I’ve noticed Comcast doesn’t advertise the possible discounts and promotions you can get. It was because of a conversation I had with a coworker about Comcast cost/packages available and happens to check Comcast’s website and found something cheaper for my exact package. Followed up with a call to get the promotion.
There is something to be said about the stability of a traditional cable subscription but once these independent streaming services figure out a way to be less dependent on a Comcast or a competing company’s internet service I have a feeling we’ll see some changes to change to Comcast’s pricing.
Maybe. If I'm Comcast and the masses jettison my cable, I WILL make up for it with broadband rates. I'm just as obligated as Apple to maximize ROI for my shareholders, so I don't just let my cable revenues go to competition on devices that are entirely dependent on the broadband service I provide.
To make Comcast more competitive, this typical monopoly (or sometimes duopoly in some places) on broadband would have to get broken. Some of us "cord cutters" sling around "but Google fiber" and similar. However, if you go look up the costs of "cable" on Google Fiber where it already exists, you don't see big savings vs. cable. Some of us think mobile bandwidth in future iterations of LTE might create a new source of broadband competition without wires, but I'm having a hard time thinking that available wireless broadband is going to be able to meet all the on-demand video streaming demand if we all wanted to go that way. Available spectrum vs. cutting-edge compression vs. ever-growing resolution seems to be an incompatible brew unless we invent Star Trek subspace spectrum or something like that. Furthermore, if the sources of that competition is still AT&T, Verizon, etc are we really imagining meaningful money
savings vs. cable broadband? PLUS big enough wireless data tiers to compete with wired broadband caps often set at about 1TB per month (somewhat more or less by some providers, but far more than cellular 2GB-2XGB data plans currently the "norm")?
The key with Comcast is to "shop" in private mode in your browser as if you are new to the area and looking for service. In private mode, they can't see their "cookies," so they don't know it's an existing customer. Or head to the local library and shop on one of their computers.
If you have to punch in an address, punch in a nearby address or make up an imaginary address between your number and your neighbors. Promo offers galore, especially if you are in an area with at least one other broadband provider. Look through all of them, screen capture the best of them and be ready to play such cards when your existing promotional deal is near to expiration.
WORST Case: shut it down for 20-30 days and they'll bend over backwards to set you up with "new customer" service at 12-24 month "price lock" rates again. I haven't had to do this before but I know that can work. In my own situation, I just threaten to go to AT&T broadband, etc "triple play" and they just keep renewing the promotional rates.
TVs and now Amazon Fire in the home. I picked up both their Prime box (for Comcast cable programming) and their Extends (for OTA local channels & subchannels)
