Since Fox is now in the middle of renegotiating its cable fees in this time of turmoil, is there an opportunity for us to contact our cable companies and demand that fox channels not be part of the the standard cable packages? Cable companies could require subscribers to select and choose Fox separately. If Fox could be deprived of all t…
Since Fox is now in the middle of renegotiating its cable fees in this time of turmoil, is there an opportunity for us to contact our cable companies and demand that fox channels not be part of the the standard cable packages? Cable companies could require subscribers to select and choose Fox separately. If Fox could be deprived of all the revenue it currently gets by default from every cable subscriber, we could strike a serious blow against this cesspool of lies.
I am all for this goal. But... dear lord, why don't y'all just DROP CABLE?!?!
There is clearly a generational divide here. I cannot understand why *anyone* is still subscribing to cable at all. Unless you are a sports junkie, there is no logical rationale to doing so. Almost everything is online now. Every major corporation has launched a streaming service, and you can subscribe to everything you could want to see, and do so on a monthly basis for less than cable. Absolutely no one I know in my age bracket ever watches actual television at all. Waiting for a show to begin at a certain hour is so antiquated, as is the idea of someone picking your programming lineup for you, period. It genuinely seems like gifting someone a smart phone and having them call the operator on it.
To anyone younger, Fox isn't a source of fear, it's a joke. "How many older relatives have YOU lost to Fox?" No one watches it, because no one watches cable. And no one watches cable because that is the dumb thing your great-aunt watches Fox on. Ew. Netflix and Chill FTW, amirite bae?
When it comes to arts & entertainment, every library should have a decent DVD selection. For FREE! If you want to learn facts in visual format, there is more on YouTube than you could ever get from Discovery Channel. For FREE! If you care about news, you should not even be watching news at all, you should be *reading* it. Subscribe to a newspaper of record plus maybe some independent newsletters, support real journalists for a fraction of the cost, and leave the talking heads out to dry!
You are getting a worse product, delivered to you less efficiently, at a higher price. Please, somebody here, help me. Make it make sense.
I don’t have a smart phone either…only got a cell ph years back to use while traveling out of state & rarely use it, but carry it with me in case of emergencies. I have a pre-paid plan for $5 month & I loved my old, very small, cell with a slide-out qwerty keyboard, so I could easily do the rare text msg. Well well well…when 5G came along I was told my old phone would not longer operate, I went into may carrier to get a new phone…they tried and tried to upsell me into a smart phone (they are WAY too big if all you want to do is make a call or send a text)—I kept asking will my $5 a month plan work with this phone? If not, I do not want it—why pay for something I’ll hardly use. Finally the guy went in the back & probably dug around at the bottom of some drawer and came out with a flip-phone. Jeez…I hate the thing…the size is right, but the features suck & I don’t bother even trying to send a text because it’s such a hassle type out (no qwerty on this phone). Have been searching the ‘net for alternatives & think I have come up with one that will work w/ my flip’s SIM card…fingers crossed!
I can see that. I am not against smart phones or tv's it's just where I ended up on the scale of using technology. Heck, I'm typing on a computer to you right now.
Nice talking to you again Mike. It had been a while.
It is clear there is a generational divide in to regard to cable tv. And I’m on the “wrong” side of it. Allow me to offer a couple of points on the topic.
First, there is logic in your piece and it is well-written. However, the attitude that comes across is that of an extremely impatient teacher, explaining something for the third time. I can clearly hear the not so sotto voce, “They just don’t GET it!“. Let me assure you that many of us do get it and are still with cable. Also your riff in gifting somebody a cell phone is dripping with condescension. We are not dumb, at least those of us who contribute to Heather’s posts. We are quite sentient and maybe once in a while worth listening to. Had you dialed it back a bit, I might have read your piece a second time.
Secondly, there is a huge group of us who have cell phones and computers who still see worth in having cable. People develop routines as they mature and some of us build routines around certain shows. For myself, I learn some of what I pick up about the national scene from Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow. When the latter was on nightly, my wife and I enjoyed watching the two shows back to back, using a PVR to see them at a suitable time in the West Coast.
Which brings me to my third point. The options for streaming have proliferated so as to become equal in price to cable - or more. I subscribe to the NYT, two newsmagazines, and support Slate, Gaslit Nation, and Preet Bharara in podcasting. Very occasionally I will want to watch a show, but inevitably I’ll find that it is not on Netflix, the only other outlet I subscribe to. Trying to follow all the streaming services is like going down an endless rabbit hole.
Clearly the younger generation doesn’t see the point of cable tv. None of my four children have it. But in the end these are discretionary dollars. They e made a choice for rational reasons. My wife and I have made a separate choice.
Be patient. The end is nigh for cable. And while you’re waiting please don’t lecture us.
*Sigh* Here I was trying to add as much personality as I could muster before bed to my comment to make it as clear as possible the tone was supposed to be lighthearted, only to wake up and find I am apparently still an arrogant ageist "dripping with condescension" whose main goal was lecturing Eric on his status as an obsolete troglodyte lacking "sentience." Guess I'll have some serious soul-searching to do with my therapist this week. Geez. Can't win 'em all I guess.
Look, Eric, obviously how you spend your money and time is how you spend your money and time. If basic cable works for your wants and your pocketbook, have at it and God bless. My query at the end was genuine. I can't see the value in it from my angle. I'm under no illusions that is the only angle.
That said, all human beings enjoy routine, not just one who have "matured." Routine can often become calcified, and a change-up can become beneficial. If your routine involves Cooper and Maddow, no you will not find them on Netflix, but you will find them on a bevy of streaming bundles that cost somewhere in the range of what most folks pay for cable, with both an added element of convenience as well as more leeway in what other outlets you support. Which was, after all, the initial topic at hand here. And it doesn't take an "endless rabbit hole" to figure this out. It all pops up on Google right away. Oh, gosh, there I go dripping with condescension again. Mea maxima culpa.
It's all in the interpretation. And I sort of get Eric's response. Although I think you are being misinterpreted and have the best of intentions. Your sense of humor may be better received by some than others. Ha Ha Ha.
Here's my take. Most cable packages offer the "DVR" function. So you can watch Rachel or Anderson anytime you want. And to each his own.
Personally, I am one of the millions who hates Comcast ("Xfinity") with such a passion that there are no words for it. We switched to Fios (internet only) sometime ago. $50 a month for 300 mbps. Thrilled. Want live stupid TV? The ROKU app is adding free channels every week, it seems.
But again, to each his own. We don't watch ANY TV news or commentary. When we do tune in, we look at each other and just say "yup, I knew that, yes, I read that this morning, yup, thanks, next..." We are readers of news. By 10:00 am we both know everything to know. As to the opinionating on cable...meh. I have my own opinions and if I need new ones, I find them right here. And they are as relevant and cogent as anything on a large flat screen from people wearing too much makeup. 4K HDR backlit OLED screens are more revealing than I need. "Look at those wrinkles on him!"
Someday we should talk about the streaming channel scams. How many to watch and how many to pay for. Without vigilance, the total TV bill can easily meet or exceed the cost of cable. The good news is that we all have choices. You, me, Eric and everyone else. It just takes more energy and time to pick what's best for our homes. Oy.
