Starting in Sept. - Price Increase for Each Additional Ignite Entertainment Box

[Rjagger]

Now the Extra boxes are going up to $17 per month....Bell is still at $8

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[jays77]

It just dawned on me that many now get  Disney+ for free but the increase of the (one extra) box is about the same as a Disney + subscription. 🤣

[emveepee]

I read a rather ridiculous quote from Rogers that indicates that majority of user are not impacted at all.  Do they not understand or care that 100% of the people with more than one device are significantly impacted.  If the increase truly is because of the cost why shouldn't the majority be included in covering the cost?

In September over 15% of my total Internet and cable bill is for a secondary XiOne, $10 was already pretty steep with no rent to own option.   I disagree with comments comparing this device and remove with the cheap boxes but over 5 years as a secondary device is it really worth $1000 remembering we still pay for cable and internet.

[gayleargue]

(post merged by moderators)

Recently I reluctantly moved to Roger's tv and internet. Which had worked out pretty well until I received a message today that they will be adding an extra surcharge of 7$ for each box after the 1 included.
Why do Roger's always feel it necessary to ruin a good thing..once again..so annoying.
The roam like home was also a excellent deal until they changed prices and monthly limits..
Going to have to find a better way than getting fleeced again by this company.!!

[-G-]

My beef is that the Ignite set-top boxes are not even worth $100.  At $8/month, Rogers recoups their costs in less than a year.  $5/month is a fair price.  Anything more than that is robbery.

I'm sure there are those longing for the good ol' days of $25/month set-top box rentals.  Next thing, they will be charging us for each Wi-Fi connection.

[Grwebster]

Nor happy about this!  We have two extra boxes.  So they offered lower contract prices and then just increase these costs to make up the difference?   There is no other explanation other than a money grab.  It may be possible to buy these boxes from other sources, but I am not sure they will let us add them.  Will definitely see if that is possible..

[Flavour1]

Your 1st Entertainment box is included. You can download the Ignite TV app to your phone or IPad. If your tv has built in Chromecast you will see the Chromecast symbol top right hand corner when you open the Ignite app. Tap the Chromecast symbol and it ask you what Tv in home you want cast to. You can watch live TV, set schedule recordings, watch your recordings all through the Ignite app. If your Tv is older you can purchase the Google Chromecast at Best Buy, Staples $40 set it up with your wifi. Even the Rogers installer asked why we want two boxes a couple of years ago ( we save now $120 a year) Rogers does have a section on their website that explains all this. If you are paying for Stingray Plus $3 month same cancel it is included through on your 1st box and you can download the Stingray app free.

Rogers upped their price by $8 early 2024, they have dropped the Flex platform, now increasing entertaiment boxes, and just dropped the U.S. channels from The Essential Package. 
There are always ways to get around all these price increases. Since moving to Ignite Flex 10 we save $ 156 a year by dropping the second entertainment box now cast to second TV and the Stingray Plus charge.

Good Luck

[wayner92]

I have tried AirPlay, which is the Apple version of what you describe and the experience is not very good. I have found it to be buggy and the TV connection depends on your phone. The solution is reasonably priced STBs, selling STBs to customers, or native IgniteTV clients for all TV OSes like AppleTV, GoogleTV/AndroidTV, Roku, Samsung, etc.

[Flavour1]

Hi Wayne, When we purchased our Sony Bravia two years ago we were recommended to have Chromecast and Airplay. These are built in to this Tv. Prior to that our older TVs  we bought the Google Chromecast device. We have never incountered any issue with Airplay as some apps only use Airplay, but most common is Chromecast.

I think what the person I responded to is saying another price hike for what for these Ignite entertainment boxes.

As for purchasing them I don’t think Rogers can as they are licensed through Comcast. There are alternatives to everything now if you get the same thing elsewhere and save money. Like I mentioned we dropped our second box for second TV save $120 a year, use the Ignite app. Dropped Stingray Plus $36 a year use the app as we the same thing else where. ( App availability, the internet, Smart TV’s.)

Money in our pocket rather than Rogers!

[wayner92]

Airplay works but it isn't a great experience.  I find the transport controls don't work as well, and the playback is dependent on the phone.  I am not 100% sure but I think if you make a call on your phone or do anything that has video or audio that it may cause issues with the Airplaying of the IgniteTV app.

And I am considering other options, like cutting the cable and using OTA perhaps supplemented by streaming for channels like TSN and Sportsnet. Sportsnet and TSN do have apps that work on TV OSes.

[terryedgar]

I am in Ajax and the following appeared when I went to My Rogers: "Starting Sept. 17, the price for each additional Ignite Entertainment Box on your account will be: Streaming $12/month, Bundles $17/month."

The Rogers rep and Rogers manager confirmed that this applies even to customers who are on an agreement that says there will be no increases during the agreement. The issue has now been escalated to the Office of the President as to whether this increase during an agreement is legal.

[Flavour1]

I can’t believe the amount complaints and dissatisfied subscribers about the entertainment boxes increase coming in September. Your first box is included. 

Start thinking outside this box the Ignite TV app is free, for your second, third or fourth box, you can watch the channels you subscribe to on your phone, IPad and computer. You can cast from these devices to your tv, (Chrome cast) you can watch your recordings, schedule recordings all from the app to your tv. The only drawback is the apps Rogers includes like Netflix, Prime, Crave, Tubi, Plex won’t show on the Ignite app, but all these are free to download from the App Store or on your Smart TV anyways. We did this a couple of years saving $156 a year. 

