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metalpeter’s journal

Time Warner and Fox

· · 🌡️ 37°F

So I like Time Warner I really do. They have some great things that from what I hear the dishes don't have. But that being said they need to get there stuff together and stop lying on their ads.... Or maybe that is to harsh and they need to get all the channels on board and improve things....

If you have seen there ads the newest one shows some lady buying shoes coming in and using start over to watch her favorite show.... Well hold on that doesn't really work like that... Not all he stations (fox comes to mind here) have start over... Also it doesn't allways work right on shows that don't start right when they say they do... This Happened to me when I came home and tried to watch Bill Maher the show ended in the middle of new rules... Also what about live things like football that go over the time. Oh bye the way this is a problem with DVRs to from what I hear. So don't believe that kid playing baseball with his dad ad either......

Last night I really wanted to watch The Hurt Locker , Like a fool I trusted the ad. But not so much that I checked the channel it was on (The Movie Channel I think) and start over came up so I thought it would work. Go get food for the movie and football today and go in and no start over as an option on enhanced TV, FUCK! So one of the options is on Demand and of course that isn't one of the movies that the ondemand channel has either argh..... So I went to find some on demand stuff and found "Fan Boys" it was wild and was great to see Seth Rogan play two parts but what made the movie good really was the hot chick in it but was all the cameos those where the best parts. The next Movie was "Zombie Strippers". Ok Zombies and a strip bar it was awesome. Yes it was very funny and there where lots of tits. Did I mention it was funny. Oh yeah and they took zombies in a new direction (the effects are different on men and women and women have control, yes two strippers fighting on stage and the golf balls where funny)........

Now in Time Warner's defense they don't control what each channel puts on their demand station and when they are on. For example Starz has this thing they call early premieres where movies come on before they air normally. That being said (yes the on demand stuff is free but still) it would ve nice if they had more movies and specials on the ondemand channels....

There is the new service I have seen advertised where say you miss a program you can go back into the past to view it. You can go back I think 3 days. Again this isn't on all the channels...

My point here isn't that I'm bashing Time warner it is that these services that when they work right are pretty cool you can't depend on them, like the ads make you think...

Next things next the fox and time warner thing. It is time for those two to make a deal. I think they will reach a deal because it is suicide not to, both companies would lose way to much money...
1. Glee, House, NFL Football, Simpsons sunday night line up and Yes American Idol are the huge fox draws. If Time warner was to lose these here is what would happen.
A. Some people would just give up and not watch Fox anymore. Less people watching fox means lower rating and less people watch the comericals drop way off in value..
B. Keep Time Warner but watch Fox over the air. Well ad money wise again you had people watching time Warner who know watch Fox over the air so they lose money.
c. I need fox so drop my price on cable, oh you are charging me the same for less ok bye. Yeah a lot of viewers would drop Time Warner and that is where they lose the big money. Most of those people would go get another provider or maybe just go the HD route through the air....

I can admit that I don't work for a station or in braodcasting so not sure how the money stuff works other then that when everyone on friends wanted that huge increase in pay they all got it because they ratings where so good that advertisers paid so much money during those time slots that it was a drop in the bucket to NBC. So time warner losing fox and fox losing time warner would be a huge blow to both companies that they can't afforid. But there is another factor that I don't know how it works every net work has a local affilate and yeah Fox 29 would no longer be on cable and that has to effect how much local ad money they get. Well that would happen in every city with time warner. I think that might be why you see the scrols during shows cause they don't want to lose the money.

D. There is this X factor that no one can really count or quintify. What effect does this bickering between cable and stations do to the viewer. I as viewer like the shows I like and they should be there when they are there. It is bad enough when nights change and now one program I liked is on at the same time as another. This bickering could turn people away from both companies. Maybe they will decide to just watch shows on the internet with one of those huge sony internet TVs. Or maybe give up on TV and just wait for the good shows to come out on DVD and Spend a weekend watching the entire series. Who knows what it will bring. Maybe Viewers will find a way to watch the NFL on line...