Well said. The latest streaming kerfuffle is Amazon. Now, in addition to Prime there is Prime Video for which I pay "Prime" monthly fees and an additional fee for packaged items such as PBS Masterpiece. There are older movies available on Prime subscription, but newer movies are billed separately, i.e. Avatar the Way of Water is $20.00!! Every time arch capitalist Jeff Bezos goes up in his rocket ship I hope he stays there. Likewise for Elon Musk, but for different reasons.
I was giving everyone a day of grace until you showed up like a runaway freight train. Your style is a breathless pace which moves in paces. Your humor is unexpectedly funny. Your serious side does not escape one. One door you could have kicked open today was that of the constant. Change. Thank the species for the ability of youth to adjust to things hurtling their way. Those who won’t look cannot see. Don’t change a thing. My children didn’t hear a word I said and clearly they made their own beds well. Your voice is heard received and well accepted. Play on. I had a Republican horse a while back that didn’t look too good. Come to find out he was blind.
Will, try as hard as you might to make it seem this way, you are not a victim in this discussion. (Which, by the way, is a subtle tactic to turn the blame back on anyone who disagree).
You are simply, I would assume a younger person making a strong argument for streaming over cable. You write well and are easily able to make it seem like there is no other rational choice. But the effect of your verbal stickhandling in your first comment was to make it seem as if there is no other virtuous or rational choice. That was what I found objectionable.
I do not feel as if I am calcified. I am fully aware that Cooper and Maddow or not on Netflix. I used it only to note my chagrin that when interesting series come up, they are spread over a number of streaming options, which is several too many, as I “stream” content other than television, written in particular.
American capitalism always goes for broke. The marketplace does not operate efficiently. It takes a really informed and rational consumer to step outside the the excessive subdivision and wait for a degree of consolidation in the market. For now, I choose to wait and hope that happens. I ignore the streaming television opinions and use cable for a bit of news and a fair bit of hockey and baseball.
I think the consolidation may come. Fenway Sports Group is an example where this is happening. When there is sufficient consolidation, the days of cable will hit the wall hard.
It would be good to have this discussion face to face. I’ve had it with all of my kids separately and essentially they made your points (and a few more) respectfully. I suspect that, first impression excluded, any discussion with you would not be as irksome as this has been. You certainly have the writing chops. I’ll close here, and hope to have not offended you by the exchange. I am chagrined when I find things getting ad hominem, and I have certainly contributed enough of that today.
Eric, I assure you I don't think I am the victim in this discussion, nor am I offended. I don't think it is possible for there to be a victim in this discussion. It's a discussion. About cable, of all things. I agree this would likely have a different tenor if face-to-face. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised this comment of mine, of all things, has triggered so many responses.
I do not find anything "virtuous" about forgoing cable versus keeping it. (How odd would I be to assign a moral value to something like that?) I do stand by the view from my vantage point that there is little rational reason for *most* (not all) to hang onto a subscription, such that a concerted effort to use consumer leverage via cable to effect change in revenue seems baffling to me. I suppose my observation simply boils down to how most individual people don't watch anywhere near enough TV daily - of any variety - to have much use for everything that is provided on a cable package, so the idea of tailoring your viewing options makes infinitly more sense to me, if prices and technological infrastructure permit. Yet folks below have provided some reasons, so I got to learn something today, which is always nice.
P.S. Of course subscribing to every major streaming service would be massively expensive, which is why "churn" (customers cycling through options monthly) has quickly become a thing. Leave it to the suits to come up with even more new words for "those plebians finding ways to outwit our racket."
We just had this discussion about cable. We do watch a lot of college sports. My techie says it would be a huge hassle to change the internet, phone, etc. We also have several streaming services because we like Brit TV and foreign series. He doesn't feel like going through the hassle to change, so we still have cable. If it dies before we do, then I guess we won't.
Michele, I wonder if this streaming-centric proposal would work?
Provided that high speed internet is available, drop cable; get a Roku box like Bill Alstrom mentioned; add PBS on it, then add Britbox, which provides loads of content for any anglophile; layer on a VOIP service for phone like Vonage, Ooma or Ring Central. The initial setup will take a small adjustment but after that, you're cable free with lots of customization possible. My $.02.
Agreed. I'm already paying for an internet hook-up, why pay for cable too? I cut the cord about 10 years ago - WAY less obnoxious ads, WAY cheaper, and I don't support the likes of Faux News. I also use a Linux based OS, so viruses are not so big a problem either. Ciao!
I cut cable 30 years ago, when I figured what I was paying for was my now ex watching stuff the kids shouldn't see, and Disney wasn't worth that price. Yes I miss college football games I'd like to see. But the savings and reclaiming my choice is viewing is worth it.
Although I no longer believe it is on offer, for a while Verizon partnered with Disney to give several months of the Disney Plus streaming channel free to consumers who signed up for the Verizon Super Unlimited Whatever Plan. Seems odd bedfellows to me, but my cousin and his family took advantage and were very pleased.
I was off cable for ten years and when I retired and downsized, I didn’t even hook up the TV. It was so LIBERATING! I streamed shows and news at my leisure (60 Minutes or SNL for Monday breakfast—what a treat!). Now that I live with my fiancé we have probably hundreds of channels available through Spectrum yet basically watch the same few programs. But he is a sports junkie, so we’re trapped. So i WILL call Spectrum and ask them to drop Fox.
We have Spectrum, too, and several years ago, we switched to a cable plan that provides access only to a handful of channels that WE selected. It made sense, since we don't watch much TV.
Rose, according to the bill, it's called TV Choice. I didn't know about it until I asked about a less expensive cable option. I don't think it's widely publicized.
The very people who watch fox are the ones to re direct. If they are not watching fox , the radio has the same rants. My husband reads tractor manuals not books or sub stack. TV news is his source of info. We do not watch fox or other garbage. For many TV is how they wind down @ the end of the day. I realize how u get your information is personal choice & learning style but some of the comments reinforce perceptions of intellectual snobbery liberals are accused of.
Hey, there is nothing wrong with tractor manuals! Your husband has an impressive (to me!) set of skills via them. And yes, there can be a tone in some circles of "Oh, you DON'T subscribe to The Atlantic and The Economist? How do you evah stay aware?"
Personally, I am very pro-TV! At the end of day, or any other time! I guess I see cable specifically in economic terms, or holistic ones. If what you have works for you, then it works! But if you are paying for something you don't use much, or ending up paying for something you don't support, or could get the same product in a more convenient fashion for a similar price... why ever would you not?
Yours & the other comments made me think re alternative solutions. Living rural some of the urban advantages are not available & I am not geeky enough to understand all the stuff on the web besides trusting. The radio shack in town is run by someone offering a free gun to anyone who signs up for a cable service . MT does not have an Apple Store, the nearest is in Spokane or Boise ID. I have lived in the Bay Area & Seattle so moving to MT was & continues to be a cultural shock but also insight into a different view of the lay of the land. I am exploring alternatives to cable & hoping they will work.
I dont know where you live in MT but it definitely has a different lay of the land. And there is so much good there...........that it seems a waste to have all those Republicans in power.
