Time Warner Cable executives got an earful last week from investors concerned about the amount of money the company is spending on lobbying activities, the lack of full disclosure on where that money is going, and the cable operator’s continued corporate support for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Among those attending the Time Warner Cable Annual Shareholder Meeting in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was Tim Smith from Walden Asset Management, which owns 369,000 shares of the company.

Smith, along with 16 co-sponsors, introduced a proposal to force better disclosure of how their shareholder money was being spent on lobbying, noting Time Warner Cable paid close to $28 million on lobbying from 2008 to 2012.

“It’s interesting to note that Time Warner Cable’s spending on lobbying was almost five times the average of its peers,” Smith told the board of directors.

Smith noted that Time Warner Cable’s current quarterly disclosures were opaque and hard for the average person to understand and that the company provided almost no information on state lobbying, which he called a “big, big gap.”

Smith

“You [also] do not disclose details of the amount of dues to trade associations that engage in lobbying nor the portion used for lobbying,” Smith complained. “So for example, if a company is a member of the Business Roundtable or the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, over 40% of those dues are spent on lobbying. So we think that is important to be a disclosed and in the public record.”

Smith noted that Time Warner Cable abandoned its financial support of The Heartland Institute, a Koch Brothers’ backed group that has argued for deregulation of the telecommunications industry, fought against Net Neutrality, and supports consumption billing and usage caps. A number of corporations stopped supporting the group after its corporate contribution list was leaked to the media in early 2012. Time Warner Cable told Walden Capital Management it dropped support of the group later that same year.

But Smith remained unhappy Time Warner Cable continues to support ALEC.

“Time Warner Cable’s continuing support for the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is called ALEC, is highly controversial and really we think it’s harmful to our brand,” Smith argued. “Right now, the American Legislative Exchange Council is working with The Heartland Institute, where we withdrew, working on a campaign around this country to try to stop renewable energy legislation and regulation. That’s our money at work, and we’re not dissenting. We’re not standing up and saying, ‘This is not Time Warner Cable.’”

CEO Glenn Britt claimed the lobbying expenses were important because Time Warner Cable is “a highly regulated company in a highly regulated industry” and that the company exercises “a value judgment” when it chooses to support third-party groups and lobbyists.

Britt also acknowledged ALEC’s extensive database of model, pre-written legislation suitable for introduction on the state level has proved very useful to Time Warner Cable in the past.

“[ALEC] is very helpful in creating a model legislation for all the states we do business in,” Britt said. “They’re particularly focused on telecom matters, which are highly complicated.”

As for other activities ALEC is involved with, such as opposing renewal energy initiatives for large fossil fuel energy companies, Britt said he does make Time Warner Cable’s views known on those issues.

“Quite honestly, if we thought the objectionable part of that outweighed the benefit, then we would consider leaving,” Britt said. “But it’s a constant balancing of that.”

“Although we fully understand the motivation [...] the board recommends a vote against this proposal,” Britt concluded.

Time Warner Cable chose the prestigious Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs for its annual shareholder meeting, where rooms run $400-800 a night.

Jim Voye from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a union that owns about 575,000 shares of Time Warner Cable, also rose to introduce a proposal to limit a potential cash cow for executives in the event of a change in control at the company.

CEO Glenn Britt is widely expected to retire at the end of this year. When he does, he will be awarded more than $50 million in Time Warner Cable stock-based awards. That is on top of his targeted annual salary of $16 million.

Time Warner Cable’s CEO spent $400,000 of the company’s money traveling on the corporate executive jet.

In the event of such a change, many Time Warner Cable executives will qualify for accelerating vesting of their own equity awards, which the IBEW argues is an incentive to favor short-term improvements in company performance at the cost of long-term growth.

“The vital connection between pay and long-term performance can be severed when awards are paid out at an accelerated schedule,” Voye argued. “A change in control event should not provide an immediate or automatic economic windfall to planned participants, especially one that could incentivize executives to pursue transactions that are not in the best long-term interest of shareholders.”

Britt recommended a vote against that proposal as well.

During a question and answer section, Smith noted Britt spent $400,000 of the company’s money on corporate jet travel expenses.

Britt also acknowledged the cable industry’s business model has been largely the same across the country, and there is little to differentiate the financial results of one cable company over others.

“We, the cable companies all tend to look the same and I don’t think it’s going to be any different in this case,” Britt said.

