Best Deals on cable or satellite TV

If you’ll recall, and nobody will, that my first ever Frugal Hack was about a secret Dish Network programming plan that they don’t advertise which gets you 50+ channels for only $19.99 a month. Pretty darn good deal, right? I know many of my frugal readers have already cut the cable cord, but if you’re a sports fan, like me, your options are pretty darn limited.

After all, you’re not going to get ESPN with the $19.99 plan, or the Discovery Channel, or Fox News, or TBS, or TNT. By knowing how to negotiate a deal with DishNetwork, you’ll learn how to get many of those channels without a significant increase in your bill. Also, it is worth mentioning that the strategy I’m going to describe will work for any cable or satellite TV company. If done correctly of course!

Do Your Research

The first thing you have to do is analyze your situation. Are you currently under contract with your cable or Satellite company? If so, this hack is going to be much more difficult to pull off.

Next, find out what the competition is currently offering. If you know this info like the back of your hand you’re going to get some serious street cred when talking to the rep. In my case, DirectTV was offering a special promotion of $29.99/mo. for 12 months for something they call the “Choice” package. It offered 150+ channels, including ESPN, and was going to used as my ammo when shooting for a better deal.

– DirectTV is ridiculously expensive these days and doesn’t give you much power to negotiate anymore. Instead, when you make the call to Dish to negotiate, tell them you plan on using Hulu Plus and Netflix along with an HD Antennae. I just did this and got the screaming deal of $45 off my bill for 12 months with the America’s Top 120+ package.

Make the Cancel Call

Next, you call the 1-800 number and tell the first person you speak with that you want to cancel your account. They’ll ask “why?” and you’ll say “I have found a better deal with a competitor of yours.” They’ll immediately put you on hold and send your call to the customer loyalty or customer retention department. The name varies by company, but the bottom line is you’ll want to talk with these guys as they are the ONLY ones authorized to give you the kick-ass deal you’re going to ask for.

Be Polite, But Persistent

Here is how the convo went:

Me: “Yeah, hi, I want to cancel my service today.”
DishTV Rep: “I’m really sorry to hear that. Is there any particular reason you want to cancel?”
Me: “I found a better deal with Direct TV and want to switch.” I then explained the package I mentioned earlier.
DishTV Rep: Silence. Then she says “Well, we’d really like to keep your business. For you to get a similar package with us, it would be the America’s Top 120 and it typically is $49.99 per month. But today I can lower that to $39.99 per month. Would that be OK?”
Me: “Well, I appreciate that offer, but like I mentioned, DirectTV is offering a very similar package for $29.99 per month. So I guess I’ll just go ahead and switch.””
DishTV Rep: “Let me talk to my manager and see if we can come down any further.” Silence and some whispering. She comes back on and say, “I have authorization from my manager to offer you $35.99 which is $14 off the regular monthly price.”
Me: “Well, I appreciate that but I think I’ll just go ahead and switch.”
DishTV Rep: “Let me ask again if we can meet the $29.99 a month deal.” More semi-silence. I don’t think she was actually talking to anyone, just playing solitaire on her computer while pretending too. She finally comes back on and says, ”Yes, I have authorization to offer $29.99 a month for a 10 month period.”
Me: “That is awesome, thanks so much! So, after the 10 month period I’m not put into a contract to pay $49.99 a month or something?”
DishTV Rep: “No, you are not under any contract at any point.”

I got off the phone, immediately did my happy dance, then wondered how low she would have gone. Maybe $19.99 a month? Maybe a bunch of free movie channels as well? Has anyone gotten a better deal than the one I got? I’d love to hear about it and how you pulled it off.

After the ten months are over, I plan on calling them up and doing it again. I was on the phone for a total of 5 minutes and ended up with a $49.99/mo. programming package for only $29.99 a month. I saved a total of $200 over the 10 month period.

So stoked to finally have ESPN, especially with the start of the college basketball season!

Ask the Reader: Do you pay more than you would like for cable or Satellite TV? If so, it’s about time you did something about it before your goat takes matters into her own hooves.