You still have a Radio Shack? I think its been a while since they disappeared here - but on the other hand - doubt a free gun would be an option!
My son keeps my computer & TV (still have media center) functioning, and I still have basic cable - got rid of many channels a while ago, and then there is my ROKU - which is great. Hope my small cable company continues - I'm rural too.
Well duh Carole . The names I threw out are for parts and maintenance videos. I was able to get the video for the complete tear down of my diesel JD3020 engine. Snap. Done. Pat on my back. Off to the hay wars.
Well, I'm pretty tech incompetent, so not the right person to ask... But pretty much if you have a Smart TV, or one of those FireSticks, or are willing to use a computer as a TV, the sky is the limit (Yes, savvy family/friends are helpful, too.) We purchased my Grandma a Smart TV in her late 80s, and she got the hang of it! The key was helping her make the connection that the different apps or streaming services are really just channels, and you change between them like you would change the channel.
Trouble is, due to hip/leg issues over the pandemic she spent less and less time sitting in her living room, where we had put the fancy TV! We kept offering to move it to the bedroom, but she insisted it stay where company could use it. What company? It was the pandemic! People are weird.
Agreed, and frankly, FNC should loose their right to broadcast on public airways. They abused that privilege with proven lies. And for heaven’s sake get them off military bases.
We dropped cable years ago, realizing we were watching the same few channels and paying for all manner of junk we never touched. We got Disney for the grandkids (and ME!), Netflix, etc., etc., and it doesn't cost half of what cable did. Better yet, when we find we aren't using a particular app, we unsub until something piques our interest and then sign on again. We keep the local paper (digital) for local news and digital subscriptions here on substack and a few other places. It's so darn convenient. (And Will? We're in our seventies ya little whippersnapper! so don't paint us with that "generational divide" brush of yours! JK, love your always on point comments here. Keep up the good work.
I kid my spouse that her smart phone is like a diode (engineering term, only passes current in one direction.) because she only uses it to call out. Has improved over time, she now checks the weather forecast. She does love her iPad.
My techie just laughs about my phone. I can call out. We had to buy me a real camera because I kept accidentally taking selfies. I did finally this week memorize my cell phone number after not knowing it for years. I forget to keep the thing charged. Not a techie and basically like on and off.
Finally - someone after my own heart! My son insists I have a cell phone so I put it in the car when I go somewhere - then put it back on the charger when I get home. I still have a landline (included in my cable) and IF I want to talk to someone - I do it at home in comfort - NOT in the middle of the grocery store etc! I guess that makes me an old fossil! Oh well....
I just celebrated my 80th, so I am definitely an old fossil. I like to have the phone when I am driving the car and by myself. Otherwise, it resides in the charger. We do not have a land line, but several phones that are all over the house for our home phone. Techie does not want to change because it would be a very large pain. I don't pretend to understand how all this stuff works. I don't like to talk on the phone anyway, so am happy to be unavailable most of the time.
This very senior person did it (me)....dropped cable to rid myself of fees that included Faux. To my surprise, I realized that I was rarely using cable anyway.... can easily stream everything
I never subscribed to cable to begin with. I stopped even watching Network TV in 1986. Not virtue so much as I just don't have time!
I watch a lot of news on YouTube and have found lots of really good stuff on Substack. I also get email newsletters from my favorite sources, and find YouTube sufficient when I decide yo check put a right wing video to see what they're up to.
Everyone I know who has cable has been complaining fir years that they can't get the programs they want and get stuck paying for a lot they don't want. So. Yeah! Cut the cable!
Yesterday I was once again blown away with credentials of many of you regular informative respondents here. Today I am made to feel an interloper. We are in our eighties, in fact my husband is in his late 80’s. We watch cable. This feels like saying, “I am an alcoholic.” It’s ridiculously expensive, but my husband is barely mobile and basically has three pleasures: reading, TV, and “his” computer ( a PC which is apparently different than my iPad or smartphone.) I frequently have to get him out of pickles with both the TV and computer. We get the L.A. Times daily, as we have for going on 61 years. I read this letter, usually at dawn, and read significant portions aloud or summarize for him. I go to library for both of us, especially when he wants something that has piqued his interest, usually historical. We watch favorite sports (although usually with book in hand or iPad.) My daughter and I watch Netflix or Prime when he’s faded for the evening. Again, I will launch my plea to have Fox removed, but it really is too much for us to get rid of cable. It is really, really difficult to keep up with the fast pace of technology. I’m really proud of what all I am able to do, but there is a limit. This does not keep me from being politically active! I have marched in almost every one here in Orange County since the appearance of T. I’ve canvassed for voters, written hundreds of postcards, mostly for Katie Porter, but a great many to voters in GA and PA. We are old but patriots. My husband a former Naval officer , and I a 20-year Selective Service board member and local chair. Quit with the words of aghast at our use of what is convenient and workable for us. We are current, informed, and active in our own way. As you can see, the comments this morning touched a button for me. Arrogance always does.
Sue, your stamina is inspiring! Thanks for everything you do! An interloper you most certainly are not. Young, old, black, white or purple, we are in this together! The use of media or tech is an insignificant portion of what makes someone an active citizen, obviously. Everyone knows what works for them. I personally just find how people get attached to things perplexing and humorous.
I plan on supporting Katie for Senate. Maybe we will run into each other at an event :-)
Thank you, Will, for kind response. Would be great to see you at Katie event, though I am limited to OC these days as long freeway drives unnerve me...this after commuting during college and my long teaching career.
Sue, you seem like a very active and involved 80-something. Kudos to you! I'm in my 80's as well and, yes, it seems as though inventions and revisions to things happen all around us, every day, and it can seem hard to keep up. But criticisms aside - you just keep doing you!
Yup - Will's comment touched a button for me too, but then stopped to think his comments are usually right on the nose - so maybe just different generation thing. I'm in your age bracket (just so you know) and also a big fan of Katie Porter so we do have much in common, as we do with many who "show up" here. There are more "with" us here than against us Sue. Maybe older but INFORMED!
I'm 80. I have DISH satellite service and have for years because of the variety of its programming, its reliability, and its usually excellent customer service. I prefer dealing with a single company to shopping around for streaming services and winding up paying perhaps almost as much as I pay DISH. I like being able to record programs and zip through commercials when I watch them. I do also have Netflix. Those are more than sufficient for me.
We've never had cable and for at least a decade have watched very little TV. Of course, we are also out of the loop with what the 'young people' are watching these days. Reading and listening are my speed--and I am grateful for LFAA for such an excellent gathering of information and its historical context. Thank you!
People who like DVDs, like me! Movie nuts! (My fellow cin-eh-mah nerds will insist you shell out for a 4K HD Blu-Ray, to which I say ain't nobody got time for that bougie nonsense.) You can buy one for a really low price now. Some are just little squares that can hook up to a desktop.
Now if only I knew what to do with that stack of family home videos...
Ha! I still have my old video player, DVD player and CD audio 5-disc carousel…don’t have a smart TV (or smart phone for that matter), tho’ do have still perfectly good flat screen TV (not ginormous cuz I don’t have the wall space & besides I’d be sitting too close, like the front row at a movie theatre). Part of switching things up is just inertia & the old getting ‘round to it’ problem.