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Warner CEO Earned a Cool $17.4 Million in 2012; Other Execs Also Got Pay Hikes
2. Time Warner Cable CEO Sees Pay Cut — Only Made $16.4 Million in 2011
3. Pondering Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable
4. Time Warner Cable Ready to Expand Usage Based Billing to “Save Customers Money”
5. Call to Action: AT&T and ALEC Still Pushing to Banish Community Broadband in S.C.

Cisco 170HD DTA

Time Warner Cable customers in greater New York will soon need set-top boxes or CableCARD technology to keep watching cable television.

The cable operator will be dropping analog television service, starting in Mount Vernon, Staten Island, and Bergen County, N.J. with much of the rest of the downstate region switched over the summer.

Cable television customers who already use Time Warner Cable set-top boxes, including DVRs, will not notice any change. Customers that plug a cable directly into the back of a television will need to take steps to keep their video service working after the digital conversion.

Time Warner’s digital switch will also disable viewing on televisions equipped with a QAM tuner. Cable operators now have the power to encrypt their entire television lineup.

The company is mailing letters to affected television subscribers advising them to get a Time Warner Cable DVR, traditional set-top box, CableCARD or Digital Adapter (DTA). For secondary televisions, Time Warner’s new DTA for downstate New York is the Cisco DTA 170HD, which supports both High Definition and Standard Definition channels and digital-only QAM tuning up to 1GHz. This model is also capable of providing HD premium channels, which are currently not available to customers with earlier generation DTAs. It is unknown if Time Warner will support that functionality.

Time Warner is making DTA units available to customers at no charge through the end of next year. Effective Jan. 1, 2015 each DTA box will cost $0.99 a month.

The company says the digital conversion will open extra bandwidth on the cable system to support more video on demand, HD channels, and faster broadband. Each 6MHz analog channel will make room for 10-12 digital channels, three digital HD channels, or an extra 40Mbps of download speed, according to Time Warner’s blog.

Residential customers can get DTA boxes as follows:

1. through the website at www.TWC.com/digitaladapter
2. via the telephone at 1-855-286-1736
3. in-person at a local TWC store
4. have a tech visit and install it

 Time Warner Cable produced this video to explain the digital conversion, who needs to get ready, and how.  (2 minutes)

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Warner Cable Starts the Transition to All-Digital Cable, Beginning in Maine
2. Time Warner Cable Begins Digital Cable Conversion in Upstate New York
3. Time Warner Cable Will Abandon Analog Cable Within 5 Years – Converting to All-Digital Systems
4. North Carolina Time Warner Cable Customers Frustrated About Digital Adapter Shortage
5. Maine Grows More Upset With Time Warner Cable’s All-Digital Conversion

Former Insight Cable customers in Evansville, Ind. are fuming after the company’s new owner temporarily left them without phone or Internet service, with nobody available to explain why.

Time Warner Cable attempted to convert Insight customers to its own platform last week, interrupting service in the process. Affected customers quickly jammed customer service lines, leading some to visit local cable offices to straighten things out.

Time Warner Cable will convert former Insight customers in Kentucky and Ohio to its own platform starting in June.

“Right now, I have no Internet,” said Insight customer Claudia Congleton. “I tried to call them three or four times today. No one answers. You’re waiting for over 30 minutes and so that’s why I’m down here. I’m just going to come down here and talk to them about it.”

“It’s so frustrating,” Congleton told Tristate News.

Time Warner blamed the problems on “minor glitches” during the customer conversion process, which began in Evansville on April 29. A larger transition is planned in Kentucky in mid-June, with former Insight customers in Columbus, Ohio moved later that same month.

When Time Warner Cable launched the conversion in Indiana, broadband customers whose names ended in letters “A” through “K” were redirected to a web page that required them to re-register broadband service and select a new twc.com e-mail address to replace their existing Insight e-mail account. Customers who either failed to complete the registration process or who tried during peak usage times often found their Internet service interrupted. Similar problems occurred with phone customers.

Some customers were unhappy with the cable company’s optimistic predictions of a quick fix.

“They lied to me,” said Insight customer Mary Jackson.  “I am so upset because they lied to me.”

Jackson visited the Evansville cable office to report her phone and Internet service were out and the company promised a same-day fix. A day later it was still out.