How to manifest money? what does arning mean on steam inventory helper? How to watch netflix on facetime? What is the meaning of gothic literature? How to turn off vanish mode on instagram? How to make your breath smell good? What time zone is houston texas? How to joint compound fill coat tips hints? What does fmla mean? How to do division? Tips to tell which bond is more polar? which html helper can a form be rendered that generates an ajax call? How to press tofu? What percentage of americans are fully vaccinated? What time does hardee's start serving lunch? What are the best hair tricks for healthy hair? What does inoh mean in texting? how to make hamburger helper in the instant pot How to find the center of a circle? What does an anemometer measure? How to turn off the really annoying tips in minecraft? What does nty mean in text? How to make fries? Why do you seek the living among the dead meaning? How to clean washer? What does it mean to dream about zombies? What is the meaning of premise? What does median mean in math? What are infusions? What are the signs of multiple sclerosis? What does sheee mean? What is the meaning of spm? How to redeem xbox gift card? What is the meaning of bruno? How do service tips on norwegian work? What does crip stand for? What does the bible say about sleep? What is the meaning of a thumb ring? How to get rid of ants in bedroom? What does an abscess look like? How much do i have to make to file taxes? What does cocky mean? How to make ginger tea? How to pay waitresses that don't declare tips? What does crc stand for? Tips on how to loss weight fast? What does guanine pair with? How to get rid of field mice quickly? How to get approved for disability the first time? How to make a ladder in minecraft? What does mean in math? How to bake salmon in foil? What is the meaning of eom? What are symptoms of throat cancer? What are the meaning of mood ring colors? how to make hamburger helper spaghetti What is the meaning of incisive? How to take apple watch band off? What does out of pocket maximum mean? How to sleep faster? What is the meaning of edsa? What are bean sprouts? What time does trump leave? Tips on how to get pregnant with pcos? What channel does the football game come on tonight? What does elohim mean? What is the meaning of pranayama? How to use cotton rolling tips? What does apathy mean? How to brush cats teeth? What is the meaning of salvation in the bible? What is the meaning of traverse? How do you know what blood type you are? What does gaia mean? linkedin helper how to send messages from a group How to download pictures from iphone to computer? What does dm stand for in medical terms? How to disc priest in arena battle for azeroth tips? How to self examine your stomach for early pregnancy? Garden tips and tricks how do you make acidic soil more? How to find period? What am i fiend meaning? What is the meaning of gratuity? How to make gunpowder? What is ddos mean? 1990 movie where woman is kidnapped and watched on video camera tricks her captor into escaping? What is the meaning of wdym? How to cite a book in mla? What is cloudflare? What are phosphates? What does mastitis look like? How to wire an outlet? What is the pg tips monkey called? What is 1+1+2+2+4+4+8+8 mind tricks? What is the meaning of must? how to find min and max of binary tree recursively in python with helper function What does low rbc mean? How to cite sources? how long does ups helper training Tricks for not making your clothes stiff when air drying? Tips on looking at job applications when hiring? How to make crostini? What does roaming data mean? How to change hair color tips 2k22? What are the symptoms of a yeast infection? How to program roku remote? How to increase hemoglobin? What does criminologist do? How to paint trees? What are the tricks to get your facebook account verified? What is asexual reproduction? How to read literature like a professor sparknotes? Fun tricks to do when it's cold outside? when b lymphocytes are stimulated to divide by interaction with t-helper cells, what do they form How to trade options on robinhood? How to do really easy skateboard tricks? How to cook meth? What is a brazilian blowout? How to get hair dye out of carpet? What does standard range not detected mean? What are the symptoms of e coli? what is mouse recording in video download helper? who invented hamburger helper What is the aclu? What are bitters? What is the meaning of us? How to make a balloon arch? How long is jeff bezos going to space for? What does ataxia mean? Asparagus, which is better, the green tips or the purplish tips? Tips on how to play ranged dps? What is the meaning of kanyadaan? What does remittance mean? Where do you report tips on a tax return as a hair dresser? How to cancel zelle payment? What does proclaim mean? What are the qualifications to be president? Tips how to win fire building competition? How to do banshee tricks in halo infinite pc? What does a semicolon tattoo mean? What kind of cancer does dick vitale have? What is the meaning of kusu in tamil? How to increase fat under eyes naturally? What does a polygon look like? Tips on how to beat the valkyrie queen god of war? How to get closer to god? How tto do card tricks? What does zany mean? What is a bonsai tree meaning? What is chakra? How to renew a passport? