I’m thinking about switching to Bell TV.
For years I’ve been a faithful Rogers Cable subscriber, happily watching HD channels, recording them on my HD PVR when I don’t have time to watch them live, using Rogers’ Internet, home phone and cell service.
But I think I gotta switch. Why? In addition to offering their own Internet, home phone and wireless devices, Bell just announced it has 101 channels in HD, which is more than their competitors have.
The channel list includes usual suspects CBC, Global and CTV, but also local U.S. stations from Boston, New York City and Los Angeles that boast funky TV lineups of their own. The newest channel to be added in HD (something Rogers doesn’t have) is AMC — home to Mad Men, Breaking Bad and the soon-to-bow remake of The Prisoner.
Add to that what Kevin Crull, president of Bell residential services, promises would be a seamless transition, and I’m seriously considering it. After all, I cover TV for a living, and darn it, I deserve the best!
TVGuide.ca: How many HD channels did you have just before this announcement of 101?
Kevin Crull: I believe it was about 80. Over the last four or five months we’ve added about 20 new HD channels.
TVG: How long did it take for you to get AMC on board with you?
KC: It’s always a commercial negotiation, and it doesn’t always go as fast as we’d like. Because we’re working in the online capability and mobile into our deals with the networks, these relationships are getting incredibly complex. And with AMC, it was just a little bit longer to negotiate.
TVG: Did you hear from subscribers when Rogers announced that AMC would be on their cable package?
KC: I wouldn’t say there was outcry, but we did hear from people. It is definitely a top-tier movie and TV channel for us.
TVG: How easy is it for a person who is currently a Rogers subscriber or with another cable company, to switch to Bell, especially if they have home phone, Internet, cell phone and TV?
KC: When we win back a home phone, about half the time we also win back Internet and TV. We’re winning back one customer every minute of every day from a cable company. So, it’s about 13,000 or 14,000 a month. Half of them bring Internet and TV at the same time. We are able to do Internet and home phone [in one visit]. And then a different technician comes to do the TV, but they can be coordinated to be there at the same time. And it’s quite easy.
TVG: Does a person keep their present home number?
KC: Yes.
TVG: Talk about the expandable PVR.
KC: You have an external hard drive that hooks up via a USB port. It’s plug and play. You plug it in, and the PVR recognizes 100 manufacturers of external hard drives, and you’ll see it as a place to record your shows on. And that way you can keep a library of your old shows.
TVG: I imagine people must come up to you all the time and talk about how much they love their PVRs.
KC: Seventy per cent of people have iPods, and I don’t know why 70 per cent don’t have PVRs. I think the PVR is a more life-changing technology than the iPod. We had music on the go before, but we didn’t have the ability to do what we can do with the PVR.
greg@tvguide.ca
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Greg has been a fan of TV since he was five years old, eating dry cereal in front of the TV with his sisters watching Sesame Street, and scrambling downstairs after dinner to watch Polka Dot Door. His influential teen years were taken up by equal parts of The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Magnum P.I. and Friday Night Videos as well as daily doses of Toronto Rocks and the Power Hour on MuchMusic.
He is continually fascinated with the television process from idea to pilot episode and network pickup, development and casting right through to air, and likes all genres of TV. |
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