, but we never seem to consider why the rates were so low. We were paying for analog transmission in a digital age and for unlicensed signals at that.

actually they have NOT acquired paid licenses for all their stations and continue to operate a substantial number of stations illegally...

[Sirius]

Also to be quite honest I'm a bit surprised at all the moaning and groaning happening on the thread. With the rate of inflation and the increased spending power of many of those who can afford the cable bill, the increased rates come as no surprise to me. This is especially true considering the new digital network and the fact that FLOW has legalized its operation by paying license fees for all its stations; CCTT held no license for a number of channels.

Nobody wants to pay more, but can you really fault FLOW for this move? We have all become spoiled by low rates, but we never seem to consider why the rates were so low. We were paying for analog transmission in a digital age and for unlicensed signals at that.

actually they have NOT acquired paid licenses for all their stations and continue to operate a substantial number of stations illegally...

Really? That's interesting, I thought they had been forced to legalize all operations since everybody started cracking down on them. Or is it they are still in negotiation for the outstanding ones?

There has been a lot of activity to enforce licenses and standards recently especially within the telecomm industry. I think it would be very difficult for them to operate illegal stations now without running into some serious trouble.

[BW]

actually they have NOT acquired paid licenses for all their stations and continue to operate a substantial number of stations illegally...

Care to list a source?

Meh, If they are, I wouldn't blame them. Many of the stations (such as HBO (US) and Showtime) just won't negotiate with them, at all. Meaning, there are only two options: broadcast illegally, or remove the channel altogether. I personally could care less how many licenses they've gotten, the bottom line is what matters to me and the people of T&T.

[vaio]

if i want to watch any movie i'll rent or buy yes.....them new movie stations only have old movies.... :x

[Solachica]

:D me ent have cable

[Ali]

you aint missing anything

[vaio]

well...you missin the food network, hgtv, E, VH-1, mtv and tlc.... :P

[Ali]

none of which i watch...........at home they watching food network whole day and i still eating bodi and roti.. :|

best thing on cable is ngeo and discovery ...and of course football but fox blocks all de blasted games :(

moviewise i buy dvd's

[Solachica]

:lol: They mustbe cooking other thing when you at work :P
I dont watch much tv. we ent have direct tv either

[vaio]

i like to watch tv when i eating so i'll still have cable but not them channels nah...