A sketch last night on SNL spoofed Verizon’s ads where a person walks into a store to look for a new phone while an employee barrages them with specs and technical mumbo jumbo. While the ad would portray this as something that everybody gets, the truth is very different.

The sketch portrays what it’s really like for a person, young or old, when they encounter a Verizon salesperson. The sketch may be funny, but it once again shows that SNL can still give us the truth under a veneer of humor.

Check it out below:

And for those who can’t watch the NBC embed:

CNN reports that due to the heavy discounts applied to the iPhone by carriers, sales of the device destroy their bottom lines. Take for instance Verizon, the wireless company that started selling the iPhone in February 2011. Their “EBITDA service margin,” which is a metric that carriers use to “measure their core profit as a percentage of their sales, has dropped dramatically since they began selling the iPhone.

Between 2009 and 2010, Verizon averaged a EBITDA service margin of 46.4 percent per quarter. That fell to 43.7 percent in the quarter that the iPhone went on sale. It plunged even further last quarter when they sold 4.2 million iPhones to 42.2 percent.

Funny enough, their margin bounced back up to 47.8 percent during the third quarter last year. Why is that? People stopped buying iPhones.

AT&T has always sold more iPhones than other carriers which hurts them in a big way. Their margin was at 28.7 percent last quarter, compared to 37.6 percent the year before. The main cause – they sold twice as many iPhones last quarter.

Sprint already had a low margin to begin with, but they really took a beating once they began selling the iPhone. Their margin fell to 9.5 percent from 16 percent a year earlier. Sprint placed the blame squarely on the iPhone for their poor figures.

Analysts agree that the iPhone is bad for wireless carriers. As sales of the iPhone grow beyond anybody’s expectations, the subsidies from the devices will keep on hurting the profits of their carriers.

Carriers pay around $450 per device they sell which is the highest in the industry. AT&T is hurting even more since they offer the iPhone 3GS for free.

Sprint agreed to pay $15.5 billion in up front costs to Apple over the next four years for the device. They don’t even expect to make money on it until 2015.

The cost of adding an iPhone customer is about 40 percent higher than a non-iPhone customer according to Sprint.

Why would these companies destroy themselves over the iPhone then? It’s a matter of keeping customers. Sprint’s CEO told CNN last year that they offered the iPhone because customers were leaving to other carriers that had the device.

The only way that carriers are going to make money off of the iPhone is to raise rates or force Apple to lower their subsidies. Since nobody wants to tell Apple what to do, that’s why carriers like AT&T have been coercing customers into getting more expensive plans.

That’s the only solution making any sense right now so expect to see higher monthly bills in exchange for having an iPhone.

Verizon and Redbox hope to give consumers an option that is a “simple and affordable way to access the video entertainment they crave.”

Speaking about the partnership, Coinstar CEO Pau Davis said:

“Consumers rely on Redbox for the latest new release movies at a great value, and our joint venture with Verizon will enable us to bring them even more value by offering expanded content offerings and greater flexibility for how and when they enjoy entertainment.”

“Together, we are erasing old technology boundaries, freeing people to spontaneously enjoy the entertainment they want, whenever they choose, using the devices and media they prefer, at home or away,” added Bob Mudge, Verizon’s President of Consumer and Mass Business Markets.

Since the unnamed service is very similar to Netflix, a lot of people are wondering what will happen to it once this new venture launches. What’s more, the past several months have been rather rough for Netflix after it dramatically raised its prices last September. Consumers were outraged and some even dropped the service, as Bryan Gonzalez, the Director of Social Entertainment Labs at the Entertainment Technology Center at USC, explained in this video:

WebProNews recently caught up with Gonzalez again to talk about this latest development. According to him, Netflix has to continue to focus on its content in order to effectively compete with Verizon and Redbox’s service.

“For Netflix to really continue competing, I think they’re really gonna need to push hard and try to get as much content up front as possible,” he said.

“As long as Netflix keeps that drum beat of fresh content – new content – to their streaming sector, I think they’ll do fine,” he added.

Should Netflix be worried? What do you think?

