I don't get ANY Marlin games with my Cable Provider here in Melbourne, FL. I also see alot of people on here complain about there cable providers, if you are not satisfied with yours click on the link below and follow the instructions. What this will do is send an E-mail to your state senator and ask them to let cable companies compete in FL. This will give us lower rates different channels(depending on each cable provider). This way one of the companies will be bound to get all the Marlin games. Even if you get all the games please sign up and help fellow Marlin fans who only get some or in my case NONE! Here's the link...

 

We Want TV Choice FL

This is a lobby of Florida's telephone companies (AT&T/Bellsouth, Verizon, and EMBARQ) to have new teleco cable systems (which would compete against existing cable companies) franchised statewide out of Tallahassee rather than by the individual counties and towns so that Verizon's FiOs (already launched around Tampa Bay) and AT&T's U-Verse (looking to launch in Florida) could start offering cable TV services of their own statewide.

This is a lobby of Florida's telephone companies (AT&T/Bellsouth, Verizon, and EMBARQ) to have new teleco cable systems (which would compete against existing cable companies) franchised statewide out of Tallahassee rather than by the individual counties and towns so that Verizon's FiOs (already launched around Tampa Bay) and AT&T's U-Verse (looking to launch in Florida) could start offering cable TV services of their own statewide.

 

Any chance of this happening soon?

Any chance of this happening soon?

 

AT&T is looking into Florida and hence why this bill is in the Legislature. Verizon has gone town to town, county by county, but AT&T has so many more areas that only going through Tallahassee can do they get it done quickly enough to launch in a few years.

 

I would suggest you look at Dish Network. You can get it almost anywhere in Brevard County as that county is not heavily forested.

 

Dish Network carries all 150 Marlins games on FSN Florida Channel 423, Sun Sports Channel 422, and they just added FSN Florida HD with a pack as low as AT100+ which is about $40 a month.

 

I have it at home in Cape Coral and love it!

 

Even if you live in a condo or apartment you can get Dish: http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/L...elease_Form.pdf

 

That form has the FCC rules and all the info on your rights to install a Dish.

 

But if you live in a single-family home, have no issue seeing the southern sky, and want the Marlins....get a DISH.

 

I would have it here in Tallahassee if I had line of sight. Although I think I might in the fall when I come back because my neighbors to the south have been cutting down sick/dead trees and I can now see the sky in that direction.

Any chance of this happening soon?

 

AT&T is looking into Florida and hence why this bill is in the Legislature. Verizon has gone town to town, county by county, but AT&T has so many more areas that only going through Tallahassee can do they get it done quickly enough to launch in a few years.

 

I would suggest you look at Dish Network. You can get it almost anywhere in Brevard County as that county is not heavily forested.

 

Dish Network carries all 150 Marlins games on FSN Florida Channel 423, Sun Sports Channel 422, and they just added FSN Florida HD with a pack as low as AT100+ which is about $40 a month.

 

I have it at home in Cape Coral and love it!

 

Even if you live in a condo or apartment you can get Dish: http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/L...elease_Form.pdf

 

That form has the FCC rules and all the info on your rights to install a Dish.

 

But if you live in a single-family home, have no issue seeing the southern sky, and want the Marlins....get a DISH.

 

I would have it here in Tallahassee if I had line of sight. Although I think I might in the fall when I come back because my neighbors to the south have been cutting down sick/dead trees and I can now see the sky in that direction.

 

I just ordered Dish Network today and i'm getting it installed Tuesday in time for Tuesday night's game vs the Brewers! Thanks for all your help man. Cable just wasn't an option here and i finally bit the bullet and got the Dish! Again thanks for the help.

BTW, I guess I should post the update on this. In July, this bill will become law. It was passed by both the House and Senate, now it sits on the Governor's desk.

 

This will see a big change in how cable TV works in Florida.

 

AT&T (U-Verse), Verizon (FiOS), and EMBARQ (not yet announced) have all lobbied and won the right for statewide franchises. The state's big cable companies: Comcast, Cox, Bright House, Atlantic Broadband, and Knology will all be able to get out of their local franchise contracts and replace them with statewide contracts as well.

 

Basically here are the changes:

1) Tallahassee will handle licensing, franchising, and complaints

2) Phone companies can now directly compete with cable companies in all 3 major areas of TV, Internet, and Phone service

3) AT&T will start building U-Verse in places they serve like Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach. Verizon has deployed FiOS in their Tampa Bay service area where they could get franchises, but now they can get a statewide franchise and go bigger. EMBARQ now has the laws in place but no plan as of yet.

 

The former Alltel, now Windstream customers (mostly Jacksonville and the I-10 area around Lake City/Live Oak) would benefit if they ever decided to jump in this.

I assume that this will mean more competition and more reasonable rates, not to even mention better selection for individuals out there?