Currently I am looking for a CD player as I gave away my old one years ago and now I am wanting to listen again to Great Courses. Checking out the thrift stores today.
I do, but the only video I put in there is my 20+ year old yoga DVDs, that are not found on YouTube. I’m glad I have it though because my TV is glitchy and doesn’t want to connect with Netflix via my wifi, but my blue ray dvd player will. And it will also connect to YouTube for qigong practice, which my Apple TV box won’t do anymore unless I replace it. I definitely need to upgrade many of my devices, and I will soon.
The really smart choice is to dump Comcast, Xfinity, Verizon, Direct TV, Dish and start reaching to real investigative journalists instead of infotainment channels selling confirmation bias.
We watch documentaries and films and it's the best way for us to do that. Cutting the cord is difficult when your wife loves TCM and I'm trying to stay current with productions like HBO's John Adams, or some of the Netflix offerings.
Or an Apple TV. I'm on my 2nd Apple TV. I technically had cable for 23 years while I lived in a condo in the Seattle area, because it came with the condo fee, but I hadn't used it since I got first a Roku, and then my first Apple TV. (Can't recall how long ago it was, but it's been close to 10 years, I think.) I am 73 years old.
Typically I'll wait to subscribe to a streaming channel until there are 2 or 3 shows I'd like to check out, and then I'll get it for a month or two. Right now there really isn't anything on anywhere, but I suspect I'll be re-subscribing to Showtime soon to see season two of Yellowjackets.
I watch a few news-related things via YouTube, but I primarily get my news online from various sources. The Guardian is my online "paper" of choice.
Even if it was taken off of streaming, Youtube very likely has a dozen channels catering to conservatives for Every " Ring of Fire " or David Pakman, even though I've not checked.
we can't "coral" all of it. There's too many portals now. The best leverage on Fox is probably through the biggest advertisers. Take away a few of them and that might get some results. We NEED to bring back the Fairness Doctrine for NEWS.
FOX isn't reliant on ad dollars. This is why ratings don't matter to them, even though they're constantly puffing out their chest and touting how good they are. FOX makes it money via the carriage fees they charge the cable MSO for pumping their signal into our homes. And they're currently negotiating with the cable companies to raise those fees which will be passed on to us, the cable subscribers. The only way to get rid of FOX on your cable is to get rid of cable. Cut the cord.
As far as the Fairness Doctrine, Reagan killed it in 1987. And it never applied to cable at the time. The Fairness Doctrine only applied to broadcast television because the signal is carried over the public airwaves at no charge to the viewer. The television stations (not the networks) require a license to broadcast and there are requirements that need to be met each time that license has to be renewed. Whereas for cable, the viewer must pay to receive the signal, no use of public airwaves required. No licensing. Cable was, and still is, largely unregulated.
Which is why you can find R-rated material on cable. You pay to have the signal delivered, so you have the ability to see, hear any type of material you'd like. Skinemax, anyone?
I 'cut the cord' about 10 years ago. PBS has an excellent website, as does CNN, MSNBC, and the 3 "major networks" - NBC, ABC, CBS. What I don't miss are the repetitive, mind curdling ads. Plus, I'm not wedded to a particular time to watch the news. I already pay for an internet hook-up, why pay for cable as well? A big caveat are the algorithms that feed us only what we want to see and hear, rather than whole content. That is one reason why I subscribe to LFAA.
Maria, thanks for the info. So if you want TCM, HBO, Netflix, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, PBS, BBC, Paramount & the broadcast networks...how do you accomplish that without including Fox ?
I'm sure others have posted but here is the SUPER EASY information you need to phone or message your cable company to demand they drop Fox as part of a standard package: https://www.nofoxfee.com/
Takes under a minute to really stick it to Fox where it hurts.
I'll do that too, will send to the Pres of Comcast, Michael J. Cavanaugh, 1701 JFK Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19103 mailing address, (866) 429-0152 phone; fax is 215-981-7790.
But not everywhere do dishes work. Something to consider : reading for some people is difficult & the visual information along with auditory input makes getting their information from tv easier. There should be a way to project onto a tv direct from the internet
There is. Connect your computer to your TV with an HDMI1 cable. I have a MacBookPro laptop and a 14-year-old Panasonic TV (58" screen was my indulgence for movie watching). It's not even a smart TV. (I don't want any Big Brother tuning into my living room.)
This is not a new battle, nor one that we can win. Movements like “nofoxfee” and “unfoxmybox”have been in existence for many years. They don’t work. Fox News is the most lucrative channel (not just news channel) on cable tv.* If you want to hurt cable providers, start a movement to cancel cable subscriptions.
* from IndieWire “Fox News Channel closed out its seventh straight year as the most-watched cable-TV channel in primetime (and in daytime, as well).”
Since Fox is now in the middle of renegotiating its cable fees in this time of turmoil, is there an opportunity for us to contact our cable companies and demand that fox channels not be part of the the standard cable packages? Cable companies could require subscribers to select and choose Fox separately. If Fox could be deprived of all the revenue it currently gets by default from every cable subscriber, we could strike a serious blow against this cesspool of lies.
I am all for this goal. But... dear lord, why don't y'all just DROP CABLE?!?!
There is clearly a generational divide here. I cannot understand why *anyone* is still subscribing to cable at all. Unless you are a sports junkie, there is no logical rationale to doing so. Almost everything is online now. Every major corporation has launched a streaming service, and you can subscribe to everything you could want to see, and do so on a monthly basis for less than cable. Absolutely no one I know in my age bracket ever watches actual television at all. Waiting for a show to begin at a certain hour is so antiquated, as is the idea of someone picking your programming lineup for you, period. It genuinely seems like gifting someone a smart phone and having them call the operator on it.
To anyone younger, Fox isn't a source of fear, it's a joke. "How many older relatives have YOU lost to Fox?" No one watches it, because no one watches cable. And no one watches cable because that is the dumb thing your great-aunt watches Fox on. Ew. Netflix and Chill FTW, amirite bae?
When it comes to arts & entertainment, every library should have a decent DVD selection. For FREE! If you want to learn facts in visual format, there is more on YouTube than you could ever get from Discovery Channel. For FREE! If you care about news, you should not even be watching news at all, you should be *reading* it. Subscribe to a newspaper of record plus maybe some independent newsletters, support real journalists for a fraction of the cost, and leave the talking heads out to dry!
You are getting a worse product, delivered to you less efficiently, at a higher price. Please, somebody here, help me. Make it make sense.
Drop cable?
I did in 1992. No time for trash.
Plus, I prefer to work, read, or do yard work over any time at all on TV.
I dropped tv many years ago. Don't own one. Don't miss it.
Likewise.
Yep, going on 5 years no TV…and happy!
I don't own a smart phone either. A flip phone works for me.
