I must have missed this thread back in May/June, as I don't need Animal Planet. However, last night when checking the Bell website, I saw that Sportsnet and OLN had been moved to Sports 2. That was the first I knew of any package changes, and so led me here
While I'm happy for those who posted above who had Sports 1, Sports 2, and the French pack for RDS, who can now drop the French pack; there has been no discussion about those of us who only have Sports 1. (Are there so few of me that this irrelevant??)
Over 8 years of Bell subscription, I've seen my cost for Digital Basic, News 1 and Sports 1 almost double. At least when the cost of News 1 rose 50% and became News and Learning 1, I got the new channels added to the theme pack. However, if I signed up today, I'd have to have 3 themes to get the same channels. While I can't explain the movement of Animal Planet, they are obviously trying to bolster Sports 2 and get more subs to pay for that.
How long will they grandfather the old theme packs? This will eventually get even more confusing than it is now! (Try explaining to a CSR in two years time that "I have the old Sports 1 theme pack and don't want to lose Sportsnet") Will other changes to your account cause your themes to be updated to the new versions? If I add Setanta, cancel my international channel, cancel my P+P Fox SportsWorld, add another P+P channel or some other theme pack, will my Sports 1 theme be updated to the new version?
I've always tried to avoid calling Bell, esp being in the southern provinces. Here's another good reason to not call - until the day I wake up and find Sportsnet gone!