For the record, I’m one of the people who will be Oscar-free tonight, thanks to the spat between ABC and Cablevision. In place of ABC television, Cablevision is running a “no-TV-tax” promo. But today we get free “on demand” movies.
ABC seems to think that they’re hurting Cablevision, but I’m not so sure. I rarely watch ABC. I never got into “Lost” — maybe someday I’ll rent it. I sometimes watch the latest episodes of “Castle” and “Grey’s Anatomy” on my computer when I need a break. But that’s it for ABC programming.
I don’t know who’s at fault, but I do like Cablevision internet service. It’s fast, it’s reliable, and on those rare occasions I’ve had a problem I’ve gotten very good tech support. And it’s part of a package deal from Cablevision. So, bye ABC. It’s been real.
Update: The drama is over; ABC is back. Whoopie.
I think the whole thing is an excellent illustration of how malign and mutated our modern corporate capitalist system has become. It no longer has anything to do with providing goods and services to actual humans who value and use them. People are a commoditized feedstock for their industrial process, and deserve no more concern than iron ore did in the old days when the US made steel. There is nothing in this dispute between multi-million dollar corporations about providing improved product, just improving their profit per share at the expense of the other, in their joint business of selling abstractly measured “eyeballs” to advertisers. They are Godzilla vs. Rodan with Oscar fans playing the hapless people of Tokyo, for all they matter.
Of course, I seldom watch the Oscars anyway, and the goodly corporate master Comcast rules where I live, so I can count my blessings as a happy serf. Until they try to deny me my BBC America. Then watch out!
Time-Warner sent its subscribers a message about ABC the other day and I haven’t read it yet. There aren’t any ABC shows that I watch. So if Time-Warner loses ABC and any of the Disney channels, I won’t miss them.
I’ll be the lone voice in the wilderness who finds merit in ABCs position. Yes, ABC throws their programming on the free airwaves for anyone to pick up with their antenna, if they are close enough to an outlet to get a usable signal. But Comcast gets a clean feed (as opposed to using an antenna) and provides this to their subscriber base as part of their value proposition, and they charge for this service in their basic package.
biggerbox, this is exactly a case where two corporations are both working to provide a good or service to actual humans who value and use it. The whole dispute is over the allocation of profit, and that’s a fair point of debate between ABC and Comcast.
Comcast profits to a degree from the availability of this content and they should pay for it. Very probably not as much as ABC wants, but something.
For the record, I get ABC via DirecTV’s basic package, which includes local channels. And I don’t watch a single minute of ABC.
I don’t like watching stuff on my computer; not sure why. Whenever a youtube thingy is on a website, I normally don’t watch it. I just like my TV on my TV. Probably my age.
If it wasn’t for my lovely wife, I would forgo cable (or DirecTV in our case) entirely.
BBC America is one of the few channels I like. I’m enjoying watching streaming video from Netflix on my Roku Player on the TV more these days.
If you *really* want to get caught up on the last 5 seasons of Lost, then google the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and their less than 10 minute presentation of Lost on a BBC special.
I worked in cable TV a good chunk of my adult life as a trainer. If I had more time, I would go into how bad an industry it has become, but I have to get ready for work (it’s minimum wage, but at least it’s work…).
Do not let yourself be sucked in to Lost. I did, started out great. For the last few seasons, barely have a clue what is going on. With 9 episodes left, nothing seems to be in the process of being made clear. Sigh. It’ll probably be resolved in the last 10 minutes of the last show.