What's on the tube?

    I read a piece the other day about the cable services and streaming services.


    Seems the cable services like Dish/DiretTV continue to lose customers at a fairly high rate with the resulting serious loss of revenue.


    The Streamers are not making what they thought they would either. It seems us fickle viewers are hopping around services chasing the new and interesting. They are not holding on to long term customers.


    Say for example, Yellowstone. When the new season comes out, viewers sign up for the cheapest possible way to view it and then cancel when the season ends. The exclusive programming costs the streamers a ton and they're not making it back.


    There is a disturbance in the Force. Something will have to change.

    We were up to $140 a month for not even the highest BASIC package at Direct TV. Told Barb to get them on the phone, do the obligatory 'threaten to quit', knock that fucking bill down. Called her next night, she said they were sending a box to return their shit. Since then, we watch tv with a computer and a shitty wifi hotspot. Have sub to Netflix, Prime, Disney....use credentials from soon-to-be-ex son-in-law to watch HBO, and when regular tv stations demand proof you have SOME method of watching their shit (there's a huge list), we use his Dish. Even a HULU sub let's you watch shit like Fox News. Fuck 147 channels of Spanish shopping

    Well respected man about town doing the best things most conservatively

    I have Netflix, Disney+ and Stan. I pay for Disney, one of the kids pays for Netflix and the other pays for Stan. My share is a bit less than $15 a month compared to the $100 plus bill from the satellite tv I used to get ten years ago. I don't watch sport on TV which is the area where people get skinned the worst.

    I don't watch much tv so I just stream from PlutoTV. (https://pluto.tv) It doesn't cost anything and there's nothing to install. (plus it's free.)

    It has movies and a lot of classic tv shows, ie. Beverly Hillbillies, The Andy Griffith Show and all those good things.

    I usually just watch it for the news, but occasionally I'll get on a movie binge.

    Dyin' ain't much of a living, boy.

    Josey Wales

    Edited once, last by CooganBear ().

    Like 1

    That's interesting.


    I wonder what the solution could be?


    I did that exact thing with Disney Plus. I only bought it for the Get Back documentary, then canceled.


    That would be too bad if some of these studios or productions end up failing. A lot of good content has been made.

    I don't know what comes next but something will change. It's all about the Benjamins.


    If you are old enough to remember, when cable first came out it was pitched as no commercials. Subscription money would fund it. That didn't last long did it?


    I think cable prices have to come down if they want to survive. The 250 channels with nothing on will have to change. Beej is exactly on target with the Spanish shopping channels and back pain remedy channels. Lower price, more actual content.


    The streamers, I think, are going to have to either raise prices or lengthen contracts. Maybe a combo of both. They can't allow the fickle public to hop from hot show to hot show for $2/month, no contract.


    Can't forget the next big thing either. Somewhere some little egghead is working on technology that will challenge both cable and streaming. I don't know what it is but I know that it's coming someday.

    Right now we've added AMC+ ($10 a month or thereabouts) to Prime, and we're binging the final 20 or so episodes on TWD. They'll get about $20 from us then we'll cancel it. I expect one of these places is gonna start with one year minimum subscriptions for exactly this reason. I did that with Daily Wire, but I didn't mind it so much as we felt it was a good cause

    Well respected man about town doing the best things most conservatively

    Most of them, as I can glean, currently draw the line at two simultaneous pc's online. Often I'll get an email if kid uses Netflix from a new source. I expect they can lock that shit down a lot harder if they want, will be interesting

    Well respected man about town doing the best things most conservatively