Setting the record straight: Verizon's Fios ads and CNET
A Verizon commercial implies CNET reviewed the Fios TV service, but we did not.
Verizon is running an ad implying that CNET gave its Fios TV service's picture quality a positive review, calling it "near-flawless." The reality is that a CNET Networks property did use that phrasing in a news story, not a review, and the words are taken out of context.
Adding to the confusion, CNET itself bears some of the blame.
Here's the all-important context: a series of Fios TV spots running in the New York metropolitan area and possibly elsewhere uses a couple of words clipped from a June 21, 2007, CNET News.com piece on Verizon's Fios service. The commercial flashes a quote on the screen that says "near-flawless" along with the CNET logo, while a voiceover proclaims: "Your HDTV doesn't want cable. Give it Verizon Fios, for picture quality the experts call 'near-flawless.'" Another, more-recent ad is also running with a slightly expanded logo-backed quote that reads: "A near-flawless TV experience." Check out the video, which CNET uploaded to YouTube, for the original spot.
Those words did appear on a News.com story (News.com and CNET Reviews are sister sites published by CNET Networks). But the context of the original News.com piece, titled "Verizon's fiber-optic payoff," reads quite differently from how Verizon is using it:
This fierce competition reinforces how important it is for Verizon to offer a near-flawless TV experience. Verizon's executives knew that getting that experience right would be key, and that getting it right meant making sure there was enough bandwidth on the network to deliver several streams of high-definition video at once. It also meant ensuring the service was reliable and met customers' expectations.
Nowhere does the News.com article give any opinion, implied or overt, about Fios TV's actual picture quality. And CNET Reviews has not evaluated Fios TV.
In Verizon's defense, it followed standard procedure. I spoke with Bobbi Henson, the company's media relations director, and she said that in preparation for running the ad, Verizon contacted CNET's permissions department and asked for a license to use the quote and CNET's logo for one year. Verizon received permission to use the words, but the ad execution did not get reviewed. As a result, the problem with the phrase being taken out of context was not caught.
Verizon is aware that CNET feels the quote was taken out of context, and Verizon has agreed to shorten what was formerly a year-long license. The ads will no longer appear after May 15, 2008. And CNET is taking steps to tighten up its ad-review process.
I appreciate Verizon's concession, and I realize that these things happen all the time. I just wanted to set the record straight and let you know that our experts never called Verizon Fios TV "near-flawless" as the result of any critical evaluation.
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I've never read anything but positive comments about FiOS TV quality. In fact, it seems to be the gold standard that everyone uses as a reference comparison when complaining about the picture quality of their own provider (Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, etc.). I wish I had the option for FiOS at my home. I would most certainly give it a try.
Maybe CNET should go ahead and do a proper review of provider picture quality (including FiOS). Then, if it does actually turn out to be "near-flawless", you can resume that important ad revenue stream!
I've never read anything but positive comments about FiOS TV quality. In fact, it seems to be the gold standard that everyone uses as a reference comparison when complaining about the picture quality of their own provider (Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, etc.). I wish I had the option for FiOS at my home. I would most certainly give it a try.
Maybe CNET should go ahead and do a proper review of provider picture quality (including FiOS). Then, if it does actually turn out to be "near-flawless", you can resume that important ad revenue stream!
Would someone just boycott Verizon Broadband crap.
kwxj61b - off topic?
FYI.....FIOS "IS" near flawless, For those of you who want to bash Verizon for not having service in your area you may not know that it's not as easy as it seems. First off maybe the FCC should let the company have a blanket license to enter every state withought having to go to each and every little town to ask permission. Many towns ask for baseball parks, firetrucks, upgraded streets,.....what does this have to do with competition. Let the company compete on equal ground with the cable companies and you will see them in your back yard tommorow. Go ask your Congressman that one!
Lastly......the technology is here to stay and here to last, do you know anything faster than the speed of light as far as communications??
This is not meant for any other reason except the reality of competition. Please do not take this out of context.
If the cable companies HAD all this technology and fiber than where the heck is it??
Why are they not "marketing" that way.
Verizon had to open their entire phone network to the cable companies and anyone else by court rulings. Did the cable companies have to give Verizon or anyone else access to their "cable".
That's why Verizon sunk a fortune into FIOS so it would not have to share.
Maybe it's time you cable fans face the facts and get off the monopoly free ride they have had for ever.
Quit Boo hooing and compete and.
I do agree with t hose who say that CNet should do a comparative review of the various connection options available: cable, Fios, etc. People are making decisions every day about what product to purchase, and it would be great to have CNet's opinion to consider when doing so.
What exactly is the point of this piece..? Is CNET / Crave trying to say that the FiOS TV picture isn't "near-flawless"..? That's going to be a hard sell. Does CNET now regret allowing Verizon to use the quote and logo and are now trying to get them to pull the ad?
On install day, no one showed, no one called. I had my mobile with me at ALL times. So around 1:30 PM I called Verizon to see what was going on. If something came up, I had a week off to move in and if they needed to come by in a day or two, I was totally cool with that. After about an hour on hold I got in touch with a ?state level? dispatcher. That said that there were ?no facilities available for my order? and I was called. Nope, I wasn?t called; they did have my cell (which I had with me all of the time) in their records. I wanted them to come out later in the week if possible since I was home. They said that their next available time for me was 4-12-08, which was a day where I was going to a wedding. The next available time after that was at the end of the month, on a work day for me.
Basically because they did not show up, or even notify me with a reason, they put me at the back of the line. I was trying to escalate my request and the support only gave me unreasonable dates and that ?no facilities available for my order? BS. I later wanted to get my copper line put back so I could at least get phone service, and after a long wait in hold they gave me the end of the month as a date. Basically I was being run around in circles and being shoved to the end of the line because Verizon screwed up my installation. I was told the only way I could get it sooner is if I ?knew an installer who?d do me a favor,? and I was pretty much screwed with the window of time I had to get the service installed. The salesperson fed me a load of bull and the installer didn?t even call me with a reason. I tried to figure out what ?no facilities available for my order? meant, and why this was such a problem since I already had the ONT in my house. Half of their work was already done.
The same day, I called a local cable company who installed my phone, internet, and cable the next day. They showed up on time and did the normal pre and post appointment verification. I unplugged the ONT in my house and let the battery go out. Verizon gave me such a lousy customer experience I swore I would never do business with them, and be sure to let other people know about their awful customer service and commitments they setup and do not honor. Verizon screwed up prior when they bought Bell Atlantic, and screwed up our perfectly find DSL service I had around 98/99. My money is going to a competitor, and Verizon won?t see it because they have abysmal customer service. I am certainly interested in fiber optic lines connected to my house, but so long as Verizon is the only provider, I will happily do without.
James
Herndon, VA