Why I hate cable tv

[samurai7]

When I was a kid all tv was local. You had three local channels, you had UHF channels, and that was it.

These channels actually had to compete to get you to watch them. So, they either had something you wanted to see or you changed the channel.

There was also local color to that tv. Local kids programs, local late night movie hosts, regulars that gave the news, and probably also worked as after noon movie hosts at the same time.

You grew up with them. They seemed like friends.

Then cable came along. At first it seemed great, all the new channels and movie channels to boot.

But something wrong happened.

First the movie channels did show uncut movies, but it was the same cadre of movies OVER AND OVER, for a month. By the end of the month you were SICK to death of the same 10 or 20 movies over and over.

Then cable programs began to spring up. they weren't bound by the same standards as broadcast tv, so they "pushed the evelope."

Thus broadcast tv started pushing the envelope to go after the same dollars.

Little by little cable tv took over the whole ball of wax. You didn't have a choice in the channels you bought. You either bought their package you went without. You didn't have a choice in what channels you paid for.

They didn't have to compete with each other. It didn't matter what they broadcast. They knew they had you hooked.

So what happened? Those movies with those local hosts you loved, were slowly gone. Replaced by half hour long infomercials, running all night.

After all, the infomercials paid for their time, were cheaper, and made the networks money.

Those afternoon movie hosts you would turn on and watch while you did your homework? They are gone too. Two hours of programming time to block out for something like that, costs too much. Better to run a re-run of Gilligan's Island.

So, you paid for more channels, and more entertainment, but did you get more entertainment?

Remember when Saturday Night was the best night on tv? If you didn't have a date, it didn't matter. Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett. Funniest Night on TV!

Who talks or raves about Saturday Night tv anymore?

Remember when Sunday Night was the important night of television. As exciting as Mission Impossible, or as Controversial as All in the Family? And you made sure you watched 60 minutes beforehand.

It's got to the point, where I hardly watch tv anymore. There's nothing on, I enjoy. Either the show is so filthy I can't watch it while my kids are awake (and why would I bother with that anyway) or it's mind numbingly bad kid's fare like High School Musical ( :sick: )

It just seems like cable tv took all the local color that made tv worth watching, and changed it into a generic drek of the least common denominator. Whatever makes a cheap buck the fastest, whether it's infomercials, a rerun of the same made for TV Sci-channel dreadful, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer rerun.

And it makes use the biggest chumps of all. We went from three channels with always something good on, that we didn't pay for, to 150 channels of complete mindless drek, and we pay up to 90 bucks a month for that "privilege."

Somewhere some cable exec has to be laughing.

:rolleyes:

[AeroEngineer]

Thats why I love HBO- Big Love, Flight of the Conchords, Six Feet Under, True Blood...

And then there's Lost on ABC. There's been a lot of good TV in recent years. Albeit, there's been a lot more crap, too.

[Gray]

When I was a kid all tv was local. You had three local channels, you had UHF channels, and that was it.

Snip

The solution is ala-cart cable. It has been proposed and shot down many times.

Most of the channels could not make enough money to stay online so they "bundle" them.

Ala-cart would enable you to pick only the channels you wish and would bring back competition.

[Gray]

Thats why I love HBO- Big Love, Flight of the Conchords, Six Feet Under, True Blood...

And then there's Lost on ABC. There's been a lot of good TV in recent years. Albeit, there's been a lot more crap, too.

Showtime...Dexter. I do not have showtime, though I ...find the show online.

[samurai7]

The solution is ala-cart cable. It has been proposed and shot down many times.

Most of the channels could not make enough money to stay online so they "bundle" them.

Ala-cart would enable you to pick only the channels you wish and would bring back competition.

I have been for ala carte cable for a long time. I doubt it will ever become a reality become cable providers know they would lose a lot of business if these channels have to compete for dollars.

[gdoane]

I can't stand HBO.

