You might be familiar with the Bruce Springsteen lyric, "Fifty-seven channels and nothing on." You might have even said it.
Every time I think about getting digital cable, I consider how many channels I don't watch on television as it is. And then forget about spending the extra money. (I also still have a VCR and use video tapes instead of a DVR, which makes me something of a dinosaur as well as a limited TV-watcher.) I get the news and sports I want as it is.
In fact, it's fun to go through the list of channels and figure out what stations I never, ever watch -- stations that could go away without a peep from me. I'm not saying they all are without merit, as they fill a variety of niches. It's a matter of personal preference. Let's see ...
MyTV and CW: My wife would miss the 10 o'clock version of the local news, though.
QVC, HSN, Shop NBC: Don't shop on TV.
CTVTO: It's often blacked out locally on cable because of duplication the programming of Buffalo stations.
Discovery: Once in a great while, it shows a special like "Blue Planet." Otherwise, every time I visit the channel there's a picture taken from the front of a taxicab.
Ion: There must be some rhyme or reason to its show lineup.
WNYB/EWTN: God probably will get me, Walter, for not watching.
Lifetime, Hallmark: At least the TV movies keep actresses like Meredith Baxter Birney employed.
Nik, Animal Planet, Toon, Disney: Sorry, no kids in the house.
Syfy: A Twilight Zone episode might make stop dial-hopping for a minute.
BET, Food, Style, Oxygen, HGTV, TLC: Never seen anything that kept me interested for more than a split-second. I'm still wondering how Jon and Kate became so well-known while appearing on TLC.
Univision, Telemundo: My high school Spanish does me little good here.
Spike TV: I'm just not tough enough.
CMT: No thanks.
A&E: This used to be interesting, but it's now just re-runs of network shows -- mostly on crime.
CNN Headline News: If I'm careful, I can avoid Nancy Grace.
TruTV: What happened to Court TV anyway?
History: For a guy who loves history, this rarely has anything watchable.
USA: Ah, no.
MTV, VH1: Where did the music videos go?
E!: Lowest common denominator at its finest.
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1 comment:
You don't watch them, yet you are forced to pay for them, because, I believe, of collusion on the parts of the cable and sattelite networks. How else do you explain that none of them has taken the competitive marketing advantage that selling cable tv ala carte would offer. As both a hockey and soccer fan, I am forced to pay for a bunch of crap like what you describe just so I can get FSN and VS to enjoy my favorite sports.
BASTERTDS!!!!!
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