With all the money disputes lately between TV service providers and the companies that offer the channels – it’s the customers that are taking the hit. These battles over bucks leave the people who actually pay the money with the short end of the stick. Or in these cases – with blacked out channels. So what’s a TV watcher to do? Call and say stop fighting over money, I want my channels back? Probably not going to work. Neither does calling and complaining. However you might be able to get something out of them if you can stay on the phone long enough. But who wants to waste their time and energy yelling at a stranger? The reason the service providers let things go this far is 1) they don’t think people will do anything about it and 2) there are so few providers you don’t have an alternative. Or do you? Ten to twenty years ago people really didn’t have options. You had your one provider per area and that’s who you went with. Now-a-days people have many more options. Most people actually have about 4 or 5 options in their area and don’t even know it. You’re pretty much guaranteed 2 satellite TV providers per area and at least one cable provider. And now with more fiber optic companies like FiOS and U-verse entering the mix, people have even more providers to choose from. So know your options and use them as leverage the next time your service provider takes your business for granted. With all that said, there are even companies out there that provide search tools for you to check your area for local deals and discounts. So if being the pawn in a corporate money game isn’t for you, check to see what else is out there. You’d be surprised to find out you’ve probably been overpaying on your service anyway and there are better cheaper deals you can take advantage of. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXfhMfd-Vuo&feature=youtu.be