I bought their service, turned on their channel and saw Wimbledon Tennis. If I wanted to see lesbians sweat and grunt I'd have bought the Playboy Channel.

I immediately canceled HBO and I will never order a movie channel that isn't 100% movies. If I pay for movies and I get tennis then that's FRAUD. I can watch the Steroid Freak Show over on ESPN.

I buy cable TV for one reason and one reason only: FOX NEWS. I'm a Republican and I need my marching orders channel. The rest of the channels are just pinko commie junk.

[johnrocks]

The solution is ala-cart cable. It has been proposed and shot down many times.

Most of the channels could not make enough money to stay online so they "bundle" them.

Ala-cart would enable you to pick only the channels you wish and would bring back competition.

yep

[WhiteHatBobby]

I can't stand HBO.

I bought their service, turned on their channel and saw Wimbledon Tennis. If I wanted to see lesbians sweat and grunt I'd have bought the Playboy Channel.

I immediately canceled HBO and I will never order a movie channel that isn't 100% movies. If I pay for movies and I get tennis then that's FRAUD. I can watch the Steroid Freak Show over on ESPN.

I buy cable TV for one reason and one reason only: FOX NEWS. I'm a Republican and I need my marching orders channel. The rest of the channels are just pinko commie junk.

That's why HBO lost the Wimbledon deal; ESPN2 now has the cable contract for Wimbledon.

[gdoane]

That's why HBO lost the Wimbledon deal; ESPN2 now has the cable contract for Wimbledon.

ESPN2. That's ANOTHER thing with Cable TV. The CLONE STATIONS.

The only station with a number in it's name that isn't a clone is VH-1 and even that's an MTV knockoff. Like we need another MTV what with MTV 2, MTV TR3S (TRES is THREE in LATINO) MTV JAMS, and MTV Hits.

If Dire Straits wanted their MTV they've sure got an overdose of it now.

I figure I've got 250 channels on cable TV, expanded digital cable with three tiers of premium programming and of those 250 channels, I can find about five worth watching. The dust to diamond ratio is about 50 to 1.

If I had a la carte programming I'd throw 240 channels clean out.

The cable companies know this truth. They're not stupid, they're marketeers shaking the money tree from both the supply and demand side and if consumers have a free choice?? The suppliers of craptastic phlegm like Home Shopping Network and JewelryTV go out of business and stop subsidizing the supply side making it look like there are hundreds of channels when there are really only about a dozen worth a tinker's damn.

[Safiel]

I don't think you will see Ala Carte coming in any time soon.

If there was Ala Carte, I would probably select a couple of news stations, History, Discovery, Animal Planet and ESPN.

[AeroEngineer]

Ala Carte TV = the internet.

[samurai7]

I can't stand HBO.

I bought their service, turned on their channel and saw Wimbledon Tennis. If I wanted to see lesbians sweat and grunt I'd have bought the Playboy Channel.

I immediately canceled HBO and I will never order a movie channel that isn't 100% movies. If I pay for movies and I get tennis then that's FRAUD. I can watch the Steroid Freak Show over on ESPN.

I buy cable TV for one reason and one reason only: FOX NEWS. I'm a Republican and I need my marching orders channel. The rest of the channels are just pinko commie junk.

I can't even hardly stand Fox News anymore (at least by the time *I* have time to sit down at watch, which is usually eight o'clock.)

All they do is have a Democrat and a Republican on and they yell over each other. ARGH! I hate that. It's like they encourage it. If they would AT LEAST take turns and let each one of them talk it wouldn't be so bad. But the liberal ALWAYS FILIBUSTERS over everyone else, while the repub is trying to get a word in edgewise.

My nerves can't take it. I end up switching the channel. Bring back Brit Hume! :rolleyes:

[samurai7]

ESPN2. That's ANOTHER thing with Cable TV. The CLONE STATIONS.

The only station with a number in it's name that isn't a clone is VH-1 and even that's an MTV knockoff. Like we need another MTV what with MTV 2, MTV TR3S (TRES is THREE in LATINO) MTV JAMS, and MTV Hits.