Gonzalez went on to raise an interesting point about the deal between Verizon and Redbox. As he explained, Netflix’s actions last year were part of a bigger effort to move away from its DVD service. However, it seems that this new venture focuses on the DVD side, which he believes could be due to accessibility issues that so many Americans face.

“A lot of Americans still don’t have very fast Internet connections, so streaming quality isn’t as great necessarily for everyone as a DVD or a Blu Ray,” Gonzalez pointed out.

Another potential issue he raised was in regards to Verizon’s current FIOS cable TV service. At this point, Verizon’s FIOS program is not national, but one can’t help but wonder what will happen since the new venture seems to contradict it.

These details and others were not disclosed in the announcement but are expected to come as the launch date gets closer. The companies said the new service would be available during the second half of the year.

Redbox’s offerings today, are of course kiosk-based. People can go up to a kiosk at a grocery store, a McDonald’s, a Walgreens or other place, swipe their card, give their email address and rent a DVD or game. Redbox has become very popular thanks to the convenience (customers can return discs to any kiosk) and low prices. The lack of a streaming offering, however, has kept Redbox from being a bigger threat to Netflix and Blockbuster. That may soon change.

The announcement says that the venture’s services will offer Redbox’s new release DVD and Blu-ray rentals combined with “a new content-rich video on-demand streaming and download service from Verizon”.

“Consumers rely on Redbox for the latest new release movies at a great value, and our joint venture with Verizon will enable us to bring them even more value by offering expanded content offerings and greater flexibility for how and when they enjoy entertainment,” said Coinstar CEO Paul Davis. “This alliance is the result of a deliberate and strategic process to identify a partner who shares our commitment to delivering innovative solutions to consumers. We look forward to rolling out the shared benefits this venture will bring to consumers, retailers, and shareholders.”

“When you consider the core elements the parties bring to this venture – our powerful brands; our national rental kiosk footprint; our anytime, anywhere network presence; and our mutual commitment to customer-focused innovation – it’s clear that Verizon and Redbox are a powerful entertainment team,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon consumer and mass business markets.

“The joint venture will combine the accessibility and value of Redbox with Verizon’s vision for a borderless lifestyle – where consumers easily accomplish what they want or need to do, on their terms, through the power of the network,” added Mudge. “Together, we are erasing old technology boundaries, freeing people to spontaneously enjoy the entertainment they want, whenever they choose, using the devices and media they prefer, at home or away.”

The companies say additional brand and product info will be revealed in the coming months.

Last week, news came out that Redbox will no longer have 28-day delays on Warner Bros. content. That’s one edge Redbox has over Netflix.

That’s right, folks. The Super Bowl will be broadcast live online for the first time ever this year. NBC Sports has been kind enough to give us a real treat this year by offering two options on top of the traditional TV viewing model that we all know and love.

First and foremost, the game is being broadcast on NBCSports.com. If you go there now, you’ll be able to catch the pre-game show that started at 10 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. The game is also coming to you courtesy of the NFL mobile app that will allow you to watch it from any Verizon smartphone.

The kick-off is at 6:30 p.m. EST so be sure to be in front of your TV before then. If not, the Internet has you covered. The livestream of the game online has a few distinct features that avid football fans are going to want to check out. While the televised version will feature multiple camera angles, the online version will feature four unique camera angles that fans can pick and choose for the best experience. It brings DVR-lite functionality to the game as well allowing fans to rewind and pause the game to watch the sure to be stupendous plays again. Finally, the livestream will allow fans to share their favorite moments via Facebook and Twitter.

For the betting types out there, we got you covered as well. The Wynn sports book in Las Vegas became the first book to post the Super Bowl line of Patriots -2 on Saturday afternoon. Most sports books have New England favored by -2.5 to -3 points. Keep yourself updated as those odds are likely to keep changing until the game starts.

We got more Super Bowl coverage coming your way today, so stay tuned.

Slashgear reports that the download requires that an AT&T SIM be loaded into the phone.

