September 3 - Pet Peeve Monday - I DON'T Want My MTV
This week’s PET PEEVE MONDAY concerns the recent, very public fight concerning THE BIG TEN NETWORK (BTN).
The Big Ten Network is a television network that launched on August 30, 2007. The network is a joint venture of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.
Similar to many newly launched cable sports networks, there has been debate over carriage between the Big Ten Network and cable providers.
That is too bad, because there was a game that was shown exclusively on BTN that is now considered one of the top five UPSETS of all time. It was only available in my area if you had DirecTV.
michigan lost to Appalachian State on Saturday 34-32.
Other upsets of note:
- Team USA upsets Russia at Lake Placid in 1980
- Buster Douglas beats Mike Tyson
- Jets upset Colts in Super Bowl III
- Villanova defeats Georgetown in 1985 NCAA title game
Cable providers and BTN have argued that the other side is being unreasonable in its demands -- cable companies complaining about the high cost per subscriber for the network and the Big Ten Network complaining about the tier upon which it will be carried. In fact, both parties have taken out full page ads citing their position.
Hey guys, I DON’T CARE. Do I really need to know how incompetent your corporate negotiation teams are?
Fortunately, I’ve outfitted my home with several TV options: basic cable, digital cable, over the air HDTV, and DirecTV. I was able to enjoy the michigan loss AS IT OCCURRED, IN ALL ITS GLORY.
Here is MY PET PEEVE.
Why can’t TV programming be offered a la carte?
I should only pay for what I want to watch. Screw basic cable packages and programming tiers.
I waste so much time channel surfing through The Lifetime Network and the Christian Broadcasting Network channels to get to Fox News. And don’t get me started on those Home Shopping Network Channels.
THE TECHNOLOGY EXISTS to only bill customers for what you watch – it is called PAY PER VIEW.
Why do I have to pay for channels I don’t want, watch, or even need to know that they exist?
I would gladly pay $1.10 per channel (what The Big Ten Network is asking per subscriber) for those channels I watch. My monthly cable costs could be cut by two-thirds.
Nobody needs 100 channels. Nobody is SO diverse they watch 100 channels.
When I go to the movies or Blockbuster, I don’t pay so that others may view things that they want and I don’t.
When I eat at a restaurant I don’t buy everything on the menu because they are offered. I’m not that hungry and don’t like certain foods.
Why should my TV viewing and required purchases be any different?
We proclaim to be capitalists, yet why do we subsidize non-viable channels on the backs of the more popular channels.
An ANCILLARY PET PEEVE is that I should be able to program MY CHANNELS in the order that I want. Again the technology exists in some TVs, but it is limited to 5 channels.
Why is MSNBC on channel 49 and CNN on 54? Using cable, I have to go through Comedy Central, TNT, SCI-FI Channel and the Discovery Channel to get from one to the other. On DirecTV it is even worse. They are on channels 356 and 202 respectively
I’m ashamed I know this from memory. That is valuable brain space that I could have used to save other important information like where I left my keys.
Here are the Channels I WOULD BUY:
FOX
C-SPAN
NBC
ABC
Weather Radar
CBS
E! TV
ESPN
ESPN2
USA
CNBC
FSN Ohio
VH1
AMC
Spike TV
MSNBC
Comedy Central
TNT
Discovery Channel
CNN
Fox News Channel
TBS
National Geographic
All other channels, NEED NOT APPLY.
They include, but are not limited to:
Commercial Access
Home Shopping Network
Community Access
QVC
Court TV
BET
MTV
Lifetime Movie Network
Lifetime
The Learning Channel
Discovery Health
Style
Food Network
SoapNet
Oxygen
Women's Entertainment
Bravo
Shop NBC
I DON’T WANT MY MTV AFTER ALL. I only want the channels that I will watch.
To quote, Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch in the 1976 classic movie, Network (which BTW, I could see on AMC, but not on BET):
"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
You should be MAD AS HELL as well.
