Competition is great for consumers, but for Comcast, it must be intimidating. How else to explain the over-the-top propaganda campaign Comcast has mounted against Verizon? We have demanded that Comcast “cease and desist” from this unfair, untruthful and illegal advertising. Comcast cares, we keep hearing, but a series of new Comcast ads demonstrates conclusively that Comcast does not care about getting accurate information to consumers.
In these ads, Comcast once again tries to convince the public that they have “better HD” than Verizon FiOS. Their argument is largely based on an unsubstantiated claim that they have more “HD choices,” or HD video-on-demand selections, than Verizon FiOS TV has. (They seem to concede the point that they have fewer actual HD channels than FiOS TV.)
No one is fooled by this. Industry blogs, news reporting and analyst reviews consistently find that, as ZD Net put it, “Comcast lags considerably behind in offering a full roster of HD channels.” Problems with Comcast’s HD picture quality have also been widely reported and discussed on the Web.
Once again Comcast attacks Verizon video on demand content. We don’t know how Comcast justifies its claims, but the fact is that every month Verizon FiOS offers over 15,000 Video on Demand titles – including more than 1,400 in HD. This includes hundreds of new movie releases every month, some available the same day as the movie DVD is released. We have one of the largest free VOD libraries of kids programming and international films. It is indisputable that the Verizon FiOS VOD library – in standard and high definition – is one of the industry’s largest and most diverse. For Comcast to quibble numbers on this scale is a real sign of competitive desperation.
Comcast unleashes a series of other half-truths in their ads that would make a demagogue blush.
For example:
- Comcast claim: After FiOS’ promotional prices expire, FiOS’ three product bundles can cost up to $400 more a year than comparable Comcast plans – all for fewer HD on demand movies and shows.
Truth: Customers who sign up for a FiOS bundle lock in prices for the one-year or two-year term of the bundle. And they get more for their money -- Verizon offers more than 100 HD channels in every market and Comcast doesn’t come close to that. Comcast offers only 49 HD channels even in their own home town, less than half of Verizon’s 117. As to the $400 claim, we cannot fathom how Comcast makes this calculation, but whatever new math is employed, the claim is clearly false.
- Comcast claim: Comcast offers “the fastest Internet around” or “faster Internet speeds.”
Truth: Comcast knows that this claim is simply untrue. Although Comcast has recently introduced in a few markets a 50 Mbps download speed Internet service, many Comcast markets do not have access to this service while all Verizon FiOS markets have had 50 Mbps service for about a year. Worse is that Comcast only offers an upload speed on its service of 10 Mbps while Verizon’s upload speed is twice that fast. It is also very likely that the actually delivered speeds from Comcast are considerably slower than the advertised speed. Clearly theirs is not the “fastest Internet around.”
- Comcast claim: FiOS fills up its HD on Demand library with recycled Internet content including hundreds of two minute videos like “How to Fold a Towel” and “How to Boil Water.”
Truth: Our 15,000-title video on demand library includes around 425 fun and educational “how to” videos in HD from Howcast. “How to” content is booming in popularity – especially in this recession when DIY (Do It Yourself) is king – and Howcast content has been lauded by CNET, New York Post, TV Week, TIME and others as some of the best-produced, most entertaining and most useful DIY videos around. Howcast content is featured not only on FiOS TV, but also on You Tube, Twitter, Hulu and other well-watched sites. FiOS brings this extremely popular online video fare to the big-screen in HD – something today’s video enthusiast demands – and Howcast videos are popular FiOS TV VOD content. Comcast is clearly behind the times in their disdain for these innovative and in-demand videos.
- Comcast claim: FiOS installation means you better clear your calendar. Installation can take hours and can involve digging up your lawn with heavy construction equipment and bolting big router boxes to the outside of your house.
Truth: In cases where our fiber is buried on a homeowner’s property, we don’t use heavy earth moving equipment nor do excavation work anything like what is depicted in Comcast’s ads -- as Comcast knows perfectly well. When we install FiOS in a customer’s home, the work, performed by specially trained technicians, includes mounting a small box called an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) inside or on the outside of the house. We’re testing even smaller devices that could be placed next to a PC on a desk. Then we set up an entire home network. Comcast does not offer this service. When we leave, all services ordered by a customer are working including computer Internet service. Comcast’s scare tactics in this ad serve only to distract attention from the fact that Comcast does less when they install cable service, and to avoid discussing the quality of workmanship provided by many cable companies.
This isn’t the first time Comcast has used questionable tactics. For example, Comcast’s use of “fiber optic” to describe its network confuses consumers regarding Fiber optic networks and who will deliver the most HD. They aimed this same “more HD” propaganda campaign before against satellite, and they’re dusting it off again against Verizon FiOS. It’s good for a laugh around the Comcast headquarters. But obviously Comcast doesn’t care about giving consumers the facts about which provider will give them the best home entertainment experience.
Comparison of Verizon FiOS and Comcast in Philadelphia, Comcast’s Hometown
Number of linear HD channels:
Verizon FiOS: 117
Comcast: 49
Multi-room DVR:
Verizon FiOS: yes
Comcast: no
JD Power 2008 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study – East Region
Verizon FiOS: First Place
Comcast: Last Place (out of 9)
Leading consumer ratings magazine on TV Service (Feb. 2008 and Feb. 2009)
Verizon FiOS: First Place
Comcast: Ninth Place (out of 10)
Leading consumer ratings magazine on High-def TV service (Mar. 2008)Verizon Verizon FiOS: First place in each category: Channel Choice, Image quality, Sound quality, Reliability, Value and Support.
Comcast: Tenth place (out of 12)