It should....I would consider it like DSL vs. Cable Internet.

I am so for "cable" competition. Not only will it spur competition for what we get now, it will push technologies from both sides (telco and cable) to offer more and cheaper services and especially by the telcos create an environment where hundreds of new channels pop up, and with them jobs.

If only EMBARQ would jump on IPTV (what this new cable TV from the phone companies is called) like AT&T and Verizon have.

 

We have Dish Network in the Cape, but in Tallahassee I'm still trying to find a way to get it on despite the forest.

 

EMBARQ serves the Fort Myers, Winter Haven, and Tallahassee areas...and I love the phone and DSL service.

 

Phone is $29.95, DSL is $24.95, Unlimited Long Distance is $15 and these prices are not promotional....but EMBARQ resells Dish Network service to complete the "Triple Play" and not everyone can get line-of-sight for a Dish signal esp. in Tallahassee.

 

BTW, once the Governor signs the bill....expect AT&T to make announcements about rollouts of U-Verse in Orlando, Melbourne, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, The Keys, and Palm Beach....basically anywhere they are the phone company.

 

Map of local phone companies in Florida: http://www.psc.state.fl.us/publications/pd...exchangemap.pdf

Another update, Governor Crist signed this bill last Friday. It will become law on July 1st.......wonder how fast AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Cox, Bright House, and Knology can make it to the Department of State to file for statewide franchises.

 

This should get very interesting. The FCC has told AT&T they need to rollout U-Verse in Bellsouth areas quickly by the end of 2007. Florida should get some of that action hopefully.

WOW! Great News! :thumbup It will be interesting to see how long it really takes till we actually have these options because you know how estimations go...

Update: It appears that Bellsouth has been busy as bees over the past year installing VRADs (big phone boxes that deliver U-Verse). Now that it is AT&T, has the FCC's mandate for U-Verse in the old Bellsouth areas, and the State of Florida's new franchise process, we may see AT&T Florida will bust out U-Verse in an ad blitz and that many parts of Metropolitan Florida will get access to this new TV competitor by the end of the year. Verizon continues expanded FiOS in their Tampa Bay coverage area and this will help them grow that rollout even more agressively. Nothing yet from EMBARQ other than reselling Dish Network service, but the Sprint Nextel merger left EMBARQ with $7 billion in debt and they are cautiously moving forward with DSL being their top thing.

 

Both Verizon's FiOS and AT&T's U-Verse appear to have deals with FSN Florida & Sun Sports. Since Verizon is the only provider doing business in the state right now, FSN will only confirm them having signed a deal for the Marlins. Verizon does carry all 150 games (including all HD games) from what I understand in their service areas in Tampa Bay. AT&T U-Verse carries FSN Florida & Sun Sports on all of their systems nationwide with appropriate blackouts similar to Dish Network or DirecTV.

 

More on AT&T U-Verse TV: https://uverse.att.com/ & http://www.uverseusers.com/

More on Verizon FiOS TV: http://www22.verizon.com/content/fiostv/ & http://www.fiberexperts.com/forums/

Any chance of this happening soon?

 

AT&T is looking into Florida and hence why this bill is in the Legislature. Verizon has gone town to town, county by county, but AT&T has so many more areas that only going through Tallahassee can do they get it done quickly enough to launch in a few years.

 

I would suggest you look at Dish Network. You can get it almost anywhere in Brevard County as that county is not heavily forested.

 

Dish Network carries all 150 Marlins games on FSN Florida Channel 423, Sun Sports Channel 422, and they just added FSN Florida HD with a pack as low as AT100+ which is about $40 a month.

 

I have it at home in Cape Coral and love it!

 

Even if you live in a condo or apartment you can get Dish: http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/L...elease_Form.pdf

 

That form has the FCC rules and all the info on your rights to install a Dish.

 

But if you live in a single-family home, have no issue seeing the southern sky, and want the Marlins....get a DISH.

 

I would have it here in Tallahassee if I had line of sight. Although I think I might in the fall when I come back because my neighbors to the south have been cutting down sick/dead trees and I can now see the sky in that direction.

 

Dish Network ???? You serious bro ???? DirecTV has MLB Extra Innings.....see more than just the Marlins. I have games everyday, and most daytimes. While I work at home I watch baseball nearly every afternoon, even when the Marlins aren't playing. Besides DirecTV has NFL Network, Court TV and NFL Sunday Ticket. Can't beat it.

 

Dish Network ? :thumbdown

Dish Network ???? You serious bro ???? DirecTV has MLB Extra Innings.....see more than just the Marlins. I have games everyday, and most daytimes. While I work at home I watch baseball nearly every afternoon, even when the Marlins aren't playing. Besides DirecTV has NFL Network, Court TV and NFL Sunday Ticket. Can't beat it.