The Big Ten Network is a television network that launched on August 30, 2007. The network is a joint venture of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.
Similar to many newly launched cable sports networks, there has been debate over carriage between the Big Ten Network and cable providers.
That is too bad, because there was a game that was shown exclusively on BTN that is now considered one of the top five UPSETS of all time. It was only available in my area if you had DirecTV.
michigan lost to Appalachian State on Saturday 34-32.
Other upsets of note:
- Team USA upsets Russia at Lake Placid in 1980
- Buster Douglas beats Mike Tyson
- Jets upset Colts in Super Bowl III
- Villanova defeats Georgetown in 1985 NCAA title game
Cable providers and BTN have argued that the other side is being unreasonable in its demands -- cable companies complaining about the high cost per subscriber for the network and the Big Ten Network complaining about the tier upon which it will be carried. In fact, both parties have taken out full page ads citing their position.
Hey guys, I DON’T CARE. Do I really need to know how incompetent your corporate negotiation teams are?
Fortunately, I’ve outfitted my home with several TV options: basic cable, digital cable, over the air HDTV, and DirecTV. I was able to enjoy the michigan loss AS IT OCCURRED, IN ALL ITS GLORY.
Here is MY PET PEEVE.
Why can’t TV programming be offered a la carte?
I should only pay for what I want to watch. Screw basic cable packages and programming tiers.
I waste so much time channel surfing through The Lifetime Network and the Christian Broadcasting Network channels to get to Fox News. And don’t get me started on those Home Shopping Network Channels.
THE TECHNOLOGY EXISTS to only bill customers for what you watch – it is called PAY PER VIEW.
Why do I have to pay for channels I don’t want, watch, or even need to know that they exist?
I would gladly pay $1.10 per channel (what The Big Ten Network is asking per subscriber) for those channels I watch. My monthly cable costs could be cut by two-thirds.
Nobody needs 100 channels. Nobody is SO diverse they watch 100 channels.
When I go to the movies or Blockbuster, I don’t pay so that others may view things that they want and I don’t.
When I eat at a restaurant I don’t buy everything on the menu because they are offered. I’m not that hungry and don’t like certain foods.
Why should my TV viewing and required purchases be any different?
We proclaim to be capitalists, yet why do we subsidize non-viable channels on the backs of the more popular channels.
An ANCILLARY PET PEEVE is that I should be able to program MY CHANNELS in the order that I want. Again the technology exists in some TVs, but it is limited to 5 channels.
Why is MSNBC on channel 49 and CNN on 54? Using cable, I have to go through Comedy Central, TNT, SCI-FI Channel and the Discovery Channel to get from one to the other. On DirecTV it is even worse. They are on channels 356 and 202 respectively
I’m ashamed I know this from memory. That is valuable brain space that I could have used to save other important information like where I left my keys.
Here are the Channels I WOULD BUY:
FOX
C-SPAN
NBC
ABC
Weather Radar
CBS
E! TV
ESPN
ESPN2
USA
CNBC
FSN Ohio
VH1
AMC
Spike TV
MSNBC
Comedy Central
TNT
Discovery Channel
CNN
Fox News Channel
TBS
National Geographic
All other channels, NEED NOT APPLY.
They include, but are not limited to:
Commercial Access
Home Shopping Network
Community Access
QVC
Court TV
BET
MTV
Lifetime Movie Network
Lifetime
The Learning Channel
Discovery Health
Style
Food Network
SoapNet
Oxygen
Women's Entertainment
Bravo
Shop NBC
I DON’T WANT MY MTV AFTER ALL. I only want the channels that I will watch.
To quote, Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch in the 1976 classic movie, Network (which BTW, I could see on AMC, but not on BET):
"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
You should be MAD AS HELL as well.
Labels: Pet Peeve
posted by J. Jay @ 10:25 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I am shedding tears, not tiers, about the situation.
agree 100%
You watch CNN, the Clinton News NetworK?
Network was a great movie.
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