Rogers has You Tube videos on how to do this. Start saving your money and stop giving it to Rogers.

[bkbarry]

So what they are essentially doing is raising the price of their Ignite TV and Streaming services.  So even if you are in a 24 month bundle contract your bill will increase by $7 (plus tax) x the number of extra boxes you have.

So while you are locked into a bundle at a fixed price for a term they have smarmingly raised the price of the additional boxes which are month to month rentals. It has nothing to do with the boxes themselves but it's  a underhanded way of raising their service revenue, within term. I for one will be complaining to the CRTC. As a once loyal Rogers customer I will be shopping my services. Bell has just upgraded our area to Fibre to the Home and my house is ready should I choose to switch. Bad Rogers!

[Flavour1]

We didn’t get Disney+ with our Flex 10 package included I believe Disney + with adds is around $8 a month through Disney itself. Disney wasn’t going to give this to Rogers for free, there was deal made. 
Rogers could have started their IPTV network but couldn’t wait after they invested nearly $500 million to start their own IPPT they are now stuck these boxes licenced by Comcast and apps have to go through Comcast X1 platform. Now whatever comes down from Comcast, Rogers has no choice. Bell Fibe is Canadian but have their own IPTV network and boxes.

[Flavour1]

Hi, Same as they did last November dropped the Flex platform added the Essential, Popular and Total packages all with the 5 U.S. channels. Just checked the other day they have dropped the U.S. channels from the Essential package but still charging the same price. As somebody else mentioned Rogers includes Disney + with select packages $8 a month directly from Disney. Nothing is free. Rogers is paying for Disney + and they are passing it onto the subscriber in another way but making it sound like you are getting free. CBC Gem, Global TV , CTV, YES, Plex, Distro, Filmrise, Tubi, Pluto are free apps they are ad supported just like over the air tv. These boxes are licenced to Rogers from Comcast X1 platform, you will never be able to buy them outright because of the licence. 

[terryedgar]

Complaining to the CRTC seems like an excellent idea particularly if you have an agreement which says there will be no increases during the agreement. The CRTC has set up a special body to resolve these types of complaints, called the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services. Part of the Commission's job is to enforce the Television Service Provider Code which Rogers is required to follow.

The Code sets out rules that television providers like Rogers must comply with. The Code provides for example that a service provider like Rogers must give you at least 30 days notice of any change in the price of equipment.  The Code further provides that customers on a contract must be given an agreement that is clear and easy to understand. In Section XI of the Code it refers to "services subscribed by a customer" and the includes "the price of equipment" in that category.

If I complain to the Commission I intend to make the argument that when it says in my agreement that "the monthly fees for any term services will remain unchanged" that this includes the fees for additional tv boxes. I will further argue that the description of these charges in the agreement as month-to-month is merely an indication that the customer can cancel the additional box(es) if they no longer need them. If Rogers meant to preserve the right to increase charges during the agreement surely they needed to set the out in a "manner that is clear and easy to understand" as the Code provides.

Further in support of my position the Code specifically states that a fixed term agreement must set out "the amount a customer ...will pay for the equipment" during the agreement period. I will argue that this clearly implies that the equipment charge cannot be increased during the agreement because otherwise Rogers cannot set out the amount that the customer will pay over the term of the agreement.

I am hoping to resolve my complaint with the Office of the President of Rogers where unresolved complaints must go before they can be considered by the commission. If I am unsuccessful there, then I don't see any other option but to make a complaint to the Commission.

[bkbarry]

How does one lodge a complaint with or contact The Office of the President?

[terryedgar]

To get to the Office of he President you first have to speak to a Rogers rep about your complaint. When they can't help then you ask to "escalate" the complaint to the manager and when that doesn't help you ask that it be escalated to the Office of the President. The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services requires you to try first to resolve your issue with Rogers before they will deal with it.

[terryedgar]

I should have been more clear. The Complaints commission only expects "you to give Rogers a reasonable chance to Address your complaint before you submit to the commission". In my case the Rogers rep (who agreed with me BTW) immediately transferred me to the manager and I waited for about 15 minutes for the manager to come on line. He immediately said there was nothing he could do and said he was referring it to the Office of the President. That Office is supposed to get back to me within 3 business days by phone. I was given the choice of phone or email contact and I chose phone.

Assuming the President's Office says no to my complaint I will then contact the Complaints Commission (CCTS) and register my complaint. They will then forward the complaint to Rogers and will work with Rogers to solve the complaint. You can go to the Commission's website by googling CCTS Canada.

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@bkbarry wrote:  How does one lodge a complaint with or contact The Office of the President?

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You can use the "Share a concern" link below to get to OOTP.

https://www.rogers.com/contact/share-a-concern/

[Grwebster]

Great idea!

[-G-]

I'm not getting upset about this... but I also can't help but do the math, calculating the current cost of my Ignite TV + Internet service and the rate at which those costs are increasing, the amount of watchable content on TV, how much time I actually spend watching TV, and assessing the service quality over the last 5 years.  For me, all these numbers are trending solidly in the wrong direction.  I really can't justify keeping the TV service anymore, and Rogers is only giving me (really bad) offers to upgrade to Ultimate TV and 2 Gigabit Internet.  Right now, the TPIA providers are looking very attractive, especially when I can get 1000/100 (way more Internet than I need, from reputable providers) for less than the discounted rate that Rogers charges for their lowest speed tier.