heckofajobbrownie Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 This makes sense to a lot of people. McCain is going to try pushing it again. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is working on legislation that would pressure cable and satellite TV providers to allow their customers to pick and choose the channels they pay for, his office confirmed on Wednesday. Consumers have long complained about the rising costs of cable TV packages and having to pay for dozens or even hundreds of channels just to gain access to the few that they watch. But McCain's legislation, which he is expected to introduce in the coming days, will likely face furious opposition from both the TV broadcasters and cable providers. McCain, the former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, pushed a similar "a la carte" cable TV bill in 2006, but the legislation found little traction at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 It's a Catch-22. HBO, Showtime, and AMC are under very lucrative contracts with the cable/satellite providers. With these contracts, they're able to reel in shows with a quality that you really don't see anywhere else on television. There's Homeland, Eastbound & Down, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and many more. For customers, this is a nightmare, and the last few episodes of Game of Thrones have been the most pirated episodes of a tv series ever. A large portion of those pirates, myself included, would be willing to pay for the shows or channels if they were made available at a more reasonable price. By offering a package like this, however, the television stations would be voiding their exclusive contracts with cable and satellite. While they'd still bring in a ton of money from internet subscribers, it's more likely that it wouldn't be as much as they're making now. Because of that, they have to wonder if they'll still be able to pull in the highest quality shows with a lower budget. I expect this bill to go nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 haha. The bill that will go nowhere is the bill we get every month from the cable company. No matter what they do somebody will find a way to make it cost just as much. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 So vapor you dont know anyone who steals music but you steal video content? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Here's a hint for you. Call your cable company and bitch. I did that and they upped my internet speed and gave me six months of premium Channels free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 So vapor you dont know anyone who steals music but you steal video content? Yeah, that's the usual in my group of friends/acquaintances. Most people I know don't even have a cable television subscription. I get all my news from the radio or internet, and I don't give a shit about Big Bang Theory or Jersey Shore. I'm not paying $60 a month, plus an installation fee to watch a single show on HBO and AMC. As for bitching to the cable company? Fuck that. I'd rather not spend an hour on hold before I get to someone who has to put me on hold for another hour to speak to their manager. Everyone else is making their services available in pay as you watch/listen/play programs. With music, you've got Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes. With video games, you've got Steam and Origin. With sports you've got monopolies on football, baseball, hockey, and basketball that all make packages available to fans. Television is the only industry left which forces you to buy an unreasonable amount of shit that you don't want to get the things that you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Yeah well you're a young guy without a family and with a social life I'm sure. I've got two little kids and a third en route. When I'm not out with them somewhere I'm grounded at home so I most definately have cable TV, and although I don't watch all the channels, we watch enough that there's no way in hell I'd pay five bucks a month for each one so the a la carte thing, I don't think can be made to work for the type of person who is the cable companies' Target audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 I would think the pick and choose option would just be really expensive unless you barely choose any channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 I've had this conversation with Dish. You really want one or two, but you have to upgrade to include another hundred that we won't watch, either. It's an excellent idea. But having to have the gov impose the solution will backfire one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckofajobbrownie Posted May 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 I don't think I'd want more than 10-15 channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 How much do you think each individual channel would value themselves at per month? I can't imagine any channel would price at less than $4.99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckofajobbrownie Posted May 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 I have no idea, but I'd guess the cheaper ones would be something like that - the History Channels, the Weather Channels, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 It's really pitiful when you pay for 220 channels, and you watch about 50 once in a while, ever, and some nights, there isn't anything to watch on TV. Then we happily watch a western or something we've recorded. BTW, it's the western channel we had to upgrade to 220. Well, that was one of em. I think another was NatGeo, Discovery, and the History channel.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 I have no idea, but I'd guess the cheaper ones would be something like that - the History Channels, the Weather Channels, etc. History produces new and original content. Even If you can shoot pawn stars and the like cheaply it still costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 History produces new and original content. Even If you can shoot pawn stars and the like cheaply it still costs. Vikings is a good show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Yeah well you're a young guy without a family and with a social life I'm sure. lol, don't get too presumptious, I'm well out of undergrad, my social life consists of my girlfriend and 2 or 3 buddies from college and grad school who are still around. But yeah, the current cable models are NOT appealing to people like me. History produces new and original content. Even If you can shoot pawn stars and the like cheaply it still costs. Vikings is a good show You really have to sift through lots of their bullshit (ancient aliens anyone?) to get to the good shows. Back when I was in undergrad, we had Dogfights and I think they still played Modern Marvels. Mankind - The History of Us was outstanding. Haven't seen Vikings, but for the Biblical thing they had, I guess they hired some Portugese model to play Jesus. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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