Time Warner Cable’s DVR Ad Doesn’t Add Up (Video)

This story first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

As part of a $50 million ad blitz, a Time Warner Cable TV spot crows that, unlike AT&T U-verse, “With Time Warner Cable you can watch and record more than four shows at the same time.” But some customers are calling it “deceptive” and “false advertising” on the company’s online message boards.

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The ad ends by promising “TV, Internet and Phone” for $79.99 a month. What it doesn’t explain is that the package doesn’t include even a DVR. And Time Warner’s DVRs record only two shows at a time, while AT&T units do four.

To record the promised number of shows would require three of the company’s DVRs at a cost of more than $160 a month (plus installation). TWC says that in response to customer questions, it edited out the word “record” from the ad.