General Discussion

Le Taz Hot

(22,271 posts)

39. When cable first went in,

Sun Jan 27, 2013, 02:13 AM

Jan 2013

the advantage to paying for TV (at that time a new concept) was that cable didn't have any commercials. It was actually their main marketing point. Another advantage, they claimed, was that you could get TV 24 hours a day -- something that was not readily available in most parts of the country back then. Finally, they touted the existence of specially channels such as "History" and "Discovery" that were great for those who tended toward the geek (that would be me). The no-commercials thing lasted for about 45 minutes, 24-hour TV has turned into infomercials and the History channel doesn't actually have History on it anymore (from what I hear). In other words, they lost their selling points. And I bet these guys all have M.B.A.'s from Hahvuhd.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

79 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Watching TV on web is disrupting cable, broadcast worlds [View all] mia Jan 2013 OP

Just today I had someone beg me to find an online stream for Downton Abbey Season 2 Fumesucker Jan 2013 #1

Where do I go? DURHAM D Jan 2013 #3

Try this Fumesucker Jan 2013 #5

Thank you. DURHAM D Jan 2013 #9

Thanks. UnrepentantLiberal Jan 2013 #43

PBS is running the current season, full episodes Warpy Jan 2013 #13

Wish I could give some brownies... mia Jan 2013 #4

Here Fumesucker Jan 2013 #6

Thanks! n/t mia Jan 2013 #7

What will disrupt the industry is the ability to pay for only the channels you want. n/t PoliticAverse Jan 2013 #2

There won't be channels. Try just paying for the shows you want. TransitJohn Jan 2013 #27

EBooks are doing likewise to the publishing industry daleo Jan 2013 #53

Intel's a la carte TV is going to destroy the cable monopolies. And about time, too. Egalitarian Thug Jan 2013 #8

Could this "single industry" have one owner? n/t mia Jan 2013 #49

Not unless the RIAA corporate types win forever. If that happens, and they manage to wrest Egalitarian Thug Jan 2013 #54

I imagined it. mia Jan 2013 #66

And the Catholic Church has been replaced by the Corporate Church. n/t Egalitarian Thug Jan 2013 #75

Roku's still a little glitchy but quite adequate & so much boring regressive JUNK on network tv. patrice Jan 2013 #10

I use ROKU on two tv's. ananda Jan 2013 #16

I use Roku + OTA DTV, couldn't be more pleased. n/t RKP5637 Jan 2013 #30

We love our ROKU and we have basic Cable which we hardly watch KoKo Jan 2013 #36

We did. And with the new booster antenna, we get all the networks and PBS plus tsuki Jan 2013 #68

yeah, I noticed that mockmonkey Jan 2013 #65

Broadcast and cable will always have places in rural or semi rural areas Warpy Jan 2013 #11

Satellite Has Become Very Popular In Rural Areas... KharmaTrain Jan 2013 #14

Oh you poor souls! longship Jan 2013 #12

I get good reception for major networks with rabbit ears. mia Jan 2013 #17

I have no bandwidth for YouTube. longship Jan 2013 #18

Living in a national forest makes it all worthwhile! mia Jan 2013 #19

Except for today, when I am snowed in. longship Jan 2013 #21

Using Opera? green for victory Jan 2013 #31

I'm in the suburbs of Detroit.... llmart Jan 2013 #22

I am watching Commissario Brunetti (in subtitled German) on MHz longship Jan 2013 #23

We only got about an inch or so last night..... llmart Jan 2013 #24

You can get Brunetti on MHZ? KoKo Jan 2013 #35

It is set, and filmed in Venice. longship Jan 2013 #38

Sadly...they MHz wants $4.99 an episode to watch Brunetti. It's a bit steep KoKo Jan 2013 #79

Let Me Wax Nostalgic. It's Kind of Sad in A Way. dballance Jan 2013 #15

anyone have apple tv 2? shanti Jan 2013 #20

I do actually. They're great little devices. Initech Jan 2013 #37

question: shanti Jan 2013 #56

Not completely. You can browse streaming content like Youtube and Pandora though. Initech Jan 2013 #58

Comcast might want to try lowering their rates... when it hit $80/month, I downgraded, big time! reformist2 Jan 2013 #25

I have no cable or even antenna yet I have thousands of hours of programming available for streaming Bjorn Against Jan 2013 #26

If they don't like people ditching broadcast maybe they could find kestrel91316 Jan 2013 #28

When over half of TV (cable or OTA) is nothing but reality shows DJ13 Jan 2013 #29

I watch lots of Roku and Amazon Prime streaming Lex Jan 2013 #32

Funny how "remake" actually means "destroy." WinkyDink Jan 2013 #33

Remember when you had to buy the album to get the one or two songs you wanted? Nye Bevan Jan 2013 #34

"...what happened to the former will happen to the latter." mia Jan 2013 #73

When cable first went in, Le Taz Hot Jan 2013 #39

Yes, cable seems to have more commercial time than I notice on my regular TV. mia Jan 2013 #40

Network decay littleswan Jan 2013 #41

Interesting... mia Jan 2013 #42

Discovery and TLC started going to hell around 2000. Odin2005 Jan 2013 #59

What irritates me to no end is the way infomercials have appeared to take over.... OldDem2012 Jan 2013 #44

Some infomercials still pass for news. mia Jan 2013 #48

Some pass for programing tabbycat31 Jan 2013 #57

Thanks for the example. mia Jan 2013 #70

Bundling is their issue. They should have gone to a la carte years ago. distantearlywarning Jan 2013 #45

This. Earth_First Jan 2013 #46

Starve the Beast. Cut your cable today. Berlum Jan 2013 #47

That's just an awful shame tabasco Jan 2013 #50

Fuck cable DainBramaged Jan 2013 #51

+1. A vast realm of overpriced boring propaganda and marketing babble. nt bemildred Jan 2013 #52

No cable, no tears, no problem! RetroGamer1971 Jan 2013 #55

Great bumper sticker! n/t mia Jan 2013 #64

99.9% of Cable is shit. Odin2005 Jan 2013 #60

Haven't had cable in over 2 years. Don't miss it. NYC Liberal Jan 2013 #61

They quit offering basic in my area. Now you have to get a package, I think. They offer a cheaper Honeycombe8 Jan 2013 #67

Thanks to TV shows on DVD and DVRs I haven't watched regularly scheduled programs in 10 years! Initech Jan 2013 #62

I used to love cable in the 1980s and 1990s Lydia Leftcoast Jan 2013 #63

Hulu Plus mockmonkey Jan 2013 #69

Can do without Hulu Plus. mia Jan 2013 #71

They should be worried bhikkhu Jan 2013 #72

The public library has lots of videos too. mia Jan 2013 #74

Corporations hate the free market. redgreenandblue Jan 2013 #76

cable is doing itself in with its ridiculous prices Skittles Jan 2013 #77

Haven't had cable for 8 years. MadrasT Jan 2013 #78