I don’t have a smart phone either…only got a cell ph years back to use while traveling out of state & rarely use it, but carry it with me in case of emergencies. I have a pre-paid plan for $5 month & I loved my old, very small, cell with a slide-out qwerty keyboard, so I could easily do the rare text msg. Well well well…when 5G came along I was told my old phone would not longer operate, I went into may carrier to get a new phone…they tried and tried to upsell me into a smart phone (they are WAY too big if all you want to do is make a call or send a text)—I kept asking will my $5 a month plan work with this phone? If not, I do not want it—why pay for something I’ll hardly use. Finally the guy went in the back & probably dug around at the bottom of some drawer and came out with a flip-phone. Jeez…I hate the thing…the size is right, but the features suck & I don’t bother even trying to send a text because it’s such a hassle type out (no qwerty on this phone). Have been searching the ‘net for alternatives & think I have come up with one that will work w/ my flip’s SIM card…fingers crossed!
Interesting. I did not either for years because it just seemed ridiculous to spend that kind of money for a trinket.
Then, my daughter punted off her iPhone 6 to me and said I was missing all of the family texts/communication now that they had gone off to college.
So, I started using it. She sends me all kinds of stuff, so, honestly, I don't mind it really.
I can see that. I am not against smart phones or tv's it's just where I ended up on the scale of using technology. Heck, I'm typing on a computer to you right now.
Nice talking to you again Mike. It had been a while.
Very good Barbara. You are, of course, welcome to help me with my yard work as well!
:-)
Glad to!
No cable for us either. I read my news and listen to podcast. And guess what, my life is free of commercials. 😁
We dropped cable back in 2012 when we were still in our 60s. Don't assume older people are the ones hooked on faux.
It is clear there is a generational divide in to regard to cable tv. And I’m on the “wrong” side of it. Allow me to offer a couple of points on the topic.
First, there is logic in your piece and it is well-written. However, the attitude that comes across is that of an extremely impatient teacher, explaining something for the third time. I can clearly hear the not so sotto voce, “They just don’t GET it!“. Let me assure you that many of us do get it and are still with cable. Also your riff in gifting somebody a cell phone is dripping with condescension. We are not dumb, at least those of us who contribute to Heather’s posts. We are quite sentient and maybe once in a while worth listening to. Had you dialed it back a bit, I might have read your piece a second time.
Secondly, there is a huge group of us who have cell phones and computers who still see worth in having cable. People develop routines as they mature and some of us build routines around certain shows. For myself, I learn some of what I pick up about the national scene from Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow. When the latter was on nightly, my wife and I enjoyed watching the two shows back to back, using a PVR to see them at a suitable time in the West Coast.
Which brings me to my third point. The options for streaming have proliferated so as to become equal in price to cable - or more. I subscribe to the NYT, two newsmagazines, and support Slate, Gaslit Nation, and Preet Bharara in podcasting. Very occasionally I will want to watch a show, but inevitably I’ll find that it is not on Netflix, the only other outlet I subscribe to. Trying to follow all the streaming services is like going down an endless rabbit hole.
Clearly the younger generation doesn’t see the point of cable tv. None of my four children have it. But in the end these are discretionary dollars. They e made a choice for rational reasons. My wife and I have made a separate choice.
Be patient. The end is nigh for cable. And while you’re waiting please don’t lecture us.
*Sigh* Here I was trying to add as much personality as I could muster before bed to my comment to make it as clear as possible the tone was supposed to be lighthearted, only to wake up and find I am apparently still an arrogant ageist "dripping with condescension" whose main goal was lecturing Eric on his status as an obsolete troglodyte lacking "sentience." Guess I'll have some serious soul-searching to do with my therapist this week. Geez. Can't win 'em all I guess.
Look, Eric, obviously how you spend your money and time is how you spend your money and time. If basic cable works for your wants and your pocketbook, have at it and God bless. My query at the end was genuine. I can't see the value in it from my angle. I'm under no illusions that is the only angle.
That said, all human beings enjoy routine, not just one who have "matured." Routine can often become calcified, and a change-up can become beneficial. If your routine involves Cooper and Maddow, no you will not find them on Netflix, but you will find them on a bevy of streaming bundles that cost somewhere in the range of what most folks pay for cable, with both an added element of convenience as well as more leeway in what other outlets you support. Which was, after all, the initial topic at hand here. And it doesn't take an "endless rabbit hole" to figure this out. It all pops up on Google right away. Oh, gosh, there I go dripping with condescension again. Mea maxima culpa.
Will,
It's all in the interpretation. And I sort of get Eric's response. Although I think you are being misinterpreted and have the best of intentions. Your sense of humor may be better received by some than others. Ha Ha Ha.
Here's my take. Most cable packages offer the "DVR" function. So you can watch Rachel or Anderson anytime you want. And to each his own.
Personally, I am one of the millions who hates Comcast ("Xfinity") with such a passion that there are no words for it. We switched to Fios (internet only) sometime ago. $50 a month for 300 mbps. Thrilled. Want live stupid TV? The ROKU app is adding free channels every week, it seems.
But again, to each his own. We don't watch ANY TV news or commentary. When we do tune in, we look at each other and just say "yup, I knew that, yes, I read that this morning, yup, thanks, next..." We are readers of news. By 10:00 am we both know everything to know. As to the opinionating on cable...meh. I have my own opinions and if I need new ones, I find them right here. And they are as relevant and cogent as anything on a large flat screen from people wearing too much makeup. 4K HDR backlit OLED screens are more revealing than I need. "Look at those wrinkles on him!"
Someday we should talk about the streaming channel scams. How many to watch and how many to pay for. Without vigilance, the total TV bill can easily meet or exceed the cost of cable. The good news is that we all have choices. You, me, Eric and everyone else. It just takes more energy and time to pick what's best for our homes. Oy.
Well said. The latest streaming kerfuffle is Amazon. Now, in addition to Prime there is Prime Video for which I pay "Prime" monthly fees and an additional fee for packaged items such as PBS Masterpiece. There are older movies available on Prime subscription, but newer movies are billed separately, i.e. Avatar the Way of Water is $20.00!! Every time arch capitalist Jeff Bezos goes up in his rocket ship I hope he stays there. Likewise for Elon Musk, but for different reasons.
I was giving everyone a day of grace until you showed up like a runaway freight train. Your style is a breathless pace which moves in paces. Your humor is unexpectedly funny. Your serious side does not escape one. One door you could have kicked open today was that of the constant. Change. Thank the species for the ability of youth to adjust to things hurtling their way. Those who won’t look cannot see. Don’t change a thing. My children didn’t hear a word I said and clearly they made their own beds well. Your voice is heard received and well accepted. Play on. I had a Republican horse a while back that didn’t look too good. Come to find out he was blind.
Will, try as hard as you might to make it seem this way, you are not a victim in this discussion. (Which, by the way, is a subtle tactic to turn the blame back on anyone who disagree).
You are simply, I would assume a younger person making a strong argument for streaming over cable. You write well and are easily able to make it seem like there is no other rational choice. But the effect of your verbal stickhandling in your first comment was to make it seem as if there is no other virtuous or rational choice. That was what I found objectionable.
I do not feel as if I am calcified. I am fully aware that Cooper and Maddow or not on Netflix. I used it only to note my chagrin that when interesting series come up, they are spread over a number of streaming options, which is several too many, as I “stream” content other than television, written in particular.
