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Business: Customer Protection
Cable Downtime Website   (0)  [vote for, against]
Pay for what you get, not what you pay for

Cable TV service is often disrupted.
Cable Downtime Website is a reference/comparison site which supplies a user with current/cumulative & statistical information on downtime of Cable TV service.
This allows a user to have information at their viewing (dis)pleasure, in order to reduce charges for Cable TV service, as Cable TV services reduce charges on demand, with cause.
There are several scenarios for collection of revenue by this business. These scenarios are listed in no certain order, nor or they necessarily singular/collective:

Monthly charge to subscriber. With Info from site, Subscriber contacts Cable Company for reduction in charges. Least likely, as danger for Cable Downtime Website is: Buddy system.

Ads from Cable Services/Channels (touting their uptime in comparison with other channels/services).

Cable Downtime Website/Business charges Cable Companies each instance/period of downtime... Charges are based on downtime percentage of bill/billing period of each subscriber to the Cable Network who is also a subscriber to the Downtime Website... Cable Downtime Website/Business sends chec/k/que to subscriber. In the above scenario, the subscriber may or may not be charged a monthly fee - regardless, Cable Downtime Website keeps (as yet undetermined) percentage.
-- thumbwax, Jan 01 2003

I don't know where you're from... but I've never had a problem with my cable tv - Never. But, considering your idea... from a business standpoint, why would a cable tv provider give the consumer a chance to pay less so blatantly? I mean yes, if your (e.g.) Cable internet goes down for a couple of days they'll give you some credit but ONLY if you complain about it. Otherwise they'll be happy to take your money without saying a word about it.

It's a good idea in theory, but I doubt providers would want to implement it
-- XTi, Jan 01 2003


This might be implemented by companies as a method of promotion (we're better than our competitors). It'd be much the same idea as the old Pizza Hut promotion where your pizza was free if it took more than 30 mins.
-- madradish, Jan 02 2003


Why a website? Why not a little gadget that sits on your cable wire and simply verifies that a useful signal is coming down the thing, and times the periods when its not. You'd hit the reset button at the beginning of the billing period, at the end you look at it and if it says 82% uptime, you take 18% off your bill.
-- krelnik, Jan 02 2003


More than 10,700 cable "systems" provide access to the more than 70 million subscribers in the United States. If just one subscriber to each "system" signs up at $3.65 per year, that's $32,035.00 - enough to pay 1 staffer. However, if just 1% of the entire US cable market subscribes, that's $2,555,000.00. Most people don't like being put on interminable hold to Cable Stations while trying to get their bill pro-rated, though they're uncomfortable with the fact their Premium service was out for, say, a full day, and local programming was the only Cable option available, at best during this period. The rate that a USA'n pays for basic cable service and cable programming service (service above basic cable but not including per channel or per program service) is determined by the cable company and cannot be reviewed or modified by the FCC. Additionally, per channel and per program service rates are not regulated, which means your cable company can charge what it wants for these services. This business would be just about the only thing regulating the cable industry, and would be doing so in a manner which is legal, and protects the best interests of those individual households who currently spend between $180 - $1000.00 annually for cable TV, as well as cable companies, as former cable subscribers might be inclined to sign up again, seeing that there is a way to not be ignored by cable companies (after all, they don't automatically pro-rate for downtime.)
-- thumbwax, Jan 02 2003


what if your cable tv provider also provides your cable modem? just a thought...
-- trinityX, Jan 10 2004



random, halfbakery