The Bottom line is that making fair deals behind closed doors before the public hears about it is best for both the cable/Satlite companies and the stations....
1,039 words

💬 23 comments

  1. mrmike ·

    The thing with fox happens all the time, the down side is that Fox decided to cry in public about. Cable and dish companies pay what is called a retransmission fee and that is what Time Warner and Fox 29's owners are fighting about. They need each other and will get it settled, but not without Fox 29's owner inspiring a little fear ahead of time to increase a little pressure.

  2. tinypliny ·

    Just throw your TV out or give it away. Just think - all this agony will go away. Get a high speed net connection and watch whatever you like online.

  3. metalpeter ·

    @tinypliny you bring up an interesting point. With out understanding all the money stuff there are some people who will do that, not I, Not Yet. I am kinda wondering if some day soon over the air waves will be better that is harder to control (ok seen way to many movies). The Problem with that is if everyone turned off the TV then there would be no shows and since no shows then they wouldn't be on the net either. That being said though I watch this show called The Walking Dead on AMC. There is no free way (at least legit) to see it online anywhere. Also at Amazon you could preorder the 1st season after like the 2nd episode. I think that for some the wave of the future is that you pay for an episode over the internet and then it has no ads. Ads are what pays for tv show it all ways has been and all ways will be. That is why PBS has donnors.... Ok back to more of this later Football Time.....

  4. metalpeter ·

    Oh one other good thing about time warner is they have CBC (great coverage of some things wish we could get the other candian channels like much music and there is some channel that after 11pm has nudity). .....

  5. tinypliny ·

    "The Problem with that is if everyone turned off the TV then there would be no shows and since no shows then they wouldn't be on the net either."

    AHA! Nopes, I don't agree with that. TV will evolve. It already has evolved. Look at Google TV: :::link::: Old mediums need to go out and new interactive shows will come in. Ads will still be on all content. For eg. look at youtube videos. There are subtle ads everywhere. Media is a dynamic concept @metalpeter. It is inherently determined by the behaviours of its consumers. I think traditional TV is on its way out and the sooner we usher in its demise, the better it will be for the evolution to more intelligent and interactively-engineered content.

  6. tinypliny ·

    I know you know about Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog. But did you take a closer look at how it was marketed? It was groundbreaking. It went directly from the net to DVD. The strategy was pure genius. It has outsold many other traditional TV shows (backed of course by some beautiful acting, superb music and an ultra-ridiculous storyline!).

  7. metalpeter ·

    That being said there will all ways be TV and here is why..

    1. You have people still that don't have cable they don't have the money for cable those people use normal TVs. As an example of this when singles went digital you had converter boxes so those old tvs would work... There will all ways be this part of society who doesn't have the money to go out and buy some wastefull computer so they can pay for a show it is pretty stupid to pay for a show you can watch for free.

    2. The People on the fringe. Yes there are people who believe the internet is monitored like it is in China, and it may not be yet but some of it is watched by the government for sure.....

    3. Got some bad news for the techs Analog is better then digital. I watch a bunch of TV. A slight snow to a picture is ok. But you know what isn't pixels and glitchs. Yes with digital there is all ways a glitch and you miss some of it if you watch long enough. Now the crazy people me included think that this is if you record it, it won't be in perfect condition makes you wonder if it is being monitored.

    The Networks pay a lot of money for the NFL right and some other sports. Advertisers pay to put content on during those shows. Take all that money and give the teams that money and it used to be $1 over the salery cap. I'm sorry but I don't think there is that kind of money on the internet I really don't. I think the movement should be away from the Cable Companies. I think If you want hbo you can pay them and they send a single to you through the air and it is decoded.

    In Terms of Security it is better not to have the internet have all the TV anyways. Say there is a cyber attack or better even the cable lines or phone lines go down. It could turn into mass panic and riots in the street. Now with an over the air signale all you need is enough electricty to recieve it. New Tech isn't all ways the best.

    I do think that if the dishes can figure out how to on demand with out downloads and get as good as cable is it could be the end of cable. Again here in terms of National Security I think there could be away to send a signal that the dishes could pick up.....