Here is how the transition was supposed to take place between Insight Cable and Time Warner. WTVW in Evansville walks customers through the conversion process.  (2 minutes)

 http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WFIE Evansville Broadband Problems 5-1-13.mp4

WFIE in Evansville reports how things actually went. Not so good, reported a number of customers.  (1 minute)

http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WTVW Evansville Time Warner Cable Customers Look For Answers 5-1-13.flv

The next day, Time Warner Cable customers who could not get through to the company by phone were down at this Time Warner Cable office in Evansville looking for answers, as WTVW reports.  (2 minutes)

http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WFIE Evansville Insight Switch 5-3-13.mp4

The following day, some customers were still without service. WFIE talks to one Time Warner Cable customer upset she still did not have phone service.  (1 minute)

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Warner Cable Reviewing Its Newest Acquisition: Insight Communications
2. Say Goodbye to Insight Cable, Time Warner Cable Has Arrived
3. Time Warner Cable Acquires Insight Communications for $3 Billion – $1B Below Asking Price
4. Cable Flipping: Insight Communications On Sales Block, Time Warner Cable Says Price Too High
5. Time Warner Customers Upset by Surprise Modem Fees Starting Nov. 1st With No Formal Notice

Time Warner Cable is seeking a patent for technology to let cable subscribers watch DVR recordings on mobile devices including tablets, smartphones, and computers outside of the home.

The patent application, obtained by FierceCable, shows most of the cable company’s efforts are directed at preserving licensing agreements for content viewing and managing restrictions on copying television shows and movies to external devices.

Time Warner Cable has proposed a three level security system for customer recordings. Level 1 would prohibit the customer from accessing DVR recordings, Level 2 would permit limited viewing and perhaps no copying, and Level 3 would allow open access to recordings and allow them to be shared with other devices.

The company theoretically could also use its security system to secure customer use, charging extra depending on how a customer wants to view DVR recordings remotely.

“Because of the increasing popularity of home networking, there is a growing need for a strategy that enables a user to perform authorized transfer of protected content, e.g., transferring content from an STT [set-top terminal] to a second device in a home network, and at the same time prevents unauthorized distribution of the protected content,” Time Warner Cable wrote in the patent application.

Time Warner could be the first cable company to allow remote viewing of DVR recordings if its patent application is approved. The company already offers a “whole home” DVR system that permits customers to start recorded shows on one television and finish them on another, but this enhancement would extend viewing outside of the home.

The company offered no comment about the patent or an estimate of when the service might become available.

Other stories of interest:

1. Verizon FiOS Turning On DRM to Prevent Copying of Recorded Content from Premium Channels
2. Oceanic/Time Warner Cable Subscribers Finally Get TWCable TV for iPad
3. Time Warner Cable & Viacom Make Peace: Comedy Central, MTV Coming to Apps
4. How Much Do You Love Time Warner Cable’s New TWC TV iPhone/iPad App?
5. Time Warner Cable Tries to Control Online Video Onslaught With iPad App to Manage Your Cable TV

After more than a year of aggressive promotions for new customers and those threatening to switch to a competitor, Time Warner Cable has pulled back to boost revenue and make greater profits.

CEO Glenn Britt told Wall Street investors on this morning’s quarterly results conference call that the cable operator is moving in a different direction.

“It’s based on a simple premise: sell people what they want and what they can afford in the first place,” Britt said.

In February, Stop the Cap! noted that Time Warner Cable’s new customer promotions had dramatically changed for the worse. The package prices remained the same — around $80 for a double-play or $89-99 for a triple-play package of cable, broadband, and/or phone service, but customers received a lot less for their money. For example, last year’s promotions bundled Standard/Turbo Service broadband (10-15Mbps) with most offers. Starting this year, only 3Mbps Internet is included. Equipment fees are still extra, but more costly than ever – $8.99 a month for a traditional set-top box, $21.94 a month for a DVR-equipped box and service.

Robert Marcus, Time Warner Cable’s chief operating officer now admits it was all part of the plan, and the company now earns 15-20% more from customers subscribing to the less-aggressive new customer promotions.

“In January we implemented a new pricing and packaging architecture that’s designed to drive greater [new customer revenue] and profit,” Marcus told investors. “We still advertise the same beacon prices, but the product packages are leaner, with lower speeds and fewer channels and features. Once our beacon offers get the phone to ring, our inbound sales reps are trained to help customers select options that are important to them, like faster broadband or a DVR. As a result, customers are up-sold into packages that better meet their needs.”

