The Pledge
THE WOW! PLEDGE
Our Ongoing Commitment to You
Our Ongoing Commitment to You
Keep Your Bill Fair and Reasonable
To keep your bill as low as possible by standing up to networks’ demands for increasing fees
Conduct Transparent Negotiations
To negotiate in good faith with networks and keep you updated.
Put Our Customers' Needs First
To ask network owners not to use viewers’ loyalty against them during negotiations.
Provide Alternative Solutions
If possible, to provide options and solutions if a network does remove its channels.
How does WOW! get access to the channels I watch?
Since the earliest days of television, broadcast stations – NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox – have been granted free use of the public airwaves by the Federal government. That’s a public subsidy worth billions of dollars. In exchange, the only obligation broadcasters must meet is to "serve the public interest." More than 60 years later, the public subsidy continues, but the public interest side of the bargain is too often ignored. Due to an archaic TV law called “Retransmission Consent,” cable companies like WOW! are required to obtain permission from local broadcast stations in order to carry them, and these broadcasters demand steep fees in exchange for that consent. The outdated regulations create a local monopoly for broadcasters that often threaten to black out their signals, even though their programming remains available for free over-the-air with an antenna.
I only watch 20 channels – why do I have to pay for so many others?
We agree! You deserve more choice and control over the TV programming you pay for. It makes sense that you only want to pay for the channels that appeal to you and your family. But the big media companies have other ideas. They own most of the channels you want, as well as most of the channels you don’t want. And they won’t let you have the most popular channels unless other networks that they own are included in your package. They need more viewers – and money -- for these less-popular channels. So, in exchange for permitting WOW! to bring you the shows and channels you want, the media companies insist that you receive, and ultimately pay for, networks you don’t care about.
Media companies drive up the cost of TV service.
When you pay your monthly bill with WOW!, you’re essentially paying for two types of services:
Physical Maintenance Costs
The cost of maintaining and improving WOW!’s physical network. That includes everything from the cost of installing and maintaining technical facilities and paying customer care employees, to normal operating expenses common to every business, like the electric bill. WOW! works diligently to keep these costs under control and operates more efficiently than many TV providers
Media Company Fees
The fees media companies charge for their channels. Today, well over half of your monthly bill for cable television goes to the programmers whose channels we carry. Unfortunately, these fees continue to increase.
We recognize that it takes money to produce quality programming, and reasonable increases are sometimes necessary. But recently, more media companies are demanding exorbitant increases for their programming, even though viewership and ratings are on the decline. Some media companies are willing to remove their networks from your channel lineup until WOW! gives in to their greedy demands. Rest assured that WOW! does everything possible to prevent that from happening so we can deliver the best TV experience at the best possible value.
is on your side.
You’ve enjoyed TV service from WOW!, but we know it can be costly. We believe we can help save you money and you’ll get the programming you are missing, when we switch you from your current WOW! TV package to a streaming TV subscription from one of our partners. When you cut the cord and switch to streaming TV, you can watch all the same TV shows, sports, and movies that you love without the bulky cable boxes, contracts or extra fees. All it takes is your super-fast WOW! Internet, a subscription from one of our streaming partners like YouTube TV, and a little help from your friends at WOW!