Pajiba

I think the image used in this post is incredibly sexist. If you must show TVhos the least you could do is show the $1,000,00 & Up girls out of respect to all the Pajibettes. We don't need any more reminders that some of us are worth 40 bucks.

the MPAA has a vested interest in bundled packaging because of all the channels showing movies, many of which may not survive

But really, do we need 32 channels of HBO?

Personally, I am sick of having to pay for 100 channels that I watch 10 of, so for me at least, a la carte packaging would be a much better solution. I would dearly love to have IFC, but I can't afford it because the packages that have it are the ones that also have 12 HBOs, 7 Showtimes, and a whole bunch of other nonsense I don't care about for over $100 a month. I'm already paying $54, and they just took out about 6 channels (including Sci-Fi; Mr. vB is heartbroken) which I now have to get some stupid bigger package for, and I simply cannot afford to double my cable bill. Also, they made TCM a pay channel. Really? Come on. I have to pay to watch butchered movies interrupted with commercials? (Or did they then change the format, too?)

God, I'm verbose today. Long story short: I'm for a la carte cable.

AVB:

Where do you live? I have lived in three major US cities and never have I had to purchase HBO or Showtime in order to get IFC? Call your cable company and ask them if they have a "basic-plus" option which usually allows you to add the IFCs and such without having to get into premium options. If they say no, move.

Personally I like the bundled channels. If it wasn't for bundles I never would have found the majic that is The Dog Whisperer, SSSHHHHT!(for your infrormation this technique also works on children).

Also, have you seen some of the late night shit on those rediculously obscure channels? This was how I was introduced to the ShamWow! I am praying that they have one of those stalls set up at the fair next year so I can gets me one of those.

You can use it as a coaster and a birthing blanket? Sold and sold.

Fuck my spelling is terrible.

Optimus:

Exactly why I never posted my location on the Google map. It's Minimus I worry about. We don't know enough about that boy's background and I suspect he will one day slip away while Maximus isn't watching. Then there'll be trouble.

I'm a Capricorn and I live in New Jersey. That should tell you everything.

I know, I really need to switch to some cable/internet/phone bundle thing. I'm still actually on analog cable, dialup modem (high speed dialup, but still) and Verizon for my landline, which I don't even use except for the dialup. I hate change (Capricorn) and I'm terrible at making decisions.

This is the same cable company, by the way, with which I had HBO, Encore, and Starz as a bundle, then decided to cancel just those 3 movie channels to save some money. They never shut off those channels, though, and I had them free for 8 years after I canceled them. They're kind of dumb. And yes, they consider IFC a premium channel, and I have to get the Silver Package (I was mistaken, it's really only $75) with 8 Encores, 12 HBOs, 7 Starzes, 2 IFCs and Sundance. Why can't I just add IFC for like $5 a month? The whole thing is crazy.

I totally see the point about those smaller channels, by the way. They are how I discovered Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, and Project Runway is my love. I adore flipping between Lifetime Television for Women and WE on the weekends, and Tori Spelling wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for those. Maybe there's some kind of happy medium? Like better tailored packages?

I'd at least like to have the option for a la carte cable. Mr. Pink and I have been wishing for that for a long time. We cut cable off many moons ago because we were tired of paying out the ass for a bunch of stuff we never watched (and yeah, where I live the cable providers mostly put Sci-Fi in one of the pricier bundles). There are maybe a handful of channels we watch on a regular basis, so why pay for a like fifteen different cable news channels just so I can watch "Project Runway"?

The Pink household doesn't have the Cable. Hence, my son calls SpongeBob Squarepants "Mr. Cheese".

Paddy, I had the same issue with Sundance/IFC for the longest time. It was bundled with a big movie package that we didn't want, so I suffered. Finally our craptastic small area cable was bought out by the large craptastic Comcast. Normally, I'd despise Comcast, but in this case we were able to adjust our line-up and got Sundance/IFC along with a digital cable package.

I have to agree that the ala carte channel thing would likely kill many of the smaller channels.

Have the lifeline cable at the buchouse, mainly the Net locals and some channels nobody in his/her right mind would watch. The real problem is local governments grant the cable companies more-or-less monopoly power, and then we all act surprised when they act like monopolies.

