Seeing as how I only watch the same half dozen channels, I dream of a day when I can just pay for what I want.
Me, too. Every couple of years, the "a la carte" cable idea gets floated around, and nothing ever comes of it because big networks are afraid that you'll bypass getting their channels entirely.
And, yeah... they are right. I think my current cable package is the most basic option, and there are something like 148 channels. I could cut it down to 20 without even thinking hard, and could likely go sub-10 if I put some thought into it.
They are never going to let me have my TV a la carte, are they?
Me, too. Every couple of years, the "a la carte" cable idea gets floated around, and nothing ever comes of it because big networks are afraid that you'll bypass getting their channels entirely.
And, yeah... they are right. I think my current cable package is the most basic option, and there are something like 148 channels. I could cut it down to 20 without even thinking hard, and could likely go sub-10 if I put some thought into it.
They are never going to let me have my TV a la carte, are they?
I've also heard that many channels only exist because of the overflow of money paid for the bigger channels. I keep seeing the same four channels mentioned in this Viacom/DirecTV thing, but apparently it's closer to 20 that have been removed, so who knows what smaller channels were living off that money.
It annoys me when I hear that two of the most expensive channels for cable and satellite providers to license are ESPN and Fox News. I never watch ESPN, and I think the only times I've watched Fox News in the past year were for debates. I'd gladly drop them in order to pay less, but I can't.
Seriously, I have about half the channels I get screened out of my guide, and it still takes me forever to surf through everything and not find anything to watch. My receiver is basically just a device to record a handful of shows at this point.
Me, too. Every couple of years, the "a la carte" cable idea gets floated around, and nothing ever comes of it because big networks are afraid that you'll bypass getting their channels entirely.
And, yeah... they are right. I think my current cable package is the most basic option, and there are something like 148 channels. I could cut it down to 20 without even thinking hard, and could likely go sub-10 if I put some thought into it.
They are never going to let me have my TV a la carte, are they?
I've also heard that many channels only exist because of the overflow of money paid for the bigger channels. I keep seeing the same four channels mentioned in this Viacom/DirecTV thing, but apparently it's closer to 20 that have been removed, so who knows what smaller channels were living off that money.
It annoys me when I hear that two of the most expensive channels for cable and satellite providers to license are ESPN and Fox News. I never watch ESPN, and I think the only times I've watched Fox News in the past year were for debates. I'd gladly drop them in order to pay less, but I can't.
Seriously, I have about half the channels I get screened out of my guide, and it still takes me forever to surf through everything and not find anything to watch. My receiver is basically just a device to record a handful of shows at this point.
I have set my onscreen guide up to only show me 40 channels outta the 300 or so I get. For months now we have gotten a channel that is nothing but 24/7 Barbie commercials. No idea why we get it.
That being said, I'll definitely give the first few episodes a shot.
Me either. As for giving it a shot, if I hear good things, I'll try it, but since I didn't care for the original (I'm an Addams Family type person), I doubt I will care for this.
I've also heard that many channels only exist because of the overflow of money paid for the bigger channels. I keep seeing the same four channels mentioned in this Viacom/DirecTV thing, but apparently it's closer to 20 that have been removed, so who knows what smaller channels were living off that money.
It's more complicated than that. Let's use Viacom for example:
Viacom is part of a huge company, and as part of a huge company, they want to make sure that there isn't a market they aren't hitting. So, they have
Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick, Nickelodeon West, Tr3s, Centric.
This way, they hit EVERY demographic with something. Disney does the same thing, and if you recall, they bought Marvel simply because they didn't have a way to hit the boys aged 8 - 12 demographic...how they do. For some channels (like MTV) they program for a smaller audience that advertisers will pay for for (teenagers). Others (like VH1 classic and Palladia) it's a way to monetize their library. VH1 Classic doesn't NEED to have a lot of viewers...it has 11 employees or so, everything is digitized, and they own all of the content. If they get .05 a household in a carriage fee, that's around $250,000 a month without selling a single ad.
As for bringing up Fox news, it's a weird success story that no one else could emulate, IMHO. Yes, it has a big audience, but they have an audience NO advertiser wants. It's the oldest in cable TV other than Hallmark, I believe (last I saw it was a median of 67 years old). It has a low income and the shows are highly controversial. If you are selling toilet paper, you don't want to advertise on a channel that alienates half of its potential viewership because people will call and threaten to boycott advertisers.