This year’s promotions largely only bundle 3Mbps broadband instead of the standard 10-15Mbps bundled last year.

Marcus admitted the trade-off is customers shopping around for the best deal who read the fine print are likely to consider an offer from a competitor more closely. Others are disconnecting service when their promotion expires.

Marcus

“By and large, when were talking about triple play disconnects, they are going to our telco competitors,” Marcus said. “When we’re talking about single-play video disconnects, they, by and large, leave us for satellite. We’re increasingly finding that phone customers are dropping landline phone for wireless-only, and there are video customers who are leaving — and broadband customers for that matter, who are leaving the category, and that’s probably more of an affordability issue than anything else.”

Verizon FiOS is Time Warner’s most dangerous competitor because it beats the cable operator on broadband speed and promotional pricing. Time Warner faces some of the highest disconnect numbers in FiOS areas. AT&T U-verse is also having a greater impact because AT&T recently decreased the price of both their triple and double-play promotions and has increased broadband speeds in some areas, Marcus reported.

Marcus said Time Warner is handling the subscriber churn fine, and the cable company now cares more about higher revenue and profits than attracting deal-hunters who shop on price.

“Last year’s aggressive triple play offers drove significant connect volume, which led to the highest quarterly subscriber net adds we’ve had over the last several years,” Marcus said. “But in large part, we were attracting discount seekers who are more likely to [switch after the promotion ended]. In many cases, we caused customers who didn’t need or want phone to take a triple play offer just to get the low triple play rates.”

What new customers Time Warner did attract largely took one or two products from the cable company, usually cable television and broadband. New phone service customers have declined year-over-year as a result of less attractive pricing. Instead, Marcus noted customers are spending on incremental broadband speed upgrades, which cost Time Warner much less than delivering phone service.

Nobody needs 1Gbps, argues Britt.

With the looming threat of Google Fiber in both Kansas City and Austin, Britt seemed generally unconcerned about the impact the gigabit broadband provider would have.

“At the end of the day, what we’re doing is not any different than an overbuilder, and we’ve had overbuilders for the last several decades in this business so that’s what they appear to be doing,” Britt said. “They appear to be very aggressive on price. They’re even giving some tiers away essentially for free, and we’ll see where that goes. Despite the glow and all of that, the products are essentially the same others are offering today in a practical sense.”

Britt said gigabit speeds probably won’t have the impact many customers think they should because most websites are not built to deliver content at those speeds.

Marcus noted that in Kansas City, Google has only passed 4,000 homes so far, about 2,000 of which are Time Warner Cable customers.

“The number of defections we’ve seen is de minimis at this point,” Marcus said.

Both Britt and Marcus responded to a question about consumption billing saying nothing had changed in the company’s thinking about usage caps or charging for what customers consumed.

“We have in place in almost all of our footprint the option for people to pay less money if they wish to really consume less,” Britt said. “People who want to keep getting unlimited and pay for that, can do that. So we really don’t have anything new. It is in place in our whole footprint, I think, except one location.”

“The take rate on that offering has still been fairly modest, but we think it’s a very important principle that there’s a relationship between usage and the price that customers pay,” Marcus added.

Some other highlights:

• Time Warner Cable’s cloud-based set-top box guide is now testing in employee homes with plans to roll the new boxes out to subscribers later this year. Britt said these were the first of a new generation of all-IP boxes, which means if you have a device in your house that knows how to receive IP, you’ll get access directly via WiFi or through a cable technology called MoCA;
• Time Warner Cable will digitally encrypt its entire television lineup in New York City;
• Time Warner Cable’s recent restructuring cost 500 employees their jobs, mostly in finance, marketing and human resources.

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Warner Cable Loses 15% of Their Analog Cable Customers; News on Broadband Caps, Pricing
2. Time Warner Cable Will Increase Standard Broadband Speed to 15/1Mbps Nationwide
3. Big Cable Running Scared: Comcast/Time Warner Cable Promotions Can Save Customers A Fortune
4. Competition Breather: Verizon FiOS Rate Hikes Ease Pressure on Cablevision, TWC
5. Digging Deeper Into Time Warner Cable’s 2011 Results and What Is Coming in 2012

Austin gets a horn of plenty with free Time Warner Cable Wi-Fi because Google is coming to town.

