ExpressVu will be implementing programming price changes for customers who activate their service on or after September 30th, 2005. The French Avantage Numérique and theme pack prices are not impacted.

Summary of Changes:

• Digital Standard will increase by $2 from $25 to $27.

• Themes packages will increase by $3 from $5 to $8.

• To offer an incentive for higher package selections, new Value Combos including 5 or more themes will be introduced. (More details to come.)

Who will be affected?

• All New activations on or after Sept. 30th (regardless of when they purchased their system)

• Existing customers on the digital standard/current menu will not be impacted until Jan 1, 2006 or until their ExpressVu term expires unless they reselect their programming on or after Sept 30th, 2005.

• All NON-Term subscribers will experience a $2.00 price increase on January 1, 2006 if no changes are made to their current programming selection on or after Sept 30th, 2005.

• All Term subscribers will experience a $2.00 price increase once their term expires if no changes are made to their current programming selection on or after Sept 30th, 2005.

• Should a non term or term customer with 5 themes or less add or remove themes on or after Sept 30th, they will be impacted with the new rates for Digital Standard and Themes immediately.

• Should a non term or term customer with 6 themes or more add or remove themes on or after Sept 30th, they will be impacted with the new rates for Digital Standard and Themes immediately.

Where did you get this info from?

• Should a non term or term customer with 5 themes or less add or remove themes on or after Sept 30th, they will be impacted with the new rates for Digital Standard and Themes immediately.

• Should a non term or term customer with 6 themes or more add or remove themes on or after Sept 30th, they will be impacted with the new rates for Digital Standard and Themes immediately.

Sooo, this would mean ANY change to your programming will result in price increases across the board. Holy cow, if this is true, it would mean major price increases for anyone with a lot of theme packs.

Follow up....


How Will Customers be notified?

Letters will be as of September 1st 2005 to all of the existing Digital Standared subscribers informing them of the new pricing structure effective September 30th, 2005 as well as how it will impact them.

Customers on a term will be sent letters notifying them that a price increase is going to occur, however they are protected for the duration of their term unless they make any changes to their current programming selection.

When term contracts are coming to end, these customers will be reminded of the price increase 60 days in advance of the increase via a Bill Statement message.

Customers not on a term contract will be sent letters notifying them that a price increase is going to occur, however they are protected until January 1, 2006 unless they make any changes to their current programming selection.

As long as they bulk up the channels in the themes it would be reasonable i guess. If the packages go untouched then i really now regret switching to the new packages.

Wow, thats an hefty increase from $5 to $8 for themes.

They really better realign their themes and put alot more channels into them.

It's funny now that piracy is closed they come out with these increases... way to go attract new paying customers Bell...

I wonder what happens to the Grandfathered group that still has the old themes...

38% Price Increase For Themes! :o

I remember discussions around the time of the supreme court case decision on the legality of grey market systems that folks speculated Canadian DBS companies would hike their rates ......perhaps we can stop speculating...?

If this price increase is indeed a fact, I think current customers won't stand for a 38% hike and may think of switching providers...even if EXVu's major competitors Rogers & Shaw/Starchoice have had recent rate increases...

Also...the penalizing of customers who add or remove themes (even choosing one theme to replace another???)...and dinging them with the $8/theme price for doing that....is JUST LUDRICOUS !! Talk about locking in your customers, limiting their freedoms..and generally making them unhappy and unloyal!

I'm taking a wait n see approach...to confirm the validity of this "rumour"..and to see the theme bundling options being offered.

Whats up with Bell lately? As of September they are dropping the $5 digital bundle discount, they no longer offer the $5 for 1000 min long distance plan, and now they are increasing their Satellite rates significantly. I guess I'm glad I got in last December while they were trying to scoop up customers. And now I'm actually HAPPY that I still have over a year left on my contract so that I don't get gouged right away.

Its funny because when they released the 9200 for such a good price, especially compared to Dishnetwork, I wondered how the heck they can make any money selling them for that price. I guess now we know how they plan to make the money back.........:(

Before everybody gets excited, I'd still like to see some confirmation of this. Is it a rumour? Can anybody confirm any of this?

Or should we change the title of the thread to "Speculation"?

Sad thing with this is that there will be subs that will come out and still say that it is a good deal... :)

Tv entertainement what a big rip off it is...

Thing is how many channels do most people actually watch, 7 -15, yet they seem to divide them in such a way you need 6 theme packs to get them...

Haha .. So let me get it straight??? - Basic Package (regardless of how it is really called) will go UP from 25 to 27 bucks? :rolleyes:

hmmmm ... 25 / 27 - that is 9.259... % increase.... :(

The funny thing is ..and somewhat ironically sarcastic ----> some people were saying: "Oooo..!!! The piracy will be over soon!!! ... Our rates WILL go down!! .. etc etc"...

Ya.. Right! :)

• Digital Standard will increase by $2 from $25 to $27.

• Themes packages will increase by $3 from $5 to $8.


If true one has to ask who the real satellite pirates are.

EV has kept their rates down and improved service while *C and cable have hiked rates. EV has some room to move. The catch up is quite a shock.

Here is how I see it. Now that Nagra 2 has been rolled out, EV does not need to worry about pirates scooping up cheap receivers and using them for free TV. They can now cut prices on receivers to match or undercut *C and cable. High receiver prices were a big disincentive to new customers. EV must make the money back on the receivers so they raise prices for new "low end" customers who just want basic or few individual packages. I suspect we will see a return to deeper discounts for people who subscribe to larger bundles of packages.

EV has kept their rates down and improved service while *C and cable have hiked rates. EV has some room to move. The catch up is quite a shock.

Here is how I see it. Now that Nagra 2 has been rolled out, EV does not need to worry about pirates scooping up cheap receivers and using them for free TV. They can now cut prices on receivers to match or undercut *C and cable. High receiver prices were a big disincentive to new customers. EV must make the money back on the receivers so they raise prices for new "low end" customers who just want basic or few individual packages. I suspect we will see a return to deeper discounts for people who subscribe to larger bundles of packages.

Ihope so. at least for those that sub to there largest package,

TOM :)

Maybe they are trying to cash in before the Nagra2 hack becomes freeware.

EV has kept their rates down and improved service while *C and cable have hiked rates. EV has some room to move. The catch up is quite a shock.

You are kidding right??
In no way has Bev kept their rates down while others increased.
That was just a marketing ploy that actually saw substantial increases when they removed the mrv and $5 theme packages.

If this increase is true, then this is the second increase in less than a year. When they went to the new packages last fall, there was a price increase (unless you did not want much programming). Now this! BEV is raping their customers plain and simple. We need real competition in this country, we pay our $$ only to get simsubbed and can't get the channels we want (HdNet, HBo, etc).

Alt

The way I see it is very simple.

Competition in Canada is a joke.

As long Evu continues to have the subscribers base it has, as long as they continue to pay these increases will happen year after year.

The others they just ride along, because if one increases the others follow to pocket more.

I still dont understand how Evu with the sub base it has, being one of the most expensive subs and being subsidezed by Bce does not make money!!!

Even with all these increases it still isnt enough to break even.

I dont get it... How much longer will BCE shareholders tolerate this?