You can buy ads on their overnight reruns at $100. That's not a local ad, that's a NATIONAL ad. However, their audience is fiercely loyal, and if you don't have the channel, they will complain and the then leave to another way to get the channel. So, Fox charges a HUGE carrier fee (second only to ESPN...Disney, BTW), and also attaches all of their other channels as a prerequisite. If you want to carry Fox News, it has to be in the basic tier (so there are more potential households to receive a carrier fee for) and you also have to have FX and Fox Sports Net in your basic tier.
You also have to carry:
National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, SPEED, SPEED2, BTN, FUEL TV, Fox Movie Channel, FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports (Atlantic, Central, Pacific)
You'll never see ala carte, because the five major companies that control most cable channels won't let it happen...and they own congress.
Just like facebook...you aren't the consumer. You are the product.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I've heard much of that in some form or another, but never had it all laid out for me.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I've heard much of that in some form or another, but never had it all laid out for me.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I've heard much of that in some form or another, but never had it all laid out for me.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I've heard much of that in some form or another, but never had it all laid out for me.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Can I ask where you live?
I live about an hour Southwest of Jackson Mississippi. In a town of 3000 people and 200 churches. This place is so weird. In the county I live in beer is legal but liquor is illegal. But in the counties south and east of us,beer is illegal and liquor is legal. Also from October till end of January if you goto town,90% of the males in town will be decked out in full camo and usually have loaded rifles out in their cars/trucks.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I've heard much of that in some form or another, but never had it all laid out for me.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Can I ask where you live?
I live about an hour Southwest of Jackson Mississippi. In a town of 3000 people and 200 churches. This place is so weird. In the county I live in beer is legal but liquor is illegal. But in the counties south and east of us,beer is illegal and liquor is legal. Also from October till end of January if you goto town,90% of the males in town will be decked out in full camo and usually have loaded rifles out in their cars/trucks.
I was born in Batesville, MS and lived there most of my life (1982-2005). I think Batesville is about 2 and a half hours away from Jackson. It's around 7,500 people.
I moved to Memphis, about an hour away from Batesville, in fall 2005. I could have moved farther, but I didn't want to be that far from family. Besides my brother and his family, who moved to Kansas City, KS in 1998, everyone lives between Oxford and Memphis. So, most of the family is within 90 minutes of each other.
I'm not sure I'd say my area was mega religious, but religious enough. Pretty much everyone I know is a Christian (at least they claim), but I wouldn't say the town was defined by it. No one was fanatical like you see on TV and in movies. At least no one I knew.
I've never watched Fox News and I guess I've never paid that much attention to know if anyone around me did. Where I'm from, people still read the newspaper. I think they get their info from the local news, the local paper and the Commercial Appeal.
Can I also ask about the demographic of your town?
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I've heard much of that in some form or another, but never had it all laid out for me.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Can I ask where you live?
I live about an hour Southwest of Jackson Mississippi. In a town of 3000 people and 200 churches. This place is so weird. In the county I live in beer is legal but liquor is illegal. But in the counties south and east of us,beer is illegal and liquor is legal. Also from October till end of January if you goto town,90% of the males in town will be decked out in full camo and usually have loaded rifles out in their cars/trucks.
I was born in Batesville, MS and lived there most of my life (1982-2005). I think Batesville is about 2 and a half hours away from Jackson. It's around 7,500 people.
I moved to Memphis, about an hour away from Batesville, in fall 2005. I could have moved farther, but I didn't want to be that far from family. Besides my brother and his family, who moved to Kansas City, KS in 1998, everyone lives between Oxford and Memphis. So, most of the family is within 90 minutes of each other.
I'm not sure I'd say my area was mega religious, but religious enough. Pretty much everyone I know is a Christian (at least they claim), but I wouldn't say the town was defined by it. No one was fanatical like you see on TV and in movies. At least no one I knew.
I've never watched Fox News and I guess I've never paid that much attention to know if anyone around me did. Where I'm from, people still read the newspaper. I think they get their info from the local news, the local paper and the Commercial Appeal.
Can I also ask about the demographic of your town?
According to it there is over 9000 people living here in 2000,but I bet by now it is much much less. I knew this town wasn't for me when I moved here and found out there is no bookstores anywhere near here,But there is at least 5 gun stores. The other thing that bothers me is the obvious racism. It isn't hidden in this town it is out in your face. I keep my head shaved,mainly cause I have super thick hair and it gets hot. But I keep getting approached by people inviting me to various white power meetings. Messes with their heads when I let them know I am Spanish and Korean. See I grew up and spent 20+ years living on the MS coast. And really the coastal area of MS is so different from the rest of the state. Down there if people asked what religion I am and I said Agnostic they were cool with it. Up here if I say that they automatically assume that means I worship Satan. I try to explain to them I can't worship something I don't believe exist. But they just don't seem to understand.
