How many channels are enough?

I read somewhere that companies were thinking of going towards this sort of packaging but for whatever reason they decided against it. I would like the idea and it seems like it would be the best way to run things, but that is probably why the cable companies decided against it, lol.

 

It's always like this. You can never choose your own channels or getting only the channels you want to watch. It's their way of marketing. If it was the other way, good channels would get chosen but the less entertaining ones won't get much attention.

 

I purchased a satelitte dish about 4 years ago and I received free TV and movies. I was able to ge the local channels and a few cable movie channels. This was fine for me as I was able to watch the news & financial channels and the local news. My kids did wanted more channels so I told them feel free to upgrade and pay for the service if you like. They have paid for one year of Sky service and they are never here to watch it. I really do not need a whole lot of channels. Give me the news and a few other local channels and I am fine. I do not watch TV much.

 

I agree with your proposal. I think the choice of channels that make the cable companies are really ridiculous. They believe that the amount is synonymous with quality, and we know not. With the advance of technology and digital television, each user should choose the channels you want to see and only pay for them. Otherwise, we see support channels "fill" the only thing they do is extend the zapping. I don't know if there will be a company that offers personalized service, but I think it would be an interesting market proposal. In my case, with 40 television channels would be comfortable enough.

 

Unfortunately, most providers don't want to do that because they know that they won't get nearly as much money out of you as they'd like. They know that certain channels will get all the viewers, while MANY will just die out if they do that

 

The best way to save money on television is to get rid of it! There's really no reason anybody needs all those channels. The local library has a selection of DVD movies that cost nothing to rent.

 

Pocs,

I agree. We should be able to just pick the channels that we want. $1 per month per channel. I would signup for that.

 

Who wants to go to the library every day for some old, scratched up movies? I like watching tv and I would much rather be able to turn on the TV and watch sports, the news, and my favorite shows without some massive cable company telling me I need 480 channels for only $50 a month. I would rather give $25 and enjoy the channels I like.

 

I'm not a fan of tv fees myself, but you're if you think most people will be able to manage with just DVD's daily like that.

 

We only have about 140 channels, and I would consider that plenty. More than plenty, in fact. I could get rid of some of them, but with the package we have, it's not an option.

 

This is why I don't bother paying for cable. I agree with LiquidatorBrunt, if you need movies you can get them for free at your local library. They've got better selections than those Redbox machines anyways. Personally, I just stay subscribed to NetFlix and if I feel the need to watch TV, I just hook my laptop up to my TV and watch something off NetFlix. It makes a lot more sense and it saves money. I don't understand why anyone would want to pay for hundreds and hundreds of channels that they have no interest in watching.

 

Like I said, I don't like cable/satellite and their fees either. But you guys are talking like people ONLY watch movies on tv. What about sports? What about news? What about the latest tv shows? And no, Netflix getting episodes late isn't the same thing.

You see, certain things like those have to be rectified first.

 

The big channels that you say you don't want, will cover the costs to carry the niche channels that you say that you want. It's a balance to most of those packages and a rationale to how they are set up.

The hassle that would occur with X amount of people only buying channels a la carte, but suddenly a new show on a channel that you don't have popping up and you having to add that channel would be ridiculous.

The prices would be higher because the labor costs would be more. Yes, it's a matter of hitting a button on a computer to turn on a channel, but they would have to increase the labor force in the call center to quickly answer that influx of calls to get that new channel.

Also, those small channels that you and alllllll of your friends watch could very well be limited to you and all of your friends, so if enough people across the board do not get that channel, they aren't going to carry it. There is a contract that they would have to pay for each and every channel under what you are proposing and no company will continue have contract talks with each and every channel.

Not to mention, a lot of these companies have major chunks of channels and that goes into their negotiation process. If you want this big channel, you have to carry these little channels on this package and all of these other ones. Basically, the a la carte system wouldn't really work.

 

Oh I would too! Ive gotten away from cable and satellite because even with 500 channels there was never anything on! I do miss a few channels and would gladly pay for the few favorites and maybe premiums like HBO or Showtime. Honestly though, It ended up just being frustrating having to scroll through hundreds of channels of junk just to find one piece of quality content.

I have recently switched over to a

Log In

. It streams online content right to your TV! It is a one time cost as little as $50 so it has really paid for itself in the first month. I do also subscribe to Amazon Prime and have access to thousands of free streaming movies and tv shows. The cost for a Prime membership is $79 per year(it includes free prime shipping and some kindle books as well but IMO the streaming content is way worth the annual cost). Prime works out to be cheaper than Netflix and they both have very similar content.

 

I would like to choose my own channels because it won't be as many as the cable/satellite company suggests. I don't watch a lot of TV as it is, so I would see the need to have all those channels. It's really just a waste of money because how often are you looking at channels in other languages? Unless you speak those languages those channels are not being watched. The cable/satellite company should let you replace those useless channels, and replace them with something fit to your liking.

 

I don't watch many channels. I love the history and documentary channels. I am also in love with science channels. I almost never watch the news anymore because it rarely has any news on it. Its more like reality and entertainment crap. I never watch sports. I also prefer to download and watch my movies. I have too many kids and trying to watch a movie on TV is nearly impossible with all the interuptions.

 

None.

Go online and stream your channels for free. To be honest, this is really the best way to go about things if you want to save your bills for something more useful. But if channels are definitely your thing, choose a plan with enough channels to keep you adequately entertained. Buying those offers with 400+ channels is useless and wasteful... you will never need that many!

 

I just have basic cable. I'm not sure how many channels that includes. I only watch three channels really. When I able to purchase a separate monitor, I will just do streaming.

 

I agree. When I was young there were only few channels, and each had very different and fresh programming content but now most of the channels show the same thing.
Most of our time is gone hunting the right show. Kids are badly affected as they have a huge choice of seeing rubbish.