American capitalism always goes for broke. The marketplace does not operate efficiently. It takes a really informed and rational consumer to step outside the the excessive subdivision and wait for a degree of consolidation in the market. For now, I choose to wait and hope that happens. I ignore the streaming television opinions and use cable for a bit of news and a fair bit of hockey and baseball.
I think the consolidation may come. Fenway Sports Group is an example where this is happening. When there is sufficient consolidation, the days of cable will hit the wall hard.
It would be good to have this discussion face to face. I’ve had it with all of my kids separately and essentially they made your points (and a few more) respectfully. I suspect that, first impression excluded, any discussion with you would not be as irksome as this has been. You certainly have the writing chops. I’ll close here, and hope to have not offended you by the exchange. I am chagrined when I find things getting ad hominem, and I have certainly contributed enough of that today.
Eric, I assure you I don't think I am the victim in this discussion, nor am I offended. I don't think it is possible for there to be a victim in this discussion. It's a discussion. About cable, of all things. I agree this would likely have a different tenor if face-to-face. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised this comment of mine, of all things, has triggered so many responses.
I do not find anything "virtuous" about forgoing cable versus keeping it. (How odd would I be to assign a moral value to something like that?) I do stand by the view from my vantage point that there is little rational reason for *most* (not all) to hang onto a subscription, such that a concerted effort to use consumer leverage via cable to effect change in revenue seems baffling to me. I suppose my observation simply boils down to how most individual people don't watch anywhere near enough TV daily - of any variety - to have much use for everything that is provided on a cable package, so the idea of tailoring your viewing options makes infinitly more sense to me, if prices and technological infrastructure permit. Yet folks below have provided some reasons, so I got to learn something today, which is always nice.
P.S. Of course subscribing to every major streaming service would be massively expensive, which is why "churn" (customers cycling through options monthly) has quickly become a thing. Leave it to the suits to come up with even more new words for "those plebians finding ways to outwit our racket."
We just had this discussion about cable. We do watch a lot of college sports. My techie says it would be a huge hassle to change the internet, phone, etc. We also have several streaming services because we like Brit TV and foreign series. He doesn't feel like going through the hassle to change, so we still have cable. If it dies before we do, then I guess we won't.
Michele, I wonder if this streaming-centric proposal would work?
Provided that high speed internet is available, drop cable; get a Roku box like Bill Alstrom mentioned; add PBS on it, then add Britbox, which provides loads of content for any anglophile; layer on a VOIP service for phone like Vonage, Ooma or Ring Central. The initial setup will take a small adjustment but after that, you're cable free with lots of customization possible. My $.02.
Excellent comments.
In addition to lecturing, throw in pompous, pedantic, and petulant.
Just what one needs to convince someone.
Agreed. I'm already paying for an internet hook-up, why pay for cable too? I cut the cord about 10 years ago - WAY less obnoxious ads, WAY cheaper, and I don't support the likes of Faux News. I also use a Linux based OS, so viruses are not so big a problem either. Ciao!
I cut cable 30 years ago, when I figured what I was paying for was my now ex watching stuff the kids shouldn't see, and Disney wasn't worth that price. Yes I miss college football games I'd like to see. But the savings and reclaiming my choice is viewing is worth it.
And now you can get Disney through streaming. Mine's included with my cellphone plan. Yeah Hamilton and Lady and the Tramp.
What cell phone plan?
Although I no longer believe it is on offer, for a while Verizon partnered with Disney to give several months of the Disney Plus streaming channel free to consumers who signed up for the Verizon Super Unlimited Whatever Plan. Seems odd bedfellows to me, but my cousin and his family took advantage and were very pleased.
I was off cable for ten years and when I retired and downsized, I didn’t even hook up the TV. It was so LIBERATING! I streamed shows and news at my leisure (60 Minutes or SNL for Monday breakfast—what a treat!). Now that I live with my fiancé we have probably hundreds of channels available through Spectrum yet basically watch the same few programs. But he is a sports junkie, so we’re trapped. So i WILL call Spectrum and ask them to drop Fox.
We have Spectrum, too, and several years ago, we switched to a cable plan that provides access only to a handful of channels that WE selected. It made sense, since we don't watch much TV.
I would love to choose which channels to watch! Which cable plan service do you have?
Oops! I think I now understand that you have a plan through Spectrum that allows you to select channels of your choosing. I’ll check into this.
Rose, according to the bill, it's called TV Choice. I didn't know about it until I asked about a less expensive cable option. I don't think it's widely publicized.
THANKS, Ellen! I hadn’t heard of it
I have never had cable TV. Never saw a need for it. We watch PBS.
The very people who watch fox are the ones to re direct. If they are not watching fox , the radio has the same rants. My husband reads tractor manuals not books or sub stack. TV news is his source of info. We do not watch fox or other garbage. For many TV is how they wind down @ the end of the day. I realize how u get your information is personal choice & learning style but some of the comments reinforce perceptions of intellectual snobbery liberals are accused of.
Hey, there is nothing wrong with tractor manuals! Your husband has an impressive (to me!) set of skills via them. And yes, there can be a tone in some circles of "Oh, you DON'T subscribe to The Atlantic and The Economist? How do you evah stay aware?"
Personally, I am very pro-TV! At the end of day, or any other time! I guess I see cable specifically in economic terms, or holistic ones. If what you have works for you, then it works! But if you are paying for something you don't use much, or ending up paying for something you don't support, or could get the same product in a more convenient fashion for a similar price... why ever would you not?
Yours & the other comments made me think re alternative solutions. Living rural some of the urban advantages are not available & I am not geeky enough to understand all the stuff on the web besides trusting. The radio shack in town is run by someone offering a free gun to anyone who signs up for a cable service . MT does not have an Apple Store, the nearest is in Spokane or Boise ID. I have lived in the Bay Area & Seattle so moving to MT was & continues to be a cultural shock but also insight into a different view of the lay of the land. I am exploring alternatives to cable & hoping they will work.
I dont know where you live in MT but it definitely has a different lay of the land. And there is so much good there...........that it seems a waste to have all those Republicans in power.
You still have a Radio Shack? I think its been a while since they disappeared here - but on the other hand - doubt a free gun would be an option!
My son keeps my computer & TV (still have media center) functioning, and I still have basic cable - got rid of many channels a while ago, and then there is my ROKU - which is great. Hope my small cable company continues - I'm rural too.
Man after my heart. Recommend Steiner Tractor and Yesterday’s Tractor. So much to read so little time. (sigh)
He reads only for information so reading for pleasure is a very foreign concept to him. Why schools need to value all the different learning styles.
Well duh Carole . The names I threw out are for parts and maintenance videos. I was able to get the video for the complete tear down of my diesel JD3020 engine. Snap. Done. Pat on my back. Off to the hay wars.
Duh! I wish i knew more . The how of doing this!!
I guess I could ask a teenager...or a 9 years old.
Thank you Will of Cal
Well, I'm pretty tech incompetent, so not the right person to ask... But pretty much if you have a Smart TV, or one of those FireSticks, or are willing to use a computer as a TV, the sky is the limit (Yes, savvy family/friends are helpful, too.) We purchased my Grandma a Smart TV in her late 80s, and she got the hang of it! The key was helping her make the connection that the different apps or streaming services are really just channels, and you change between them like you would change the channel.