A few shows on Viacom networks were feeling the affects of the blackout. This week's episode of MTV's Teen Wolf pulled in 1.3M viewers, down from last week's 1.7M. That's about a 23% drop, which seems to correlate with DirecTV subscribers making up 20% of MTV's distribution.
Another Monday night show, VH1's Single Ladies, had a 23% drop in viewers.
NBC gives a 10-episode straight-to-series order to Dracula, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and written by Cole Haddon. Described as Dangerous Liaisons meets The Tudors, the series sees Dracula arriving in 1890's London, posing as an American entrepreneur who is trying to bring modern science to England. He's actually seeking revenge on the people who ruined him centuries ago but falls for a woman he believes to be the reincarnation of his dead wife.
The series is being produced for both NBC and the U.K.'s Sky Living. This marks NBC's 3rd straight-to-series order this season, after Hannibal and Crossbones.
Comments
And, yeah... they are right. I think my current cable package is the most basic option, and there are something like 148 channels. I could cut it down to 20 without even thinking hard, and could likely go sub-10 if I put some thought into it.
They are never going to let me have my TV a la carte, are they?
Deadline
It annoys me when I hear that two of the most expensive channels for cable and satellite providers to license are ESPN and Fox News. I never watch ESPN, and I think the only times I've watched Fox News in the past year were for debates. I'd gladly drop them in order to pay less, but I can't.
Seriously, I have about half the channels I get screened out of my guide, and it still takes me forever to surf through everything and not find anything to watch. My receiver is basically just a device to record a handful of shows at this point.
The 3rd season of Game of Thrones will premiere March 31, 2013
The Walking Dead begins it's 3rd season October 14, 2012
Nickelodeon has ordered 26 more episodes of Legend of Korra
Cartoon Network announces Beware the Batman cast
I have set my onscreen guide up to only show me 40 channels outta the 300 or so I get. For months now we have gotten a channel that is nothing but 24/7 Barbie commercials. No idea why we get it.
Viacom is part of a huge company, and as part of a huge company, they want to make sure that there isn't a market they aren't hitting. So, they have
Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick, Nickelodeon West, Tr3s, Centric.
This way, they hit EVERY demographic with something. Disney does the same thing, and if you recall, they bought Marvel simply because they didn't have a way to hit the boys aged 8 - 12 demographic...how they do. For some channels (like MTV) they program for a smaller audience that advertisers will pay for for (teenagers). Others (like VH1 classic and Palladia) it's a way to monetize their library. VH1 Classic doesn't NEED to have a lot of viewers...it has 11 employees or so, everything is digitized, and they own all of the content. If they get .05 a household in a carriage fee, that's around $250,000 a month without selling a single ad.
As for bringing up Fox news, it's a weird success story that no one else could emulate, IMHO. Yes, it has a big audience, but they have an audience NO advertiser wants. It's the oldest in cable TV other than Hallmark, I believe (last I saw it was a median of 67 years old). It has a low income and the shows are highly controversial. If you are selling toilet paper, you don't want to advertise on a channel that alienates half of its potential viewership because people will call and threaten to boycott advertisers.
You can buy ads on their overnight reruns at $100. That's not a local ad, that's a NATIONAL ad. However, their audience is fiercely loyal, and if you don't have the channel, they will complain and the then leave to another way to get the channel. So, Fox charges a HUGE carrier fee (second only to ESPN...Disney, BTW), and also attaches all of their other channels as a prerequisite. If you want to carry Fox News, it has to be in the basic tier (so there are more potential households to receive a carrier fee for) and you also have to have FX and Fox Sports Net in your basic tier.
You also have to carry:
National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, SPEED, SPEED2, BTN, FUEL TV, Fox Movie Channel, FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports (Atlantic, Central, Pacific)
You'll never see ala carte, because the five major companies that control most cable channels won't let it happen...and they own congress.
Just like facebook...you aren't the consumer. You are the product.
The Fox News situation is interesting. I don't know anyone personally who watches it regularly, but I've been a member of three different gyms over the last ten years, and each one has had some moment where they decided to change the standard stations on the TVs, only to have a revolt on their hands when they switched Fox News to something else. I'm guessing most people didn't care, aside from a very vocal minority.
The Cult sounds very promising.
And very meta.
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Star Trek Might Return to TV
See around the area I live in if people watch a news channel they watch Fox News. But then I am also in the deep south in a mega religious town.
