I got a call from Bell tonight... I thought they were chasing a bill when she said the call might be recorded (I told her I was recording too, which made her stammer a bit!).... but no!

They are offering a new channel, 400 films per month, plus two HBO channels (whatever that means) at 50% off.... $10 per month for 6 months. No tie in. 30 days notice to quit, even in the discount period. But, the big thing was there is NO ADVERTISING! No commercial breaks.... wow! She also said that they will have new movies before they go to DVD or iTunes etc.

We have tried Netflix, and it's good, but not good enough to dump cable.... this new deal sounds excellent, given we spend about $20 or so per month on renting HD from iTunes.

She's calling back Monday and I'm inclined to take it and dump one of our useless "add ons". The deal is not available on the internet.

Anyone else had the call? if so, any comments?

there are adverts on HBO so that seems odd. Maybe Bell is panicking with the amount of people leaving their TV.
We recently dumped cable, and watch US Netflix, download Bones, NCIS etc, and UK programmes-except from ITV which is sulking.

You might be right, Bats. I told the lady that we don't bother even trying to watch a film on Bell channels anymore... they spin a 90 minute film into 150 minutes with frequent crappy adverts. And she agreed! She said they realise customers are getting annoyed with "commercial interruptions". We don't even rent DVDs at the store anymore because of the FBI warning in 20 languages and the hard-to-skip "upcoming trailers".... get it off the net, dump the crap!

I hope we get that call! We're currently on the 'better' package which, for what it supplies, is really expensive and there are only a few channels we watch (AMC and TCM (ad free) being the main ones) but since before Christmas we've been watching previews of EQ, Oasis and HiFi, which we really like). Now, if all they did was offer those we'd be happy. Perhaps we should ring them and ask whilst they're still in fret mode because we can't be paying over $100/month for what is essentially crud TV with adverts every two mins (and those adverts are the same adverts over and over and over - I have to mute the 'comwave' advert because it messes with my mind!). The secret to watching films is to record them and skip through the ads when you play them back. I made the mistake of watching 'The Shawshank Redemption' last night 'live' and had to go to bed before it ended because the ads made it a three hour film....

I like the trailers. That's part of the experience of going to the cinema and you get it at home if renting a video.

Not that we rent anymore with so much available to download.

Isn't that just a deal for The Movie Network? It's available from Bell, there are no adverts. I have had it with my provider for a few years now.

http://www.bell.ca/Bell_TV/Channels/The_Movie_Network

"..With The Movie Network, there's always something great to watch. A subscription includes:

Hundreds of the latest blockbuster movies
Over 20 new movie premieres each month
Ground-breaking HBO series such as Boardwalk Empire®, Hung® and the brand new EnlightenedSM
Showtime and Starz series like Californication and Dexter ..."

First 2 months free at the moment, thereafter $20 a month.

It certainly looks like it.... except here it is 6 months half price. I'll ask when they call again Monday... She did say it wasn't available online (I asked if I could just add it online and she said no).

If it is the one that's been available for ages, I can't think why I didn't sign up before. We have 2 "family bundles" that cost $70 a month on top of the basic, and they are crap. Thanks for the heads up!

She probably meant that the deal wasn't available online

The Movie Network has been available on Bell for a long time, certainly since October 2006 so I am not sure why you hadn't spotted it before, lol.

You can even watch it online, once you subscribe.

If you can get it at half price, go for it!

Do you also grind popcorn into the carpet for that cinema smell? Oo and drink gallon sized cups of pop, eat Minstrels, andhave someone kick the back of you chair repeatedly?

you forgot, blind you with the light from their cell phone screen because they are texting throughout the entire movie

Well, it's 21:00 here.... and guess what.... no call.

I tried dumping some of our "add-ons" in anticipation, and guess what, the "Digital Basic" pack, at $40 per month, can't be dumped.....

Call the Bell Customer Service line and ask to speak to someone in their Cancellations Section - when put through, explain that you are trying to cut costs and you want a lower priced package (perhaps inc movies) or you may cancel altogether to go to Rogers for the Rogers $99 bundle. Without fail they always offer to reduce your cost dramatically for at least 6 months or they match Rogers.

If you aren't comfortable doing that, call and ask if you can try the high end package free for 3 months. Any time I have called, they have always helped. I called a few months after my 3 month only cheap introductory Fibre Op plan ran out and they gave me the 3 month deal for another year, saves me $60 a month.

Can't hurt to ask!

Thanks for the tip, Townie. Ill give that a go tomorrow.

Well, they did call back today. A bloke this time who explained that this deal was available "only to long time clients".... which was BS, I know. I took the deal though.... can't go wrong for $10 a month.... well, let's see how good the films are first!!

http://www.bell.ca/Bell_TV/Promotion...twork_Discount

Quebec:

THE MOVIE NETWORK
2 months free ($13.13/mo. thereafter)

Maybe not such a huge discount after all.. TMN is cheaper in Quebec!

Bar stewards! I feel an vexatious phone call coming on.....