Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First, sports shows, as opposed to sports events, are relatively cheap to produce and they already have a large part of the infrastructure... .
SIGH.......that is probably the biggest thing about the modern TV sports world that I find so disappointing (the second is this need to fill the screen with data in "terminator fashion"). To not be able to turn on the TV anytime of the day and watch some sporting event going on. I don't care if it's the Bungi jumping finals in Tahiti or the sheep shearing regionals in Alice, I want to see sports!......................
........................and not the endless talking heads, not the snippets of some game.
That's the way it is now, however, and if I had a choice, I wouldn't bother with it. As it is, though, they have a pretty good racket going, so it is here to stay in my living room.....for the time being.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ringwise
That's why we cut our cord years ago. I'm often approached by cable and satellite companies to sign up. I tell them I'll come back when they start to offer cafeteria plans - I can pick and choose what I want at a low tier, instead of getting 300 sports channels I never watch, but having to pay the premium for ONE that I do. One guy was honest enough to tell me "that'll never happen". I just thanked him and told him to polish off his resume.
My request is the ability to get foreign language channels besides Spanish....which stops them short, after they grab me in the TV section of a cardboard box and I tell them that I don't watch TV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChessieMom
Never understood the appeal of cable. I tried it out when it first became available, for 6 months, then had it disconnected. I didn't have the time to watch it enough to justify the cost, then. It's only become more expensive and I have only gotten busier. ....
Every so often, I'll have a media research question come up which can immediately be tested out because I have cable. That's about the only major reason why I still have it; it's not used for a continuous watching of this or that channel or show. The exception to that might be Turner Classic Movies, but I tend to shy away from that because for me, it is very easy to get very compulsive about any older, better made movie. Just by looking at the schedule, I could have my system (before tape, now TIVO) bogged down in months of movies that I hardly ever get around to watching. So I don't look at the schedule......of course, 31 Days of Oscar looms right around the corner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
I have cable internet.........
Same here. Whenever it is not working on my laptop, the first thing I do is turn on the TV and check to see if that cable is working. If it is, then I proceed to work on the modem, such as rebooting it. If the TV cable wasn't it working, then I know there is little I can do at that point.
Hence, one of the lesser reasons why I have TV cable is that it answers a number of support functions. They aren't used that often, such as when I turn on the NOAA weather radar, but it is nice to have them when I need them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hollywood55
Cable is cut. Landline gone. No TV. I have a computer that I stream shows and movies. Internet alone is $60. The Bundle was $135. TV is lame. A landline? I have an unlimited minutes cell phone. A plan that was "God Fathered," in. I have been with them for 11 years. I do like Netflex $7.99. I used to have HULU $7.99. Both prices are per month. My only luxury is everything is Apple. Life is easy and affordable. Simple.
Just remember that you are only one cell tower (down) away from no communication.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IShootNikon
Works if you don't work or love your work. Most people work to sustain a living and many times they don't enjoy it. Watching TV after slaving away during the day is fine.
This all gets into an interesting area of how, perhaps, we are "programmed".
Having given up on TV as it is properly known around 2008, I have found that I am probably more outgoing for dance classes, shows, and teaching. Of course, an often primary problem is that when I get off work as a graveyard worker, it's 8 hours or so before the latter kicks in.
So between not being around (activities/sleep) when the prime time shows are on, experiencing severe disorientation of watching recorded prime time shows due to the time stamp of their commercials (ie, like watching at 1300 last night's 2100 show and there is an ad across the bottom saying to catch the late show), and realizing what an absolute cheat day time TV is, I've been pretty much weened from it.
TV, HOWEVER, is preferably to the Net because it is focused in one direction in that it is a give media. One can always surf the channels but in the end, one has to take what they are giving if one stays at the TV.
This is not so with the Net for one can type commands and search for what they want. They can ignore the stuff being given that does not interest them and go after what they want.
I am reading here about all the people who have switched their watching to the Net and are saying how great it is. I am sure it is but as someone who is easily swept up by computer addiction (since 1979 in one form or another), having all my entertainment tied into the computer would be something of a disaster. The fact that I am typing this now is just another demonstration of how powerful the computer is because I got up about 1.25 hours ago to check on my cats and then, opened the lap top for just a moment.......