If Dire Straits wanted their MTV they've sure got an overdose of it now.

I figure I've got 250 channels on cable TV, expanded digital cable with three tiers of premium programming and of those 250 channels, I can find about five worth watching. The dust to diamond ratio is about 50 to 1.

If I had a la carte programming I'd throw 240 channels clean out.

The cable companies know this truth. They're not stupid, they're marketeers shaking the money tree from both the supply and demand side and if consumers have a free choice?? The suppliers of craptastic phlegm like Home Shopping Network and JewelryTV go out of business and stop subsidizing the supply side making it look like there are hundreds of channels when there are really only about a dozen worth a tinker's damn.

Boy is that ever the truth. I swear we have 150 channels, and I only watch three or four of 'em. They are the only ones worth it.

:rolleyes:

[Gray]

I don't think you will see Ala Carte coming in any time soon.

If there was Ala Carte, I would probably select a couple of news stations, History, Discovery, Animal Planet and ESPN.

To be honest I watch more on the internet than on TV. I have a 32" HDTV monitor and a 4' x 6' projector which can put anything on the net up.

[Gray]

CSI and that other one I cannot think of right now ought to have their own station so I can block it.

They are on ALL the time.

[countmein]

CSI and that other one I cannot think of right now ought to have their own station so I can block it.

They are on ALL the time.

The Law & Order shows.....is that what you are thinking of Gray?
I do like my cable. I like Burn Notice on USA and The Closer on TNT. TNT makes some good movies for their station too. Of course my kids love Nick and Disney. We just have the basic cable on the TVs upstairs, but we have digital cable on the TV downstairs, so we have a lot of kids channels. We also pay for the Encore and Starz package. We get a nuber of movie channels for a decent price. It is much more family friendly. I wouldn't have Showtime, Cinnemax, or HBO with my kids around. I have yet to see soft porn on Starz or Encore. As a matter of fact, one of the channels we get from them just plays kids movies. I think it is Starz for kids. A lot of cartoon movies and I don't think they play anything above a PG rating on that channel.

[MrShotShot]

TV as we know it will be obsolete in the next 5-10 years anyway. Everything will be watchable over the internet, with shows being available for viewing/download at a certain time on a certain day, but then will be up in an on-demand scenario after that. There might even be a fee that you pay to watch a show.

As far as ala carte is concerned, I don't think it's going to be the money saver that people think. The cable company might offer it, but 1) it will be at a higher rate than their standard line-up - a convenience charge if you will and 2) you won't be able to get just 4-5 channels, there will be a high minimum - say 25 channels that you have to choose.

There's just no way that the cable companies are going to let someone, say, subscribe to 5 channels for $10 a month.

[Groundhog]

Fox News now is pretty much:
What did Paris Hilton do next?
Missing Aruba Girl: Day 451
Which gay blogger attacked Sarah Palin
Breaking NEWS about results from 500 people they polled nationwide


I need some REAL news. Like some info on the latest machete attack in some Nigerian town, what did Hugo Chavez nationalize today, and which southeast dictator just got ousted by a mob.

I can only stand Cavuto's show, i think I'll give up on cable "news" altogether and just watch Fox Business Channel.

[2Parties1GlobalistGoal]

I really don't see the problem with cable TV. If you don't like it don't buy it. Of course they bundle services and won't do a-la-carte. If they did that some of the stations you would want to purchase with a-la-carte would disappear.

If you like sports cable TV is excellent. If you live in your local sports market you can get 99% of your teams games in high definition in the standard package. If your team lives 1000 miles away you can still watch them with out-of-market sports packages.

30 years ago if you were a LA Dodgers fan living in Ohio you would maybe get 5 games a year on TV. Now you can get at least 150 Dodgers games if you want.

As far as old programming it's still on. WGN and TV Land still air some old stuff.

Sure there is a lot of crap on, but it's always been that way with Pay TV and it always will be. No one likes everything. Don't like it, don't buy it...