As Time Warner Cable faces forthcoming competition from Google Fiber in Austin, the company is responding with the construction of a free Wi-Fi network for its broadband customers to protect its business.

TWC WiFi is available now from a limited number of hotspots, but hundreds more will become available across Austin in 2013 as the company builds out its wireless network.

Time Warner Cable customers with Standard Internet or above qualify for free access, as do Business Class customers. Others can trial the service for free and then buy access for $2.95 an hour.

“Increasingly, our Austin customers want to take their high-speed Internet with them out of the home and on-the-go,” said Area Vice President Kathy Brabson. “The TWC WiFi network we are building for Austin will allow our customers to greatly maximize their TWC Internet subscription at no additional charge.”

It is no coincidence Time Warner Cable has selected Austin for a Wi-Fi rollout. The Wi-Fi service was specifically intended to provide more value for Time Warner Cable customers in competitive markets to keep them from switching to a competitor.

It represents a sea change for a cable company that in 2009 targeted Austin for an Internet Overcharging scheme that would have slapped a usage limit and consumption billing on the area’s broadband customers. With the advent of strong competition from Google, Time Warner Cable is giving customers something instead of taking things away.

Austin customers can download the free TWC WiFi Finder app available in Google Play and the Apple App Store or visit www.twc.com/wificoverage to view the hotspot coverage map as the wireless network grows. Once authenticated, customers can also access Wi-Fi hotspots in other cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Orlando, Tampa, Kansas City, Charlotte and more.

Other stories of interest:

1. Frontier Introducting Wi-Fi in Fort Wayne; Free Service Limited & Slow
2. Kansas City Time Warner Cable Customers Getting Downtown Wi-Fi Access, Starter Internet
3. Austin Media Gushing for Google Fiber
4. Time Warner Cable Wi-Fi Now Available in Los Angeles, Orange Counties
5. AT&T, Time Warner Cable Claim They Are Ready for Google Fiber in Austin

Since introducing its version of TV Everywhere more than a year ago, one of the most frustrating aspects of Time Warner Cable’s video streaming service has been it only works within your own home over the cable company’s own broadband service. As of tomorrow morning, that will change. If you own an Apple iOS tablet or smartphone, the cable company’s new version of its TWC TV app (free) will bring streamed and on-demand programming from a handful of cable networks regardless of where you happen to be.

There are several limitations however:

1. Having access to a Wi-Fi network while on the go will be a big help. Streaming access over 3G/4G service will initially be limited to Verizon Wireless customers, perhaps a fringe benefit of the agreement between Verizon and Time Warner Cable to collaborate in cross-marketing services;
2. Only nine cable networks and one Time Warner Cable-owned news channel will be available for live streaming when the service launches. None of them are particularly compelling. Programmers are fearful that streaming access outside of the home may open up cable programming to non-paying customers with access to a shared password;
3. Fox News Channel and Fox Business were reportedly going to be available as of tomorrow, but Time Warner Cable’s official blog post omits the two networks;
4. Android and desktop users will have to wait until summer to get the upgrade, an annoying prospect considering Android users now outnumber Apple iOS users, who have to wait.

The online programming guide is also being revamped to help users find TV channels and online on-demand content more quickly.

The initial out-of-home On Demand library offers over 1,100 hours of programming from the following providers:

BBC America
BET
CBeebies
CMT
Comedy Central
Cooking Channel
DIY
FEARnet
Food Network
Hallmark
HGTV
Logo
MTV
MTV2
Nick Jr.
Nickelodeon
Palladia
Spike
TeenNick
Travel Channel
Tr3S
TV Guide Network
TV Land
UniMas
Univision
VH1
VH1 Classic

Live TV streaming will be available from the following national networks:

Aspire
BBC America
beIN Sports (English/Spanish)
FearNet
GMC
Pac-12
TVGuide Network

Additionally, all Time Warner Cable local news channels will eventually be available out of home, though all local news, traffic and weather channels may not be available immediately. The following news channels will be available at launch:

NY1
NY1 Noticias
News 14 Carolina
YNN (New York and Texas)

Other stories of interest:

1. ESPN Finally Launching Online for Time Warner Cable Subscribers Oct. 25th
2. Time Warner Cable Introduces Android App, But Will Wait for ‘Ice Cream’ Before Streaming Video
3. Updated: Time Warner Cable Launches Desktop Streaming Cable TV for ‘Authenticated’ Subscribers
4. Fox News Channel – Time Warner Cable Deal Will Increase Cable Rates for Millions
5. Your Next Time Warner Cable Set-Top Box: Roku

The Federal Communications Commission has opened the door for Time Warner Cable to raise basic cable rates in several parts of Ohio and California after ruling the company faces effective competition from Dish Networks and DirecTV.