 

Dish Network ? :thumbdown

Had DirecTV, don't care for it, and I don't recommend it.

 

I like Dish much better. Plus, MLB.tv has the same games (and even more actually) the DirecTV's Extra Innings. Cable has Extra Innings too.

 

Also, Dish has the NFL Network (Channel 154) and Court TV (Channel 204). I don't use Sunday Ticket because I live in Florida and my team is the Dolphins...which CBS stations around the state like to televise even when they suck badly. Plus, Dish has FSN-HD and SUN-HD statewide while DirecTV only has it in select areas of the state.

I miss out on the "extra" games here in Tallahassee, on Comcast's basic cable package. I hate it.

 

I called them up and the woman had no idea what I was talking about. She might've not known who the Marlins were. Tallahassee should be a part of Georgia.

 

Anyway, they were of no help. I did as they suggested, called my cable provider and said that I wanted all of the games, and I was told that they did not offer it.

I miss out on the "extra" games here in Tallahassee, on Comcast's basic cable package. I hate it.

 

I called them up and the woman had no idea what I was talking about. She might've not known who the Marlins were. Tallahassee should be a part of Georgia.

 

Anyway, they were of no help. I did as they suggested, called my cable provider and said that I wanted all of the games, and I was told that they did not offer it.

Comcast corporate only purchased the extra 55 games for their South Florida division. So all Comcast folks outside of Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties are out of luck.

 

I am battling the same issues with Comcast Tallahassee, but I think the option of installing a dish just became available to me. *cross fingers*

 

As for the Comcast reps, they must be told to act dumb when you mention "Marlins + FSN + Extra 55 games" as they regularly are very good. My only issues with Comcast Tallahassee are the price being a tad high and the service being incomplete without the complete 150 Marlins game schedule. Otherwise, never had another issue with them.

Hey Cape,

Thanks for all the info. I am in Naples and am in the same boat as Someguy150. I am not getting the extra games on FSN\SUN. How is Dish Network compared to Direct TV? I was thinking about getting Direct TV but all the channel lineups are virtually the same as Comcast here (even the HD channels are the same) and the price is a little higher than Comcast for the same channels. What's the advantage, the channels being all digital?

Hey Cape,

Thanks for all the info. I am in Naples and am in the same boat as Someguy150. I am not getting the extra games on FSN\SUN. How is Dish Network compared to Direct TV? I was thinking about getting Direct TV but all the channel lineups are virtually the same as Comcast here (even the HD channels are the same) and the price is a little higher than Comcast for the same channels. What's the advantage, the channels being all digital?

I have had problems with DirecTV's billing. My experience may or not may be typical, but my household here in Cape Coral now has Dish Network.

 

Reasons we like Dish Network over DirecTV/Comcast:

1) Not one issue with billing from Dish in over 4 years.

2) Very responsive customer service. (You can e-mail the CEO's office at ceo@dishnetwork.com and they answer with real solutions)

3) You can have 2 TVs with 2 seperate programs running from the same box (so you don't have to pay the extra rental/box fees for the 2nd TV like you do with DirecTV/Comcast) like the 622 HD DVR, 625 SD DVR & 322 SD Box

4) They carry all 150 Marlins games on FSN Florida (Channel 423) and Sun Sports (Channel 422).

5) They also have FSN Florida HD and Sun Sports HD up and running for those with DishHD boxes.

6) Dish Network carries all of our local channels. (NBC2, ABC7, FOX4, WINK-TV, CW6, etc.)

7) Dish Network has NFL Network on even the most basic AT100 package.

8) I added WWOR-TV New York (carries Yanks on Fridays usually) for $1.50/month and WPIX-TV New York (carries Mets on weekends usually) for another $1.50/month....you get all their programs from MyNetworkTV (WWOR) and CW (WPIX) including any Mets/Yanks games without blackout!

9) Dish's system is easy to use and the channels look good even on our older TVs.

10) Dish rarely has outages from rain or bad weather.....Comcast can take time to get things fixed and DirecTV's satellites do encounter more rain fade than Dish. Dish uses the 110 and 119 satellites to give us programming....FSN-HD is on 61.5 which they will install a second dish for so you get the best signals. Usually, if Dish goes out....it is due to the rain causing the power to blink or go out causing the box to reboot (I solved this with a battery backup from APC )

11) Dish is cheaper for us than DirecTV/Comcast would be for the same or less.

 

My biggest issue with Dish Network is they do not have MLB Extra Innings, but if I wanted I could get MLB.tv. We have 4 TVs in our house, so Dish makes more sense than DirecTV or Comcast since they would make us rent 4 boxes vs. only 3 from Dish....and we still get to use 4 TVs for 4 seperate programs. Plus, Dish has UHF Pro remotes which work through walls and furniture....so the boxes don't have to be out in the open.

