7
votes
Comcast introduces NOW TV as a cable alternative
Link information
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- Title
- Comcast Introduces NOW TV: A $20 Entertainment Option With 60+ Streaming and FAST Channels, Plus Peacock Premium
- Published
- May 23 2023
- Word count
- 558 words
Tell me cord cutting is a thing without telling me cord cutting is a thing.
I honestly don’t understand why companies keep trying to reintroduce live TV services. The things they broadcast are not live; they’re mostly recordings. When cable was still the only way to watch TV people bought DVRs so they could skip ads and watch their shows when they wanted.
I will say, I do somewhat miss having a small curated list of programs with a clear "It's done by 4:30". Mostly for kids.
Most streaming services autoplay, with no clear way to disable. They have triggered multiple tantrums courtesy of me being 30 seconds late to stop playback.
I've worked around this by pirating and generating a series of 3-show playlists. I'm surprised there isn't more tooling like this built into stuff like Kodi and Jellyfin.
The downside to this is my kid knows Phineas and Ferb and the old Legend of Zelda show, while their friends prattle on about whatever the newest show is.
You can't be blamed for the tragic lack of Phineas and Ferb in the lives of other people's kids!
Oh trust me. I'm debating the pros and cons of forcing my child to hand out USB keys with the whole shebang.
When my kid is old enough for this to be an issue I've been considering just using an iPad as his TV and using the screen-time/parental control features to hard lock him out after bedtime.
My buddy maintains a Plex server with a sub account for his kids with all the recent shows on it. I can just run with that.
I still enjoy live TV. There's something very soothing about limited choice, and I'll watch things I wouldn't otherwise.
It's kind of funny, there's people who desire limited choices, and those who want as much variety as possible. And not just their TV viewing. You know how people hate that no single streaming service carries all of the shows they want to watch?
That's me with supermarkets. I have one specific ice cream I love, one specific microwave breakfast option, and one specific cheese. I have to go to three different supermarket chains to get that, because the majority of shoppers, as it turns out, want limited variety. They did a study, and choice paralysis while shopping is the consumer's largest complaint (following price, naturally.)
Was this a thread aside? Yes, but I saw an opening and dove at it. I do want to add, on-topic, that I grew up in the "three VHF channel" days, and I would not go back for anything. I love the amount of choice I've got. I'm on the fence about shows releasing weekly vs binging them. Weekly release is good for avoiding spoilers as much as possible though.
I most certainly prefer choice over no choice. But sometimes my partner is watching something on over the air TV and I come along, and it's kinda cool that we're both glued to the TV without the pressure of all the other things we might be watching. How else will I (re)discover dubbed crappy/wonderful 2000 action movies, or have a reason to watch shitty obscure reality shows?
I have to admit, I haven't been a TV skimmer since my 20s. For a while I was a Twitch skimmer, but even then, I've always enjoyed quiet to something to just keep the brain gremlins at bay. Neither way is better, but the difference will change how and why you watch what you watch.
I feel choice paralysis, especially when said choice is mostly-trivial (IE I don't need 20 different types of ketchup to choose from). I totally get the problem of having a preferred thing...and thats where a local grocer can help. Smaller-scale, non-chain stores will often stock stuff for you if you ask, especially if you're a regular. One small-scale store near me costs more, but they also don't carry any off brand items where it matters. Or all the arbitrary sizes of brand items for that matter. You don't need the Family Box of Cracker. You just buy 2 boxes.
I joined in Game of Thrones halfway through airing, thus I binged the first half.
I enjoyed the second half of my watching (well till that last season) way more, and I think it was in no small part the anticipation of waiting for the next episode, having the break in between to digest and discuss it.
I've noticed that binge watching Doctor Who is less fun in that same manner.
With limited time, even big season drops at once we're spreading out at least a few days between...and that is more fun than just binging the whole thing in 48 hours.
I also don't need 20 different ketchups... but as someone who eats sugar free as much as possible, I'd love more than two or three good sugar-free jellies for my PBJ needs.
I can sort of understand this (I remember spending a bunch of time in my youth practically vegging out to PBS Create, GSN, and HGN), but the thing I'm still not understanding is why you'd spend so much money on it. YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV both cost around $70/mo, and while this new service is only $20/mo, it's only available to Comcast's Xfinity internet customers. And with any of these options the companies double-dip with both your subscription fee plus the money they make from advertising.
Sorry, I didn't express myself well given the context. I do not pay for cable. I'm talking about over-the-air TV.
I wish Steve Jobs (personal flaws aside) were alive to use Apple's insane market power to create some kind of UX-sane market for TV.
The phrase "more than 5,000 hours of live sports" is really funny to me. Like how is that measured? 5000 live hours per year? Per week? To date? How can you use a fixed length of time to describe how much live programming you have?