We have heard from thousands of Spectrum subscribers over the past few weeks.  Many are frustrated but most are downright angry.  Some have made the decision to leave Spectrum, as this outage was the last straw from an ongoing brittle relationship.  Customers are tired and have finally come to the conclusion that Spectrum is just too big to care.

Because of the propaganda that Spectrum spews, we have felt your frustration and anger as well.  Unfortunately, the way Spectrum built the website most people only get one side of the story.  The robo-emails are sent to us are from an unmonitored “no-reply@charter” account so there is no way for Northwest to respond and tell the other side of the story. When we are fortunate enough to get a chance to communicate one-on-one with you, it becomes clear that Spectrum is using you as a pawn to pressure Northwest, similar to the terms Spectrum presents to you when purchasing or changing your plan.  That message is take it or leave it. 

A common theme in most of your communications is why can’t the two of you sit down and solve this?  Well, the reason is that Spectrum pulled the channels down, walked away from the negotiation and wouldn’t communicate with us.  When you hear that, most say, that’s just stupid.  We agree. So recently I reached out to Spectrum to see if we could find some common ground in an effort to resolve this. After two conversations, it became abundantly clear to me that they had no desire to negotiate or felt any urgency to bring back our programming.  While they tell the public they want to get this resolved, my conversations with them reflect something far different.

When a company demonstrates that they don’t care about their customers, it is difficult to get their attention.  An extremely small number of you have been successful in getting discounts for the disruption they have caused. In reality, you have a contract with them that says they will deliver the stations you are paying for.  It is very simple, if you are not getting what you pay for, you are contractually entitled to a refund.

I have been told by viewers that some are getting refunds, while others are being denied those same refunds.  I have also been told that some viewers are getting a nickel a day and others have been refunded $33. How is that fair to you as their customer?

As I have discussed, Charter was brought before a congressional hearing relating to an investigation on overcharging its customer base. Charter is being sued by the States of New York and California for selling (promising) internet speeds they are not delivering and violating the “no-call” policy. You don’t have to look any further than the Better Business Bureau to understand this is common practice for Spectrum.  Until the States or your local government forces them to do the right thing, they will act upon their self-interest first and continue to act in total disregard toward their customers.

Again, I apologize that you are in the middle of what should have been a private business negotiation. I would encourage each of you to email Tom Rutledge, the CEO of Spectrum, and share your frustration and anger with him about how you are being treated.

His email address is [email protected] and his phone number is (203) 905-7999.

Brian Brady, CEO

Northwest Broadcasting, Inc.