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 12-23-2015 at 12:55 AM..
I have enjoyed cable for years, and suggest everyone get it. There, now we have both debated intelligent well thought out positions on the merits of cable tv and the masses will decide. How exciting!
Why its all garbage!!
Its digital which doesnt look/sound as good as analogue did and the programming is 99% rubbish!!!
I have DirectTV and it works for us because we get a bunch of channels that we like plus we like to watch sport and we get it on there.
For internet/telephone, we dumped Centurylink (because they were rotten, not value for money and no intention of giving us a better service) for cable, got ten times faster internet and saved $50/month on our telephone internet service.
People buy what they want, what they can afford and what is easy for them. I could probably get the programming I want cheaper using various other solutions. But I am comfortable with what I have and the price I am paying for it.
The key thing, in my opinion, is to revisit all these suppliers every 18 months or so to make sure you are still getting the best deal. I walked into the Verizon store, queried my plan and got the same thing $20/month cheaper. Laziness prevents a lot of people from easy savings.
You are exactly right Jaggy. All those companies have people specifically trained to hold on to customers. That's why when you call many of them one of the menu options before you can talk to a human is related to downgrading or stopping service. If you select that option you will go to a retention rep. They have plenty of options to lower your bill once you are out of contract. The key to that conversation is to not let yourself get distracted from your core point of the call...it costs too much. Believe it or not the best retention reps will not only stop you from disconnecting, but they will have you actually paying more at the end of the call. Seen it happen many times.
I have DirectTV and it works for us because we get a bunch of channels that we like plus we like to watch sport and we get it on there.
For internet/telephone, we dumped Centurylink (because they were rotten, not value for money and no intention of giving us a better service) for cable, got ten times faster internet and saved $50/month on our telephone internet service.
People buy what they want, what they can afford and what is easy for them. I could probably get the programming I want cheaper using various other solutions. But I am comfortable with what I have and the price I am paying for it.
The key thing, in my opinion, is to revisit all these suppliers every 18 months or so to make sure you are still getting the best deal. I walked into the Verizon store, queried my plan and got the same thing $20/month cheaper. Laziness prevents a lot of people from easy savings.
My feelings exactly.
Yes, I could dump cable, but I see no reason to do so. It meets my needs with regard to programming and access and best of all, I get to watch what I want to watch on a product designed for that purpose.
In my rural area it isn't worth the money to scramble channels so I usually get around 28 with rabbit ears. every month or so I do a channel search and get a few more and loose a couple.I would never pay for tv and haven't missed a Bronco game in years. But I rarely watch the idiot box anyway waste of valuable time in my life.
I cut the cable last month and went to old school antenna and i get about 40 channels. I get all the locals so i can watch football too. I only pay for internet which is $50 total for 75mb download speed with comcast. I will save about $900 a year. 99% of tv to me is complete garbage anyway with all the "reality" shows.
I watch all the classic tv shows from the 60s-80s on channels called METV and AntennaTV and i love it.
I wish I could cafeteria select because I'm sick of all the channels that constantly advertise their other shows over top of the programs they are showing you. Animal planet is the worst offender they have huge semi transparent screen overlays and pop ups for crap like hunting Bigfoot while you are trying to watch something like blue planet.
Nbc or whatever channel it was kept doing it overtop of grinch last night. Guess when ur programming is ****ty you have to lure in viewers with other content and then blast them with ads so they maybe stick around? Nope.
Yep. I had direct TV from 2003 til 2009 @ 80 dollars per month. 5,760.00 down the drain.
How is that "down the drain"? You got countless hours of available entertainment. This is no different than paying taxes for a county park that you never go to.
How is that "down the drain"? You got countless hours of available entertainment. This is no different than paying taxes for a county park that you never go to.
It is "down the drain" in that I paid for 150 channels and only watched 5 or 6 of them. Now I pay netflix under 9 dollars per month and am equally satisfied with my entertainment options. It is VERY different than paying taxes for a park I do not visit; paying direct TV is voluntary.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
