Discontinuing Premium Service and Automatic Commercial Skip for Legacy Tablo Customers

This is a legacy article. Automatic Commercial Skip is not a feature available for 4th Generation Tablo DVRs.

Premium Service subscriptions, which power the Automatic Commercial Skip feature, have been popular with legacy Tablo over-the-air DVR owners. 

However, this feature was sunset for NEWLY ACTIVATED legacy Tablo models on July 19th, 2022, and will be discontinued for all grandfathered Premium Service subscribers on December 31st, 2026.

We are taking this step because the infrastructure that powers commercial skip processing is no longer being maintained.

Details for Current Premium Service Subscribers

Premium Service subscribers can continue using Automatic Commercial Skip through legacy Tablo apps until their subscription lapses or December 31, 2026, whichever comes first.

On that date, new recordings will no longer be uploaded for commercial skip processing, and previously processed recordings will play without automatic skips.

In advance of the shutdown of Automatic Commercial Skip, all automatic renewals of Premium Service subscription plans will end on November 30th.

• Yearly Premium Service subscribers who do not proactively cancel their service before November 30 will be issued pro-rated refunds for any unused portion of their subscription extending beyond December 31, 2026.
   
• Monthly Premium Service subscribers who do not proactively cancel their service before November 30th will not receive pro-rated refunds. Instead, their service will end on their next scheduled billing date.

Ending automatic renewals of Premium Service subscriptions does not and will not affect TV Guide Data Service subscriptions. Those subscriptions are charged and processed independently. Consumers proactively cancelling Premium Service subscriptions can choose to continue their TV Guide Data Service subscriptions.

Key Dates

• July 19, 2022 — Premium Service/Automatic Commercial Skip trials no longer offered on newly activated Tablo DVRs.
   
• August 23, 2022 — Last date for any customer to purchase a new Premium Service subscription to enable Automatic Commercial Skip.
   
• August 24, 2022 — Premium Service subscriptions/Automatic Commercial Skip removed from purchase options via account.tablotv.com.
   
• November 30, 2026 - Auto-renewal of all Premium Service subscriptions will end. Pro-rated refunds will be issued to Annual subscribers for portions of their subscription extending beyond December 31, 2026.
   
• December 30, 2026 - Last day of service for remaining Premium subscribers.
   

• December 31st, 2026 - Premium Service and the Automatic Commercial Skip feature will be discontinued for all grandfathered users.

   

FAQs

• Why is Tablo discontinuing Premium Service and Automatic Commercial Skip? 
  Premium Service subscriptions, which power the Automatic Commercial Skip feature, have not been available to new Tablo users since 2022. Because the infrastructure that supports commercial skip processing is no longer being maintained, Automatic Commercial Skip will be discontinued for all remaining grandfathered users on December 31, 2026. 
   
• Will I still be able to fast-forward through commercials? 
  Yes, you will still be able to fast-forward and rewind the programs you view via Tablo apps. When you cancel your Premium Service subscription and/or the service ends, newly completed recordings won’t be processed, and commercials won’t be skipped automatically during playback of completed recordings.
   
• Will previously processed recordings play back with skips after my Premium Service subscription is cancelled and/or the service ends?
  No. Previously completed and processed recordings will no longer play back with skips enabled once your Premium Service subscription and/or the Automatic Commercial Skip service ends. Newly completed recordings will also no longer be uploaded for processing.
   
• I have a monthly Premium Service Subscription. What does this mean for me?
  Monthly Premium Service subscribers are encouraged to cancel proactively before November 30th by logging in to their Tablo account at account.tablotv.com. Once logged in, you’ll see the SUBSCRIPTIONS page. Under your Tablo device’s name and serial number, you’ll see your Premium Service subscription details. Under that, you’ll see the CANCEL SERVICE button. On the next page, you’ll see an option to cancel immediately or at your next billing date. If a monthly Premium Service subscriber does not proactively cancel before November 30^th, their service will automatically end on their next scheduled billing date. For example, if your billing date is the 15^th of each month, your service will end on December 15, 2026. 
   
• I have a yearly Premium Service Subscription. What does this mean for me? 
  Yearly Premium Service subscribers whose next billing date occurs before November 30th, 2026, are also encouraged to cancel proactively by logging in to their Tablo account at account.tablotv.com. Once logged in, you’ll see the SUBSCRIPTIONS page. Under your Tablo device’s name and serial number, you’ll see your Premium Service subscription details. Under that, you’ll see the CANCEL SERVICE button. On the next page, you’ll see an option to cancel immediately or at your next billing date. Yearly Premium Service subscribers who do not cancel proactively before November 30th will be automatically issued pro-rated refunds for any unused portion of their subscription extending beyond December 30th, 2026.
   
• I have a Lifetime subscription. What does this mean for me? 
  Premium Service was never offered as a lifetime subscription option, only monthly or yearly. Those with Lifetime TV Guide Data Service subscriptions were required to select Yearly Premium Service subscriptions. As such, the process for Yearly Premium Service subscriptions will apply.
   
• Can I cancel my Premium Service subscription and keep my TV Guide Data Service subscription? 
  Yes. Premium Service is an add-on, so you can cancel it and keep your TV Guide Data Service subscription. If you have completed the Legacy Transition steps, you may also choose to cancel both subscriptions because TV Guide Data and DVR features are free in 4th Generation Tablo apps for eligible legacy Tablo models. To cancel both subscriptions, visit account.tablotv.com, select OPTIONS beside your device, and then select CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION.
   
• Which Premium Service subscribers will automatically receive pro-rated refunds? 
  To receive a pro-rated refund, you must: 
  • Have an active yearly Premium Service subscription.
  • Have NOT proactively cancelled your subscription prior to November 30, 2026.
  • Have a renewal billing date beyond December 30, 2026.
  • Are owed a refund of more than $2 (this is the minimum refund our payment processor allows). 
  • If you meet this criteria, your pro-rated refund will be issued directly to the credit card connected to your Tablo account on November 30th. It may take an additional 5-7 business days for the transaction to be processed and appear on your statement.
     
• If I’m eligible for a pro-rated refund but the credit card on file expires before November 30, will I still receive it? 
  If the credit card connected to your Tablo account has expired or will expire before November 30, 2026, please update your payment details. Log in at account.tablotv.com, then select MY ACCOUNT > UPDATE CREDIT CARD in the top-right corner.
   
• What happens if my pro-rated refund cannot be processed? 
  If you are eligible for a pro-rated refund for your Premium Service subscription but the refund cannot be completed, Tablo will contact you using the email address associated with your account with instructions on next steps.