By Dave Graveline, The Moors Master Association President
Survey response results
The Master Board (and residents present) have now seen presentations from BlueStream Fiber, Hotwire, and Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Cable). Comcast presents their proposal at our October 27 meeting. AT&T refuses to provide any proposal for TV and has yet to send us a price for bulk Internet.
Replacing Comcast Cable TV contract
Your Master Board has been poring over initial responses from our recent resident survey about the end of our last 5-year Comcast Cable TV contract. The vast majority of our residents, or 71% want to switch cable TV providers, 22% would like to keep Comcast, and 10% are “unsure”.
We actually have some Master Board members that are “fine” with Comcast, so if you disagree, be sure to voice your concerns at our next Master Board meeting on October 27 at 7 pm—where Comcast will present their proposal.
Cable TV poll results (%)
Internet and streaming services
Streaming TV services keep breaking records. The average that our residents are spending on Internet is between $75-$100 each month. The average spend for streaming services by Moors Residents is $35-$50 per month.
Popular streaming services used by Moors residents (%)
Most used Internet providers by Moors residents (%)
Our TV and/or Internet options
This is the first time—ever—that we have several options available to us. All in our efforts to provide our Moors residents with the best value, one of your Board’s goals is asking the five (5) interested vendors to provide bids for:
a) Cable TV
b) Internet only; and
c) Both
We are looking at actually saving most residents about $40 a month by combining TV and Internet with a new contract with one of the vendors. Each of them have told us that they need “10 to 12 months” for their build-out in order to install fiber in our community.
Most residents have asked us to consider an Internet bulk package with some streaming services, all local channels, the main basic cable channels, and let our residents choose other optional services that they may desire. Currently, the average Moors resident is paying from $50 upwards to $150 each month for their average Internet and streaming services.
The current Comcast Cable contract expires in November 2023—giving is just barely enough time to select a company and allow them to begin their fiber install.
AT&T is the only company not willing to provide any quotes for both Internet and TV. They have indicated that they will not offer us any bulk TV, only Internet.
The TV ratings service Nielson reports that Americans now watch streaming services considerably more than broadcast or cable TV, according to their new data. And that more and more Americans are “cutting the cord” and moving away from cable TV. We see that happening in the fact that more and more TV networks and other program providers are moving to added streaming services (like Paramount+, Discovery+, AppleTV+, ESPN+, Disney+, BET+ and all the other new ‘pluses’).
Showtime channels
As for the multiple Showtime channels that we have had with our last Comcast Cable contract… only a few respondents mentioned that they watch the included Showtime channels. And now, according to the Wall Street Journal: “Paramount Global is planning to discontinue its Showtime streaming service and shifting its content into Paramount+—a move that would streamline the company’s offerings amid a crowd of competitors. Complex talks with cable and satellite TV providers that offer the Showtime TV channels are ahead”.
We actually have some Master Board members that are “fine” with Comcast, so if you disagree, be sure to voice your concerns at our next Master Board meeting on October 27 at 7 pm—where Comcast will present their final proposal.
Our options and cost
The range of costs from the initial vendor bids (including Hotwire, BlueStream, Breezeline, and Comcast) for a bulk package are as follows:
- Internet & TV from $65 to $76 each month
- Internet only from $35 to $55 each month
- TV Only. No vendor is offering this option any longer, as the industry is moving away from that model.
The above ranges being the case for the majority of The Moors residents, it appears that we can save our Residents approximately $40 each month if we combine both in a bulk deal.
This recent comment from one of our residents, sums up what the bulk of our fellow Moors neighbors have been saying: “I believe that the majority of the residents would much rather benefit from internet vs cable.”
We know that no matter what your Master Board decides after all these months of presentations and discussions, we cannot make everyone happy, however with the first time in our history that we have options—including the ability to add Internet and allow our residents to pay for whatever—if any—streaming services they might desire, we feel that we will save the vast majority of our residents money each month with a bulk TV & Internet package.