    In any event it will be intersting to see what happens. I say get out those rabit ears and watch all the stuff on HD on a nice tv is the future for some and for some it is Internet TV. Sony changed music for ever with the walkman maybe those new TVs will chang tv the same way?

  8. uncutsaniflush ·

    @metalpeter - I think your analysis is brilliant. Which is another way to say that I mostly agree with you. I was going to write something along the same lines but you beat me to the punch.

    Unlike you, I think that eventually that there will be big NFL type dollars in internet content. I can forsee a day that internet content providers charge for subscriptions to their sites or pay per view for sporting events. I think mobile broadband internet content will hasten this happening. Already you can get NFL games on your smart phone. It's just a matter of time before charging for such stuff comes common place.

    Imagine being at a Bills or Sabres game and being able to watch the game on your smartphone with the ability to control your own replays. I bet a lot of people would pay for that. But, as always, I could be wrong.

  9. tinypliny ·

    Yeah - I didn't think of all those people. I guess people still listen to the radio and TV is here. I think the time is not far when the net will be a necessity for communication - like phones. Then, media and transmission will really start to change. @uncutsaniflush's example is a good illustration of such a change.

    Meanwhile, just throw your TV out. You will suddenly find a lot of quality time and discover things you never thought of before. Better yet, come to salsa class with me during you regular TV time! :-)

  10. tinypliny ·

    Orwellian paranoia is all well and good, but personally I couldn't care less if someone is spying on what I do day-to-day. I pity their life if they feel the need to spy on my super-dull existence!

  11. uncutsaniflush ·

    @tinypliny or should I say pliny the younger?? You assume that just because you are doing nothing wrong, the U.S. government won't fuck with you or even be interested in you. That is an erroneous assumption.

    Apparently from what I've been told (I never asked for my records under the Freedom of Information Act but people that I know did), I've had an FBI file to the FBI since I was 6 years old primarily because of who my father was.

    I assume everything that I do both online and off is of interest to the U.S. government.

    When fear is rampant, chasing shadows is a feel good solution to fighting fear and terrorism for the U.S. government. it is important to remember that the U.S. broke every treaty it made with the "Indians". I that Joe McCarty's ghost is active in Washington,DC. And I think the new crop of McCarty zombies have even less shame than the erstwhile senator.

  12. tinypliny ·

    Oooh, you have an FBI file?! Really? Why?

  13. uncutsaniflush ·

    @tinypliny - My father was fairly high up in the Polish Military food chain. His military career was destroyed by my mother emigrating to the U.S. and bringing me. Also, my godmother's husband was some sort important Communist party minister. If you believe contemporary reports, during the Cold War, it was thought that children were groomed to be sleeper spies that would do the biding of their Iron Curtain masters once adult. Rumor had it that all children from behind the Iron Curtain had some sort of FBI file about them.

    When I was at the University of Detroit, my circle of acquaintances included anarchists and people associated with John Sinclair's White Panther party. Some of them routinuely checked their files under the Freedom of Information Act and that's how I found out.

  14. metalpeter ·

    1st of all I will admit some of this is new to me, I have never heard of the white panther party.... But that way of thinking that you explain does seem to make sense. If we believe what our parents tell us as do people here it would make sense that we could be used for their agenda. I have seen kids pre teen with signs that say I have two Birthdays (well my understanding is you can't be a kid and be born again but I could be wrong, that you have to lose faith or get into trouble and then find gods ways again, or something like that). The Point is if kids can be used at rally's why not spies it is a great idea (doubt it would really work)

    Google has the Tech and has used it in China why not here. Now some might say that sounds crazy. Well aren't the two Koreas still at war. Don't have the news on the recent conflict of today or yesterday. But couldn't the US monitor all chat of all Koreans to make sure that koreans in the US aren't going to side with the communists and blow stuff up here so we don't back our allies... It isn't crazy we locked up Japanese people in camps....