Trouble is, due to hip/leg issues over the pandemic she spent less and less time sitting in her living room, where we had put the fancy TV! We kept offering to move it to the bedroom, but she insisted it stay where company could use it. What company? It was the pandemic! People are weird.
Agreed, and frankly, FNC should loose their right to broadcast on public airways. They abused that privilege with proven lies. And for heaven’s sake get them off military bases.
We dropped cable years ago, realizing we were watching the same few channels and paying for all manner of junk we never touched. We got Disney for the grandkids (and ME!), Netflix, etc., etc., and it doesn't cost half of what cable did. Better yet, when we find we aren't using a particular app, we unsub until something piques our interest and then sign on again. We keep the local paper (digital) for local news and digital subscriptions here on substack and a few other places. It's so darn convenient. (And Will? We're in our seventies ya little whippersnapper! so don't paint us with that "generational divide" brush of yours! JK, love your always on point comments here. Keep up the good work.
“It genuinely seems like gifting someone a smart phone and having them call the operator on it.” What?? You can’t? 😃
I kid my spouse that her smart phone is like a diode (engineering term, only passes current in one direction.) because she only uses it to call out. Has improved over time, she now checks the weather forecast. She does love her iPad.
My techie just laughs about my phone. I can call out. We had to buy me a real camera because I kept accidentally taking selfies. I did finally this week memorize my cell phone number after not knowing it for years. I forget to keep the thing charged. Not a techie and basically like on and off.
Finally - someone after my own heart! My son insists I have a cell phone so I put it in the car when I go somewhere - then put it back on the charger when I get home. I still have a landline (included in my cable) and IF I want to talk to someone - I do it at home in comfort - NOT in the middle of the grocery store etc! I guess that makes me an old fossil! Oh well....
I just celebrated my 80th, so I am definitely an old fossil. I like to have the phone when I am driving the car and by myself. Otherwise, it resides in the charger. We do not have a land line, but several phones that are all over the house for our home phone. Techie does not want to change because it would be a very large pain. I don't pretend to understand how all this stuff works. I don't like to talk on the phone anyway, so am happy to be unavailable most of the time.
This very senior person did it (me)....dropped cable to rid myself of fees that included Faux. To my surprise, I realized that I was rarely using cable anyway.... can easily stream everything
I never subscribed to cable to begin with. I stopped even watching Network TV in 1986. Not virtue so much as I just don't have time!
I watch a lot of news on YouTube and have found lots of really good stuff on Substack. I also get email newsletters from my favorite sources, and find YouTube sufficient when I decide yo check put a right wing video to see what they're up to.
Everyone I know who has cable has been complaining fir years that they can't get the programs they want and get stuck paying for a lot they don't want. So. Yeah! Cut the cable!
Ahh, the arrogance of youth.
Yesterday I was once again blown away with credentials of many of you regular informative respondents here. Today I am made to feel an interloper. We are in our eighties, in fact my husband is in his late 80’s. We watch cable. This feels like saying, “I am an alcoholic.” It’s ridiculously expensive, but my husband is barely mobile and basically has three pleasures: reading, TV, and “his” computer ( a PC which is apparently different than my iPad or smartphone.) I frequently have to get him out of pickles with both the TV and computer. We get the L.A. Times daily, as we have for going on 61 years. I read this letter, usually at dawn, and read significant portions aloud or summarize for him. I go to library for both of us, especially when he wants something that has piqued his interest, usually historical. We watch favorite sports (although usually with book in hand or iPad.) My daughter and I watch Netflix or Prime when he’s faded for the evening. Again, I will launch my plea to have Fox removed, but it really is too much for us to get rid of cable. It is really, really difficult to keep up with the fast pace of technology. I’m really proud of what all I am able to do, but there is a limit. This does not keep me from being politically active! I have marched in almost every one here in Orange County since the appearance of T. I’ve canvassed for voters, written hundreds of postcards, mostly for Katie Porter, but a great many to voters in GA and PA. We are old but patriots. My husband a former Naval officer , and I a 20-year Selective Service board member and local chair. Quit with the words of aghast at our use of what is convenient and workable for us. We are current, informed, and active in our own way. As you can see, the comments this morning touched a button for me. Arrogance always does.
Sue, your stamina is inspiring! Thanks for everything you do! An interloper you most certainly are not. Young, old, black, white or purple, we are in this together! The use of media or tech is an insignificant portion of what makes someone an active citizen, obviously. Everyone knows what works for them. I personally just find how people get attached to things perplexing and humorous.
I plan on supporting Katie for Senate. Maybe we will run into each other at an event :-)
Thank you, Will, for kind response. Would be great to see you at Katie event, though I am limited to OC these days as long freeway drives unnerve me...this after commuting during college and my long teaching career.
Sue, you seem like a very active and involved 80-something. Kudos to you! I'm in my 80's as well and, yes, it seems as though inventions and revisions to things happen all around us, every day, and it can seem hard to keep up. But criticisms aside - you just keep doing you!
Yup - Will's comment touched a button for me too, but then stopped to think his comments are usually right on the nose - so maybe just different generation thing. I'm in your age bracket (just so you know) and also a big fan of Katie Porter so we do have much in common, as we do with many who "show up" here. There are more "with" us here than against us Sue. Maybe older but INFORMED!
I'm 80. I have DISH satellite service and have for years because of the variety of its programming, its reliability, and its usually excellent customer service. I prefer dealing with a single company to shopping around for streaming services and winding up paying perhaps almost as much as I pay DISH. I like being able to record programs and zip through commercials when I watch them. I do also have Netflix. Those are more than sufficient for me.
I'm also a "recorder and zip thru" Mim. Works for me
Here it is important to read your comment. Thanks.
We've never had cable and for at least a decade have watched very little TV. Of course, we are also out of the loop with what the 'young people' are watching these days. Reading and listening are my speed--and I am grateful for LFAA for such an excellent gathering of information and its historical context. Thank you!
I was with you until you mentioned getting DVDs from the library. Who still has a DVD player?
People who like DVDs, like me! Movie nuts! (My fellow cin-eh-mah nerds will insist you shell out for a 4K HD Blu-Ray, to which I say ain't nobody got time for that bougie nonsense.) You can buy one for a really low price now. Some are just little squares that can hook up to a desktop.
Now if only I knew what to do with that stack of family home videos...
Ha! I still have my old video player, DVD player and CD audio 5-disc carousel…don’t have a smart TV (or smart phone for that matter), tho’ do have still perfectly good flat screen TV (not ginormous cuz I don’t have the wall space & besides I’d be sitting too close, like the front row at a movie theatre). Part of switching things up is just inertia & the old getting ‘round to it’ problem.
Currently I am looking for a CD player as I gave away my old one years ago and now I am wanting to listen again to Great Courses. Checking out the thrift stores today.