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger nietzsche meaning? I don't know how to feel meaning? What are brazilian nuts good for? where to put helper functions for testing in python What is beef sirloin tips? What does convection mean? What does rigorous mean? What does pos mean twitter? How to use a foam roller? Cornetto tips where to buy? What does haze mean? What does pvc stand for? How to get cat pee out of clothes? What does 8 mean in the bible? How to make fluffy scrambled eggs? how asp.net ajax helper beginform What does validation mean? How to draw a heart? Which medical terminology word part provides the general meaning of the word? How to cite a pdf? What does relationship status mean? How to hit a draw? How to make pico de gallo? What are some good riddles and tricks? How to zest an orange? What is the meaning of estoppel in real estate? What does display mean? Destiny srl how to tricks? What does it mean when your balls itch really bad? How to make a song a ringtone on android? Why does my cat watch me when i'm cleaning my ears with q-tips? What does celestial mean? What kind of motorcycle can you do tricks on? What tips are there is to having the public on keeping bathrooms clean? What is the meaning of a black moon? How many people are paralized from do trampoline tricks each year? how to configure ip helper address on cisco router What is the meaning of 4444? What is the meaning of the wise men's gifts? what is the sister from satans little helper dressed up as What do the greeks mean in options? how to become mineplex helper What does soft spoken mean? What does literature mean? How to make light bulb in little alchemy 2? What does the hourglass on snapchat mean? What is the meaning of digging? what can i use other than milk in hamburger helper How to do tricks with a knife in csgo? How to clean glasses? Where do i file income for tips that i don't get a w2 form and don't have a employer? What is the meaning of a phoenix tattoo? What does visionary mean? What is mail tips? How to multiply square roots? What is the spiritual meaning of flies in a dream? How to make sweet potato fries in air fryer? What is the meaning of ngt? Tips when washing new clothes? How to download pornhub videos? Tips on how to be a better client coordination? What does fourth of july mean? How to do tricks with cards when the deck is red black? How to do money tricks? Tips to lower your mortgage payment when closing? What is the best painkiller for knee pain? What does y mean? What does the name paige mean? What does honey suckle smell like? dragalia lost besides skill what does using a helper give you How does ubereats tips work? What is the meaning of pursuit of happiness? What does it feel like when your appendix bursts? How to log out of google account? How to leave your digitaltipjar code on business cards or a tip jar for online tips? How to read egg cleanse? How to find airpods case? What is the meaning of fireflies by owl city? How to watch the super bowl 2022? What is the meaning of scald? What does demographic mean? How to cut vinyl flooring? What time does uber close? How to find missing side of triangle? What does tm mean? What are french door refrigerators? What does 711 mean spiritually? How must an employer report his/her employees' tips to the irs? What does ebitda stand for? How to newborn photography tips youtube? What 🍆 meaning? Tips on how to be less indecisive? What does turn up mean? What is the true meaning of a best friend? What does a barometer measure? What are best solar panels? What is a group of pandas called? What is pentacle symbol meaning? Which of the following words has a suffix meaning body? What does getting laid mean? How to change shower head? How to drain sinuses? What does asportation mean? How to clean airpods pro tips yellow? How to get tips from doordash through dailypay? What is the meaning of social responsibility? What does tambien mean in spanish? Droppings what does snake poop look like? What is the true meaning of ring around the rosie? On the nubrilliance microdermabrasion why do i need to replace the diamond tips? What does putting your finger tips together mean? What is bff mean? what is the job of eosinophil, tc, nk, and t helper cells what does a mummer helper do What does array mean?