[jeepers]

Oh bullfeathers, if she wants to /rant on this stuff, she can. There are also a lot of folks around who agree with her.

I only do selective tv, myself. I've surrendered to the dreck that IS on, and so do something else with my time. I watch things here and there, but few things exclusively or regularly.

[Apatriot]

I don't think you will see Ala Carte coming in any time soon.

If there was Ala Carte, I would probably select a couple of news stations, History, Discovery, Animal Planet and ESPN.

If there was Ala Carte--History, Discovery and Animal Planet would make a killing. I know those are the ones I would pick, along with one 24 hr news station, and maybe USA and/or SciFi

[RTchoke]

If there was Ala Carte--History, Discovery and Animal Planet would make a killing. I know those are the ones I would pick, along with one 24 hr news station, and maybe USA and/or SciFi

We would also have to include BBC America so hubby could continue his Top Gear viewing and Boomerang so the kidlets would have some half way decent cartoons to watch.

[Finality]

I watch my state congress during the day almost every day on public television, and then I watch a handful of broadcast thriller/sci-fi/dramas, and I'm happy as a clam. If clams are happy, that is.

I have cable internet for watching anything else, such as movies on netflix. I haven't paid for cable tv in years, and I don't think I ever will again.

[gdoane]

I really don't see the problem with cable TV. If you don't like it don't buy it. Of course they bundle services and won't do a-la-carte. If they did that some of the stations you would want to purchase with a-la-carte would disappear.

And good riddance!

The glory of the free market is that crummy businesses die while worthy franchises thrive. PBS is far and away the most horrible TV station available in America, a total steaming pile of craptastic liberalism which is the closest thing to the Al Gore Indoctrination Channel as any broadcast station gets. PBS supposedly lives off of donations. Who's giving them money and why aren't they demanding anything resembling a return on investment?

If you like sports cable TV is excellent. If you live in your local sports market you can get 99% of your teams games in high definition in the standard package. If your team lives 1000 miles away you can still watch them with out-of-market sports packages.


Sports are horrible because of blackout laws. Phoenix, Arizona is one of a very few cities with every major league sport represented. We have Baseball (AZ Diamondbacks), we have Basketball (PHX Suns), we have Hockey (Coyotes), we have Football (Cardinals) and we have NASCAR (Phoenix International Raceway, two races per season).

We can't watch but about 10% of games here because of league rules which forbid televising to a local market unless tickets are sold out.

30 years ago if you were a LA Dodgers fan living in Ohio you would maybe get 5 games a year on TV. Now you can get at least 150 Dodgers games if you want.

A Dodger game is so low on my list of things to do that I think I'll be relacing my sneakers before I watch them go lose another inning.

[2Parties1GlobalistGoal]

Sports are horrible because of blackout laws. Phoenix, Arizona is one of a very few cities with every major league sport represented. We have Baseball (AZ Diamondbacks), we have Basketball (PHX Suns), we have Hockey (Coyotes), we have Football (Cardinals) and we have NASCAR (Phoenix International Raceway, two races per season).

We can't watch but about 10% of games here because of league rules which forbid televising to a local market unless tickets are sold out.


It's clear you don't watch much sports. Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and NASCAR do not blackout local games due to no sell-outs. It hasn't been that way in years (since I can remember). I'm sure if there is a home Diamondbacks game on Fox Sports Arizona tonight that isn't sold out you will be able to watch it. The NFL does blackout the local teams game if it isn't sold-out (which I know used to happen 8 times every year).

[Safiel]

The glory of the free market is that crummy businesses die while worthy franchises thrive. PBS is far and away the most horrible TV station available in America, a total steaming pile of craptastic liberalism which is the closest thing to the Al Gore Indoctrination Channel as any broadcast station gets. PBS supposedly lives off of donations. Who's giving them money and why aren't they demanding anything resembling a return on investment?

