Rant: Too Many Commercials on Subscription Cable, Satellite, etc!

June 8, 2015

HERE's MY RANT: When cable TV first came out, cable-only channels didn't have commercials because we (the public) were paying subscribers. Now, it's seems like 20% of an hour long Cable-Only TV show is commercials! And, I'm paying Direct-TV over $80 a month just for a lower level package with no movie channels. The price goes up every year and the length/frequency of commercial breaks are increasing!

Time to start looking for alternatives. Something like a "pay only for what you watch" service would be good for me. I watch TV less than 2 hours a day. Just news and certain sports broadcasts.

CareWeMust (Chicago)

Cut the cord.
Read a book.
Go hiking. . . (I really just told you to take a hike!) :-)

a reply to: carewemust

We're near Chicago and we rant about our tv options every day. right now we are riding out our contract with xfinity..BIG JOKE..No idea what we're gonna do next

Yeah, I noticed, too. When I want to watch something, I log into Netflix (just figured out the wonder of Netflix not too long ago. I'm so late to the party) If it's not there, I'll try Hulu's free end, or see if someone's uploaded it to YT.

Now the catch is getting Comcast to either axe our cable side of the bill entirely (cable & internet bundle) or just drop us down to local channels only. TV fricking sucks anymore between bad writing & endless commercials, what a waste of nifty tech.

a reply to: carewemust

No matter pay per view, dish, cable...even as a subscriber...and even for 15 minutes a day...youre going to get commercials. You are paying for the ACCESS to certain stations others cant get or afford...but commercials come with that privilege.

Your subscribing to something and thats just great for the companies...theyre laughing and rubbing their hands together with glee...as you switch them on. Big money-no restrictions-and you pay FOR a subscription to a favorite channel....and they sell your viewing space for commercials.....

One word.....Kodi.

Look it up.

originally posted by: Gunsmoke38
One word.....Kodi.

Look it up.

that looks very interesting, I am going to check that out.

a reply to: jackjoedoe

You won't regret it.

A few things need to be done after installation, should take about 5-10 mins.

Tutorials are available on Youtube. Just type Kodi in the search.

a reply to: Gunsmoke38

Ahh.. KODI looks intriguing. Thank-you Gunsmoke38!!
-cwm

a reply to: carewemust

You're very welcome.

You keep paying, they'll keep playing.

Turn it off and save some money.

a reply to: carewemust

Probably not what you want to hear but you will get used to this once you do it....turn it off. I have been TV free for quite some time and have done it several times in my life. The only time I ever get a tv is when I start to date a girl who needs one. If you have the internet you can get almost anything you want for free. Most tv shows are free on their website a day or two after the live airing. Youtube and other websites stream old movies for free.

Once you ditch the tv you notice youll be more interested in reading and other things. Pick up a guitar for cheap or some other hobby.

It is to the point now that if I am visiting a friend and they turn on the tv I just assume the conversation is over. Their attention is divided and I don't want to repeat myself over the tv. The fact is cable is dying. Everything is going online. They are just trying to milk out those last pennies. If they don't come up with something good soon I dont see them existing in 20 years (the cable portion). The next generation is so computer savvy they will laugh at us for paying for cable.

a reply to: carewemust

Get a Netflix or Hulu subscription. Or do what I did. Take up playing an instrument and practice during the commercial breaks.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

except that Hulu is strong with commercials. I remember Hulu used to show a quick ad, then move on. Then it was an ad every 15 minutes. Then worse...over and over

a reply to: carewemust

I haven't seen a commercial in years. lol Do you have a DVR? Record your show, watch at your leisure, then fast forward through commercials. Also, a streaming service like Roku with multiple channels (Netflix, amazon, HBO go, etc.) that are all commercial-free.

a reply to: KyoZero

Didn't know that. I've never had a Hulu account. I would have thought the commercials were only if you didn't pay for a subscription. I've had a Netflix account though.

Then again, you could always fall back on my first suggestion Learning to play an instrument is FAR more fulfilling than watching commercials. Heck, it's gotten to the point where I'll just have the tv on and I'll play constantly ignoring what's on, only to look up periodically to see a joke or something occur, then right back to playing after resting my hand for a second.

Been playing the mandolin for half a year now and thinking about leaning to play a Dobro after a year or so.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

no doubt. Most of my recent time has been books. But yeah I too would have thought Hulu would have been commercial free since we pay but if you watched over a two year period, you could see with a keen enough observation that they were subtly increasing the commercial time in each show. Now it's basically like watching cable. You get a choice of having regular interrupting commercials or watching one 5 minutes commercial in the beginning.