I do, but the only video I put in there is my 20+ year old yoga DVDs, that are not found on YouTube. I’m glad I have it though because my TV is glitchy and doesn’t want to connect with Netflix via my wifi, but my blue ray dvd player will. And it will also connect to YouTube for qigong practice, which my Apple TV box won’t do anymore unless I replace it. I definitely need to upgrade many of my devices, and I will soon.
We were curious to see what Fox would broadcast in place of the ?ucker Carlson show. What we saw was a blank screen.
This national news station is off the air on Spectrum TV's feed in Midcoast Maine.
A satisfactory outcome.
Seriously a blank screen? Nothing broadcast in a one hour slot? Yikes! Great!
Maybe it was a local arts program doing a representation of the black hole Faux Noise created in our culture? Brava!
That is something we can do tomorrow call email local cable companies ditch fox I like it!
Actually we also want to contact Comcast, Xfinity, Verizon, Direct TV, Dish and other major carriers to make Fox a choice, not a we have to take it.
The really smart choice is to dump Comcast, Xfinity, Verizon, Direct TV, Dish and start reaching to real investigative journalists instead of infotainment channels selling confirmation bias.
about the only way to do that is Roku on TV...but I assume you're saying dump the TV for info...
That’s what we did.
Worked for me 35 years ago, and still does.
do you watch anything on TV ?
Nope.
We watch documentaries and films and it's the best way for us to do that. Cutting the cord is difficult when your wife loves TCM and I'm trying to stay current with productions like HBO's John Adams, or some of the Netflix offerings.
Are there any smart tvs so u can stream from the internet to the tv?
Yes of course. Just have to provide carrier and pwd. Can probably confirm using adverts by TV mfr.
What he said.
Or an Apple TV. I'm on my 2nd Apple TV. I technically had cable for 23 years while I lived in a condo in the Seattle area, because it came with the condo fee, but I hadn't used it since I got first a Roku, and then my first Apple TV. (Can't recall how long ago it was, but it's been close to 10 years, I think.) I am 73 years old.
Typically I'll wait to subscribe to a streaming channel until there are 2 or 3 shows I'd like to check out, and then I'll get it for a month or two. Right now there really isn't anything on anywhere, but I suspect I'll be re-subscribing to Showtime soon to see season two of Yellowjackets.
I watch a few news-related things via YouTube, but I primarily get my news online from various sources. The Guardian is my online "paper" of choice.
Check out "The Diplomat" on Netflix.
Like I said above, what about streaming ? & OAN, Truth Social, even though it's barely treading water.
Can’t imagine who would want to stream that puke, but Fox is on Roku…. Truth Social can just die, what tripe…
These people are troglodytic mutants who enjoy being gullible and possessing 4 or 5 working brain cells, 2 of which are on life support.
Try this link: https://www.nofoxfee.com/
THIS!
Good description: cesspool of lies!
Frischberg's "blizzard" taken to the dark side . . .
Cable, yes, but what about STREAMING ?
Even if it was taken off of streaming, Youtube very likely has a dozen channels catering to conservatives for Every " Ring of Fire " or David Pakman, even though I've not checked.
Yes you are right about streaming channels but where is the leverage?
Hmm - Give me time to think about that one then get back to you.
we can't "coral" all of it. There's too many portals now. The best leverage on Fox is probably through the biggest advertisers. Take away a few of them and that might get some results. We NEED to bring back the Fairness Doctrine for NEWS.
FOX isn't reliant on ad dollars. This is why ratings don't matter to them, even though they're constantly puffing out their chest and touting how good they are. FOX makes it money via the carriage fees they charge the cable MSO for pumping their signal into our homes. And they're currently negotiating with the cable companies to raise those fees which will be passed on to us, the cable subscribers. The only way to get rid of FOX on your cable is to get rid of cable. Cut the cord.
As far as the Fairness Doctrine, Reagan killed it in 1987. And it never applied to cable at the time. The Fairness Doctrine only applied to broadcast television because the signal is carried over the public airwaves at no charge to the viewer. The television stations (not the networks) require a license to broadcast and there are requirements that need to be met each time that license has to be renewed. Whereas for cable, the viewer must pay to receive the signal, no use of public airwaves required. No licensing. Cable was, and still is, largely unregulated.
Which is why you can find R-rated material on cable. You pay to have the signal delivered, so you have the ability to see, hear any type of material you'd like. Skinemax, anyone?
I 'cut the cord' about 10 years ago. PBS has an excellent website, as does CNN, MSNBC, and the 3 "major networks" - NBC, ABC, CBS. What I don't miss are the repetitive, mind curdling ads. Plus, I'm not wedded to a particular time to watch the news. I already pay for an internet hook-up, why pay for cable as well? A big caveat are the algorithms that feed us only what we want to see and hear, rather than whole content. That is one reason why I subscribe to LFAA.
Maria, thanks for the info. So if you want TCM, HBO, Netflix, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, PBS, BBC, Paramount & the broadcast networks...how do you accomplish that without including Fox ?
That makes sense - which means that it might happen, with a Pyrrhic victory.
Who are the advertisers?
Common Cause is fighting this. Just signed a petition with them against the Fox Fee.
I'm sure others have posted but here is the SUPER EASY information you need to phone or message your cable company to demand they drop Fox as part of a standard package: https://www.nofoxfee.com/
Takes under a minute to really stick it to Fox where it hurts.
THIS ^
Comcast # is regular CS # so it takes forever and I still couldn't talk to a person!
I did leave a message not to let Fox increase my bill and 2 of them seemed to work but I can't be sure!
Ugh. I used the messaging. Maybe a quick letter is faster, then.
I'll do that too, will send to the Pres of Comcast, Michael J. Cavanaugh, 1701 JFK Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19103 mailing address, (866) 429-0152 phone; fax is 215-981-7790.
Awesome!
Let's start a movement to leave ou cable companies. My friends with discs say it works fine.
What are discs?
I think Lan means dish. As in satellite dish.
Thx -- I'm very reluctantly sidling into 21st century technology, and figured that "discs" were just one more thing I didn't know about.
Hey, who knows? I am making an assumption.
Maybe Lan's friends spend all their time on Frisbee!
But not everywhere do dishes work. Something to consider : reading for some people is difficult & the visual information along with auditory input makes getting their information from tv easier. There should be a way to project onto a tv direct from the internet
There is. Connect your computer to your TV with an HDMI1 cable. I have a MacBookPro laptop and a 14-year-old Panasonic TV (58" screen was my indulgence for movie watching). It's not even a smart TV. (I don't want any Big Brother tuning into my living room.)
Charles, In a word, no, not a chance. Cable companies like making money. Fox is the biggest cable news channel. Fox has the leverage in this deal.
Every significant battle looks impossible at the start. Let’s begin, anyway. Here is your start. HTTPS://www.NoFoxFee.com
Indeed!
Worth the listen for the boost it gives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qthe5AGEdto
This is not a new battle, nor one that we can win. Movements like “nofoxfee” and “unfoxmybox”have been in existence for many years. They don’t work. Fox News is the most lucrative channel (not just news channel) on cable tv.* If you want to hurt cable providers, start a movement to cancel cable subscriptions.
* from IndieWire “Fox News Channel closed out its seventh straight year as the most-watched cable-TV channel in primetime (and in daytime, as well).”