    My Political side could see Bush doing something like this when he was in office so that the people using the net could only get pro USA stuff. Oh you think that didn't happen in the past. I wasn't there but I heard that is how the News was in WWII. War Protest never. Now some people think that Obama and his side would like to control information and they have a valid point. What if (not saying he will) he sides with out allies and the Korean War II breaks out. Now lets just say there was no TV (forget the radio for a second) and all News was shows on the internet (just saying) The Government could control what we see and our views on the war.

  15. metalpeter ·

    In Terms of Paying for sports still not sure about the money aspect? But what I do know is that (don't watch college) is you can pay to watch College football somehow. Also NBC has sunday night football (again Haven't tried it) and you can watch it enhanced on the net... You pick the camera angles and view (like a video game)... My Gut is that football will stay on the air, but also you will be able to pay for games so you can watch what ever one you want. That is what the Direct TV thing is kinda. You pay so much and get to (assuming not blacked out in your city) watch every game. But what you are really paying for is two things. If the game is bad you can switch. But really so you can watch the teams you like. There are Steeler fans in Buffalo but good luck trying to follow them here. I do think that will go PPV over the Internet soon. I just think that Football is such a big screen event there will need to be more of those Sony Internet TVs for sale. I say about 5-10 years as the HD TVs start to lose quality over time of a normal set.....

  16. metalpeter ·

    One Thing that got me thinking about this was what happened with the movie I wanted to see , but also my one TV's color is messed up so I have to brighten it up but it makes all the blues and red's really storng and faces are red. So I'm trying to decide how big and want kind of TV. If I could get good over the air reception with an HD TV That might be the way to go, wish I understood how those Sonys work besides I don't have the cash. I also wonder about if a 3D tv is worth it, and do they make 3D porn that would be wild?

  17. uncutsaniflush ·

    @tinypliny - You wrote "Meanwhile, just throw your TV out." I think you are starting to sound like a Luddite. Perhaps you dont realize that newish HDTVs are, for all practical purposes, big computer monitors with tv tuners within. If you have a desktop or laptop or nettop or netbook with HDMI and a television set with HDMI, you can access the internet on your television.

    I would suggest is that what you meant to say was "Get rid of your cable TV provider and get your network television content from the internet until the networks start charging for that as well."

    Unless, of course, you think that computer monitors are morally superior to tv sets.

  18. heidi ·

    @uncutsaniflush - that comment is hot.

  19. tinypliny ·

    "The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. It took its name from Ned Ludd." *From wikipedia.

    I guess that sounds just about right. I am opposed to mechanization of thought and enslavement of spirit by the couch potato revolution sweeping the planet. I feel that it is leaving us without imagination and changing our way of active life for the worst. :-)

    But, yes, I would like to have a 60" HDTV mounted on my wall as my computer monitor. Hmmmm... I would love a high resolution projector covering my ENTIRE wall even better, because of a smaller footprint, more mobility and flexibility. In fact, I am waiting for projector prices to come down so that I can get rid of monitor one day and just have a really really high resolution projector that can project my laptop ANYWHERE and would weight around 5kg or less.

  20. tinypliny ·

    Oooh @metalpeter, did you ever see the launch of that Ralph Lauren 4D show -->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S4xbKYw528


    The future is 3D projection! I am telling ya, TV is not where the future is. :-)

  21. tinypliny ·

    Wow. The concept of sleeper-spies. It came up in so many episodes on my former-favourite show (Spooks) that I think I believe it. :-)

  22. tinypliny ·

    Oh, and btw, the R. Lauren show was 4D because at 6:03 in the video, they actually sprayed the crowd with a mist of their latest perfume. hahaha

  23. metalpeter ·

    Not Sure where to start:
    1. Never thought this would get so many Comments and there have been a bunch of great ones.
    2. Debating the Future and where you think tech will is fun

    No Technology is good or bad. It is how it is used. Granted there are a lot of crappy things that are bad. But there are also things that inspire creativity and Imagination. To bad they are mostly kid shows and things on like history channel.....

    The Only thing with 3D TV is that you currently need glasses for it still.........

    I had few other points that got lost someplace in my mind

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