 

If anyone is thinking about Dish, you can PM me and I will give you a ClubDISH Phone & ID Number you can call where they can answer all your questions and if you order, they waive activation. Installation and Equipment are free as always with Dish. Plus any other promotions Dish is offering right now, like the $10 back a month for 10 months.

does Dish have the NFL Ticket package now? that's the only reason I've stayed with DirectTV for the past 10 years or so. It's true the DirecTV customer service is the worst.

does Dish have the NFL Ticket package now? that's the only reason I've stayed with DirectTV for the past 10 years or so. It's true the DirecTV customer service is the worst.

NFL Sunday Ticket is DirecTV only. Dish Network does have the NFL Network.

Hey Cape,

Thanks for all the info. I am in Naples and am in the same boat as Someguy150. I am not getting the extra games on FSN\SUN. How is Dish Network compared to Direct TV? I was thinking about getting Direct TV but all the channel lineups are virtually the same as Comcast here (even the HD channels are the same) and the price is a little higher than Comcast for the same channels. What's the advantage, the channels being all digital?

I have had problems with DirecTV's billing. My experience may or not may be typical, but my household here in Cape Coral now has Dish Network.

 

Reasons we like Dish Network over DirecTV/Comcast:

1) Not one issue with billing from Dish in over 4 years.

2) Very responsive customer service. (You can e-mail the CEO's office at ceo@dishnetwork.com and they answer with real solutions)

3) You can have 2 TVs with 2 seperate programs running from the same box (so you don't have to pay the extra rental/box fees for the 2nd TV like you do with DirecTV/Comcast) like the 622 HD DVR, 625 SD DVR & 322 SD Box

4) They carry all 150 Marlins games on FSN Florida (Channel 423) and Sun Sports (Channel 422).

5) They also have FSN Florida HD and Sun Sports HD up and running for those with DishHD boxes.

6) Dish Network carries all of our local channels. (NBC2, ABC7, FOX4, WINK-TV, CW6, etc.)

7) Dish Network has NFL Network on even the most basic AT100 package.

8) I added WWOR-TV New York (carries Yanks on Fridays usually) for $1.50/month and WPIX-TV New York (carries Mets on weekends usually) for another $1.50/month....you get all their programs from MyNetworkTV (WWOR) and CW (WPIX) including any Mets/Yanks games without blackout!

9) Dish's system is easy to use and the channels look good even on our older TVs.

10) Dish rarely has outages from rain or bad weather.....Comcast can take time to get things fixed and DirecTV's satellites do encounter more rain fade than Dish. Dish uses the 110 and 119 satellites to give us programming....FSN-HD is on 61.5 which they will install a second dish for so you get the best signals. Usually, if Dish goes out....it is due to the rain causing the power to blink or go out causing the box to reboot (I solved this with a battery backup from APC )

11) Dish is cheaper for us than DirecTV/Comcast would be for the same or less.

 

My biggest issue with Dish Network is they do not have MLB Extra Innings, but if I wanted I could get MLB.tv. We have 4 TVs in our house, so Dish makes more sense than DirecTV or Comcast since they would make us rent 4 boxes vs. only 3 from Dish....and we still get to use 4 TVs for 4 seperate programs. Plus, Dish has UHF Pro remotes which work through walls and furniture....so the boxes don't have to be out in the open.

 

If anyone is thinking about Dish, you can PM me and I will give you a ClubDISH Phone & ID Number you can call where they can answer all your questions and if you order, they waive activation. Installation and Equipment are free as always with Dish. Plus any other promotions Dish is offering right now, like the $10 back a month for 10 months.

Thanks again for all this info. I may be switching over. My next obstacle is I rent my condo but I think I can get permission to install the dish. I called Comcast in Naples and they had no idea and just gave me some other numbers to call. Not only am I not getting the 50 extra games but the channel that carried FSN HD (206) in Naples doesn't show any Marlin games anymore. Which is one of the major reasons I got the HD package.

 

Thanks for info Cape

Thanks again for all this info. I may be switching over. My next obstacle is I rent my condo but I think I can get permission to install the dish. I called Comcast in Naples and they had no idea and just gave me some other numbers to call. Not only am I not getting the 50 extra games but the channel that carried FSN HD (206) in Naples doesn't show any Marlin games anymore. Which is one of the major reasons I got the HD package.

 

Thanks for info Cape

 

Here is Dish's landlord permission forms: http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/L...elease_Form.pdf

 

PM me when ready and I'll get you a ClubDish number.

 

It is a shame Comcast has allowed themselves to slip on offering the extra 55 Marlins games, many of which are in High Definition.

Cape, I was wondering if there is any new news on new cable companys in the Brevard County area. Going down to S. Fla. I saw a comcast sign in Vero Beach (Indian River County) and I was wondering if comcast is coming up to Brevard?