Under FCC rules cable rates for the broadcast basic tier, which includes local television stations and a handful of basic cable networks, remain regulated by the government until a cable operator can prove at least 50 percent of their service area is covered by a competing provider and 15 percent of its would-be customers are signed up with a competitor.

Cable companies have requested rate deregulation in countless communities as satellite and television service from phone companies penetrates their markets. Once rates are deregulated, cable operators can raise them to whatever price they believe the marketplace will bear.

In several affected communities, Time Warner Cable’s service is so uncompelling, almost half of the households have signed up for satellite service instead.

The communities affected in Ohio:

• City of Bellefontaine
• Howard Township
• Village of Huntsville
• Village of Lakeview
• McArthur Township
• North Bloomfield Township
• Village of Russells Point
• Stokes Township
• Washington Township
• Village of Zanesville

In California:

• Bradford

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Warner Cable Hiking Rates: Basic Cable Up 8.2% – $72.50/Month in Southern California
2. Time Warner Raising Rates in the Carolinas: $90.49 for Digital Cable, $167.89 Triple Play
3. Time Warner Cable Messes Up Bills for 15,000 Ohio Customers: One Woman Fights Back
4. Time Warner Cable Lite: Stripped Down Basic Cable Package Tests in NYC, NE Ohio
5. Northeast Ohio Deals With Time Warner Cable Pixel Problem

Another happy year for most TWC executives.

Time Warner Cable handed CEO Glenn Britt an effective $1 million raise in 2o12, compensating Britt with $17.4 million, up from $16.4 million paid a year earlier. The disclosure came in a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Britt, who is reportedly considering leaving Time Warner at the end of the year, also had his employment contract extended to Dec. 31, 2013.

Some other Time Warner Cable executives also walked home with substantial pay increases this year:

Other stories of interest:

1. Cashing in On Your Time Warner Cable Rate Increase: Top Executives Sell Shares, Earning Millions
2. Landel “Dr. Overcharge” Hobbs Out At Time Warner Cable in Management Shakeup
3. Time Warner Cable CEO Sees Pay Cut — Only Made $16.4 Million in 2011
4. Time Warner Cable Struggles Through Recession, But Some Get Juicy Raises & Bonuses Anyway
5. Craig Moffett’s Continuing Obsession With Usage-Based Billing; When Will the Gouging Begin?

Just how bad is your cable company?

Apparently pretty bad, considering the number of viral videos and guerrilla campaigns being launched against the industry these days, and Time Warner Cable in particular.

“Time Warner Cable Customer Service” is a group that has already heard from Time Warner Cable’s legal team about the cable operator’s trademarks and the potential for apparent “customer confusion.” The parodists might be at risk of losing their domain name, have already had their YouTube and Twitter accounts suspended, and have been told they are not allowed to record any phone calls with Time Warner Cable employees (although the company is allowed to record them… and you.)

What has the cable operator so upset? This:

Members of “Time Warner Cable Customer Service” take to the streets of Manhattan asking passersby what can the cable company do worse. Then they invade a Time Warner Cable store…. (Warning: Adult Language – NSFW) (3 minutes)

http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Honest Cable Company 4-13.flv

Another group decided a more general parody was in order. The “First Honest Cable Company” provides full disclosure about your cable service and what they really think of you. (Warning: Adult Language – NSFW) (2 minutes)

Other stories of interest:

1. 17 Porn Films in 4 Days; Time Warner Cable: ‘An Electrical Short or You Watched ‘Em, Pay Us $154.65′
2. Say Hello to Kabletown: The NBC-Comcast Merger is Complete
3. Watch Time Warner Cable’s Tapdance Routine on Whether Cable Modem Fee is a “Rate Increase”
4. Fire Interrupts Time Warner Cable Service in El Paso — Latest In a Series of Problems for Residents in Southwest Texas
5. Eddie “The Hookup Man” Nabbed in Ohio for Alleged Illegal Cable Hookups