PBS is one of those prime examples of a government institute that just refuses to go away once there is no need for it.

While there MAY have been a justification for public television at one time, there certainly isn't today. There is very little that PBS offers that is not available elsewhere and at a higher level of quality. And the "sponsorship" spots by corporations are getting closer and closer to being outright commercials, which defeats the whole point of PBS.

Shut down PBS. Then these stations, with the aid of digital transmission, could be used to broadcast channels like Discovery, The Learning Channel, Animal Planet and History Channel over the air for free. These channels are far more edifying and educational and we can get rid of a Federal Bureaucracy, PBS, in the trade.

[AeroEngineer]

Gotta disagree.

I've never seen anything on Discovery/History/Etc. that can compare to a "Ken Burns" style PBS documentary.

MAYBE the Planet Earth series, but that was a BBC program that Discovery butchered.

[samurai7]

It's clear you don't watch much sports. Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and NASCAR do not blackout local games due to no sell-outs. It hasn't been that way in years (since I can remember). I'm sure if there is a home Diamondbacks game on Fox Sports Arizona tonight that isn't sold out you will be able to watch it. The NFL does blackout the local teams game if it isn't sold-out (which I know used to happen 8 times every year).

Helloooooooooooooooooooooo! :rolleyes: There are those of us here who don't give a damn about sports.

The only games I care about are the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oklahoma Sooners. And the move by OSU to put some of their games on their stupid Big Ten Network, that isn't available on all providers, and you have to buy more expensive packages, is ridiculous.

There are lots of us that don't get cable to get sports, and find that BORING at best.

:rolleyes:

[ChloeP]

Helloooooooooooooooooooooo! :rolleyes: There are those of us here who don't give a damn about sports.

The only games I care about are the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oklahoma Sooners. And the move by OSU to put some of their games on their stupid Big Ten Network, that isn't available on all providers, and you have to buy more expensive packages, is ridiculous.

There are lots of us that don't get cable to get sports, and find that BORING at best.

:rolleyes:

:) Go Bucks!

[2Parties1GlobalistGoal]

Helloooooooooooooooooooooo! :rolleyes: There are those of us here who don't give a damn about sports.

The only games I care about are the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oklahoma Sooners. And the move by OSU to put some of their games on their stupid Big Ten Network, that isn't available on all providers, and you have to buy more expensive packages, is ridiculous.

There are lots of us that don't get cable to get sports, and find that BORING at best.

:rolleyes:

You clearly give a damn about sports because if you didn't you wouldn't mention OSU or OU.

Anyways I wasn't addressing those who claim to not give a damn, I was addressing a factual error.

[ChloeP]

You clearly give a damn about sports because if you didn't you wouldn't mention OSU or OU.

Anyways I wasn't addressing those who claim to not give a damn, I was addressing a factual error.


lmao


And in my head all I can hear is.....OOOOOOHHHHHHH we don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan...

[2Parties1GlobalistGoal]

lmao


And in my head all I can hear is.....OOOOOOHHHHHHH we don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan...

lol

[davetexas]

we have basically lost an entire generation of youth to the stupid tv,and they want to charge for their perverted garbage and lies.

[Dem]

I personally like Cable TV, though I'm going to have to agree with MrShotShot. I give modern TV 10-15 years before it becomes obsolete.

[Gray]

we have basically lost an entire generation of youth to the stupid tv,and they want to charge for their perverted garbage and lies.

Charge twice. Ads pull in revenue. We pay for watching the ads.

[Gray]

The Law & Order shows.....is that what you are thinking of Gray?
I do like my cable. I like Burn Notice on USA and The Closer on TNT.

Yeah

Burn Notice is awesome. It sounds silly but I think the writer has access to an adviser or some knowledge of the spy business.

[AvgGuyIA]

We use to have Monster Movies late on Saturday nights: It was hosted by a Vampire (I believe it was the afternoon weatherman) and they showed Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, the Mummy movies. Bela Lugosi still creeps me out. :)