AvB, You're NJ and I'm WV. So the logical location for our Tuesday afternoon trysts is ... Harrisburg?

Well, there IS a good brewpub there.

I don't mind having all those channels that we don't normally watch. I like having them readily available in case something looks interesting.

For example, last night a friend suggested we watch the History Channel's documentary of home videos of the World Trade Center attacks. Normally, we avoid the History Channel like the bubonic plague (ha! teh funny!), but his recommendation was so strong that we tuned in. It was incredibly difficult to watch those events again, but the documentary was centered around the people who just happened to have their cameras rolling throughout. The interviews and footage were moving, and the entire piece was tastefully done.

If we hadn't had the History Channel, then I doubt we would have even heard about that program. That would have been a real shame.

Also, as one who watches Logo occasionally*, I fear for the manufacturers of Rogaine, home gyms, and "male enhancement" products. Without a captive audience, those companies will certainly have to find a new place to advertise that doesn't involve cheap stereotypes.

*I try to catch "Big Gay Sketch Show" for the Maya Angelou Craigslist-hookup-posting dramatic readings, and "Rick and Steve, the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World" because gay LEGO-like figurines are awesome.

Rather than a la carte (which probably isn't ever going to happen), I'd like it if they bundled more sensibly. I'd like to not have to flip through motherhumping religious channels, shopping channels and Spanish language channels. I don't watch any of that shit, and those collectively must be about half of the ones I get (yeah, I got the cheap cable). And though Disney would shit a brick and if they have anything to do with it it won't happen, ESPN should move up a tier. It's the most expensive non-premium channel on cable. Quite a lot of your cable bill goes towards paying for ESPN.

I saw that WTC doc on History Channel also (they ran it commercial-free in its entirety, about 2 hours).

Meant to add that the WTC documentary was excellent. Well-done. I appreciated that it had no VO. The footage pretty much spoke for itself.

The various warnings were kinda silly, but networks really have to be over-cautious about things like that. America is full of nutjobs and drama queens who shit a brick in outrage any time they glimpse anything that might alarm or offend them.

So what if crappy channels only survive because the consumers get a la carte pricing? If they can only survive under an anti competitive 'force the consumer into purchasing us' business model, they don't deserve to exist.

In my hometown, due to monopolies and service provider lock-in, they want fscking $85!for the basic digital W/O DVR and W/O HD. That doesn't even include half of the 'bundled' channels I'd even want.

In response to those that say prices will go up - sure... they'll go up to the people that want to have ALL the channels. Since I don't want all the channels, but still pay the same that you do, I have been effectively subsidizing your large channel package. Why is that right? Sure the cable companies will manage to eek in some sort of 'base fee' + X per channel that will them some more money. But I'm for it, so long as the fee reduces for small channel selections and goes up for 'universe' channel selection people.

And for that, dear lord, please forgive me. I promise to never side with the MPAA again....
Hey, I could get used to this. Forgiven, my child. And your penance is to rip your most shameful DVD and seed it on BitTorrent, with a username of "sosuemeMPAAsuxxorz." Yeah, it's harsh, but there's a lesson here - never side with the MPAA, only incidentally agree by virtue of them mirroring your pre-formed opinion! Jeez! You really should know better!

Goddammit...the FCC does not have power over cable companies, which means they can't spank them when they decide to tack on ridiculous fees. A la carte is the best idea EVER. I shouldn't have to get third-tier cable just so I can watch Jon Stewart and get my stories.

This whole b.s. is not going to make the cable offerings any better either. 100 channels or more and there is still absolutely nothing to watch. That's why most people end up watching Animal Planet, Comedy Central and Bravo all the time. Who the hell wants to watch an Adam Sandler movie for the umpteenth time on Showtime anyway?

I'm torn--I refuse to pay for all the crappy channels offered by my local cable company. I'm talking about the multiple Jeezus-says-you-should-send-me-money channels, home shopping network, Fox "News", History Channel (AKA World War II 24-7 channel) and rest of the ilk.

But I do wanna watch Animal Planet, Comedy Central, TMC and Bravo. So my compromise is to mooch off my parents (who do have cable) to watch specific programs, watch Daily Show on the web, and rent movies from Netflix.

wtf