Google has made it clear in the past that it has big plans for Google Wallet, so any blocking by carriers is a huge pain in the butt for the company. For one, Google has already rolled Google Checkout into Google Wallet. It’s also an important product to the expansion of Google Offers, the company’s Groupon clone, which continues to frequently launch in new markets. This could turn into a significant provider of revenue for the company.

Verizon had blocked Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus, though they didn’t like to use the word “blocking”. Verizon put out a statement that said:

Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false. Verizon does not block applications.

We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.

Still, there has been healthy skepticism about that explanation, given Verizon’s investor role in ISIS, a competing payment service, which AT&T and T-Mobile also invest in.

Since then, hacks have been revealed to get Google Wallet on Verizon, but nothing official.

In fact, while the app has reportedly appeared in the Android Market on AT&T, there hasn’t been any official acknowledgement of this by either Google or AT&T, interestingly.

There is no word yet on how soon these new plans will be rolling out. Engaget is reporting that a source inside Verizon had seen references to “account level data plans” in employee training materials. Presumably the new plans will be available soon, but until Verizon makes an official announcement, there is no way to be sure when. Given that AT&T made their announcement about the shared data plan a full six months before Verizon, they aren’t likely to let Verizon get much of a jump on them, which means that we can probably expect AT&T to make an announcement not long after Verizon does.

AT&T has already upped their service in anticipation of the 150,000 Super Bowl attendees that will swarm Indianapolis this Sunday. Now, Verizon has released a statement announcing that its making improvements to their 4G LTE network as well as making wi-fi available for all wireless users.

The statement notes that this will be the first Super Bowl where 4G LTE technology is available for users of smartphones and tablets, which the wireless companies expect fans to use with near-compulsive rates while watching the game. Verizon, who is the official wireless provider of the NFL, has also enhanced its network at more than 30 venues in Indianpolis so that customers will hopefully not encounter any connectivity issues while trying to multitask with social media before, during, and after the game.

The nice thing about the wi-fi enhancement is that it’s going to be available to everyone – not just Verizon customers (Wink, wink, AT&T subscribers and remember who took care of you at the Super Bowl). I imagine there will be so much wireless activity arising from Indianapolis this weekend that you’ll probably be able to see the city glowing from space.

All of this effort by wireless companies to ensure that there is as little drag as possible with connecting people and/or websites produces in me a question of obsolescence: remember when people went to sporting events and… I dunno, just watched the game? How boring, y’know?

In fact, the company is experiencing their biggest sales growth in three years. To keep the momentum rolling they have turned to the iPhone. Rumors have been confirmed that Verizon will begin to offer the sought after Apple phone in early February. Analysts expect Verizon to sell roughly 13 million iPhones this year. The iPhone will be a welcome addition for Verizon’s already popular smartphone line, which feature Google’s Android operating system.

But the wireless segment is not the only area that experienced growth in this last quarter. Their wireline industry also grew by adding more than 200,000 new FiOS internet user’s and almost 200,000 new FiOS video connection customers.

While it isn’t clear how the iPhone will impact the bottom line at Verizon, it appears they are heading in the right direction again this year.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has released a study today that sheds some light on the issue. According to their data, 18% of those who bought the iPhone 4S at its launch in October were switching from other smartphone platforms like BlackBerry and Android. For October, November, and December 2011 combined, that number jumps to 36%.

Additionally, CIRP’s data showed that the iPhone has had a significant impact on the market shares of the major carriers. Three of the four major carriers – AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint – carry the iPhone. The fourth, T-Mobile, does not. CIRP’s data showed that T-Mobile lost market share during the first three months of the iPhone 4S’s availability, while the other three maintained their market share.

Interestingly, the fact that 36% of new iPhone buyers were coming from other platforms seems not to have had much of an impact on those other platforms’ market share. According to an analysis released by StatCounter at the end of 2011, BlackBerry and Android continued fairly steadily in their respective trends throughout the last quarter of 2011. BlackBerry declined steadily throughout 2011, and showed no change in the rate of decline during the three months the iPhone 4S was available. Android, meanwhile, continued its steady climb throughout the year (even surpassing the iPhone in late summer), though it did show a very slight levelling off in October, around the time of the iPhone 4S’s launch.

[Hat tip, AppleInsider]