I am a DirecTV customer and my contract is almost up. I see a lot of
offers now for a free or very cheap DirectTivo combo sat receiver
(meaning, with Tivo) being given to new customers. My question is,
what do I have to do to
get in on this deal once my contract is up? Do satellite providers
dangle this or ANY kind of enticement to people to get them to re-up?
They seem to block past or current customers from any of these
new-subscriber premiums. My experience with cell phone and credit card
providers is so much different. I REALLY want a Tivo combo box, but I
feel like now I will have a scarlet letter on my forehead my whole
life, because I was a DirecTV customer once. And I'm not interested in
Dish, their DVR is inferior to the Tivo service.

Maybe you could sign up for the service in someone elses name, such as
another member of your household.

It is actually very simple to obtain a tivo combo box, you just have
to pay for it.

At any local electronics store, simply go and buy the box, It retails
for $249.  You will have to sign the agreement stating that you will
activate the box(You can simply activate it for your current plane
with DirecTv).

You will, however, be forced to pay the extra 5 dollars a month for
the tivo service.

Ken Webster
Circuit City Customer Service Assosiate