Can I ask where you live?
I live about an hour Southwest of Jackson Mississippi. In a town of 3000 people and 200 churches. This place is so weird. In the county I live in beer is legal but liquor is illegal. But in the counties south and east of us,beer is illegal and liquor is legal. Also from October till end of January if you goto town,90% of the males in town will be decked out in full camo and usually have loaded rifles out in their cars/trucks.
I live about an hour Southwest of Jackson Mississippi. In a town of 3000 people and 200 churches. This place is so weird. In the county I live in beer is legal but liquor is illegal. But in the counties south and east of us,beer is illegal and liquor is legal. Also from October till end of January if you goto town,90% of the males in town will be decked out in full camo and usually have loaded rifles out in their cars/trucks.
I was born in Batesville, MS and lived there most of my life (1982-2005). I think Batesville is about 2 and a half hours away from Jackson. It's around 7,500 people.
I moved to Memphis, about an hour away from Batesville, in fall 2005. I could have moved farther, but I didn't want to be that far from family. Besides my brother and his family, who moved to Kansas City, KS in 1998, everyone lives between Oxford and Memphis. So, most of the family is within 90 minutes of each other.
I'm not sure I'd say my area was mega religious, but religious enough. Pretty much everyone I know is a Christian (at least they claim), but I wouldn't say the town was defined by it. No one was fanatical like you see on TV and in movies. At least no one I knew.
I've never watched Fox News and I guess I've never paid that much attention to know if anyone around me did. Where I'm from, people still read the newspaper. I think they get their info from the local news, the local paper and the Commercial Appeal.
Can I also ask about the demographic of your town?
I live about an hour Southwest of Jackson Mississippi. In a town of 3000 people and 200 churches. This place is so weird. In the county I live in beer is legal but liquor is illegal. But in the counties south and east of us,beer is illegal and liquor is legal. Also from October till end of January if you goto town,90% of the males in town will be decked out in full camo and usually have loaded rifles out in their cars/trucks.
I was born in Batesville, MS and lived there most of my life (1982-2005). I think Batesville is about 2 and a half hours away from Jackson. It's around 7,500 people.
I moved to Memphis, about an hour away from Batesville, in fall 2005. I could have moved farther, but I didn't want to be that far from family. Besides my brother and his family, who moved to Kansas City, KS in 1998, everyone lives between Oxford and Memphis. So, most of the family is within 90 minutes of each other.
I'm not sure I'd say my area was mega religious, but religious enough. Pretty much everyone I know is a Christian (at least they claim), but I wouldn't say the town was defined by it. No one was fanatical like you see on TV and in movies. At least no one I knew.
I've never watched Fox News and I guess I've never paid that much attention to know if anyone around me did. Where I'm from, people still read the newspaper. I think they get their info from the local news, the local paper and the Commercial Appeal.
Can I also ask about the demographic of your town?
I have family up in Batesville. Here's the wiki page for where I live http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookhaven,_Mississippi
According to it there is over 9000 people living here in 2000,but I bet by now it is much much less. I knew this town wasn't for me when I moved here and found out there is no bookstores anywhere near here,But there is at least 5 gun stores. The other thing that bothers me is the obvious racism. It isn't hidden in this town it is out in your face. I keep my head shaved,mainly cause I have super thick hair and it gets hot. But I keep getting approached by people inviting me to various white power meetings. Messes with their heads when I let them know I am Spanish and Korean. See I grew up and spent 20+ years living on the MS coast. And really the coastal area of MS is so different from the rest of the state. Down there if people asked what religion I am and I said Agnostic they were cool with it. Up here if I say that they automatically assume that means I worship Satan. I try to explain to them I can't worship something I don't believe exist. But they just don't seem to understand.
news.yahoo.com/directv-customers-sponge-bob-back-120230156.html
Another Monday night show, VH1's Single Ladies, had a 23% drop in viewers.
Here's a sneak peek at Red Dwarf X!
The series is being produced for both NBC and the U.K.'s Sky Living. This marks NBC's 3rd straight-to-series order this season, after Hannibal and Crossbones.
Deadline
Debuts September 29th.
Already been pulled.
tv.yahoo.com/news/-elvis--actor-jonathan-rhys-meyers-to-play-dracula-20120725.html
AMC has cancelled The Killing
MTV renews Awkward for a 20-episode 3rd season
VH1 greenlights it's second scripted series, Bounce, starring Dean Cain
Why is this a 3 movie film? I miss the old Peter Jackson that did great horror/comedies.