story on the future of television, networks are counting in part on this kind of on-demand revenue to make up for any advertising revenue that migrates away from television and to the online world and other mediums. To promote their offerings, networks are now making some shows available for free on the Internet, allowing viewers to store dozens of programs on their DVRs and TiVos and, as the CBS announcement shows, they're looking into offering more programs than ever via on demand. All that may change, and sure, we have to pay for some of these snazzy new developments.
And who knows, maybe in five years we'll be paying more money (via the bills we pay for our cable, satellite or Internet connections) to get fewer good shows. But right now, the options for viewers are expanding. It's a good time to be a TV lover.
According to this story, NBC will offer on-demand viewing to DirecTV subscribers who get the satellite firm's new DVR. in Survivor, TV tech/cable/satellite, The Amazing Race | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) reports on a new TV toy offered by Time Warner cable called Start Over, which will allow viewers to go back to the beginning of any NBC show that is on the air. Say you turn your TV on just as Law Order is about to end; you can press a button and see it from the very first seconds of the show.
While it sounds cool, Start Over, which launches on the Time Warner system in Columbia, S.C., soon, has a few catches: according to USA Today, viewers can pause and rewind the show — but can't fast-forward through commercials and those with Time Warner DVRs can't record the shows once they've gone back to the beginning.
The biggest catch is that the whole deal is part of Time Warner's digital service, so it'll cost $10 more per month to use Start Over. I'll stick to my TiVo, thanks. in TV tech/cable/satellite | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) situation (last week Comcast dumped Sci Fi Channel from its basic-cable lineup in Chicago), this time from reader Debi Rajczyk of Schaumburg, who e-mailed me Friday: If Comcast thought most people wouldn't notice the change [in its basic-cable channel lineup], then why did I return home to a recorded message from Comcast informing me that Sci Fi was moving and suggesting I sign up for digital?
I've never received that kind of notice before. There was also a note on my bill urging me [to] sign up for digital if I wanted to 'continue to enjoy my favorite Sci-Fi shows.' Clearly a strong-arm tactic by Comcast.
As for [Comcast] not hearing any complaints [from customers]? Well, I complained with my pocketbook and canceled my Comcast cable. By the way, I'm continuing to enjoy my favorite Sci Fi shows with a service that has more features for less money.
in House, Reality TV, TV grab bag, TV tech/cable/satellite | Permalink | TrackBack (0) review of Current TV from an e-mail correspondent who says he or she works at the new cable channel: I'm about your age [39]. Lots of youngsters running around with cool haircuts out of 1972. Your article nailed it on the head.
But I need a job, so I guess I'll stay there for a while. By the way, lots of ex-TechTV people [are working] there. And I really think [Current programming director] David Neuman is the force driving the look and feel.
I give it a couple years, maybe even as long as [the now-defunct] TechTV! On my Christmas list: The new, not-yet-on-the-market-but-made-for-a-geek-like-me cell phones designed to look like communicators from Star Trek. HBO announced that the network will produce 20 episodes for the sixth season of The Sopranos, instead of the originally scheduled 12.
Reports say the sixth season may be split up and aired in two different chunks. Why not just call the second bunch of episodes the seventh season? So many cable channels split up seasons now; frankly, I just don't understand what constitutes a cable season anymore.
Lucy Lawless' appears on Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica Sept. In the episode, `Final Cut,' Lucy plays a filmmaker sent to Galactica to document life aboard the ship. And for the first time ever, the actress uses her native New Zealand accent on film, according to Sci Fi.
Speaking of Sci Fi, reader LaRonika Thomas of Chicago sent me the following missive (it was one of dozens I got this week from readers upset about Comcast's decision to drop Sci Fi from its basic cable lineup): When I called the 800-COMCAST line and got a person I was told that I needed to call Sci Fi to complain, because it was their decision to move and that RCN would also be moving Sci Fi to its digital service because Sci Fi wanted to be an all-digital service. Any knowledge if this is true? This is not true.
A source at Sci Fi said the channel did not ask to be removed from any basic cable lineup. A Comcast spokeswoman said that what the customer service rep told Thomas was misinformation. Thomas e-mailed me later in the week with another update: I just got off the phone with an RCN representative who said that they also had not heard about a request from the Sci Fi Channel and that at RCN, [Sci Fi] is still on their cable service with no plans to change.
Thanks much to the four kind readers who pointed out that CBS has always announced the cast of Survivor well before the premiere of each season. I don't know what prompted the brain seizure that caused me to state earlier this week that the network usually didn't announce Survivor casts ahead of time. I'm so grateful nobody used the phrase you idiot when they gently pointed out that I was egregiously wrong.
I even remembered the next day that CBS does announce casts ahead of time. But I'll risk one more thought on Survivor : Thursday's cast announcement is interesting more for what it doesn't say than what it does say. The release announces the names of 16 castaways, but seems to be worded to imply that more developments -- and possibly people -- may turn up in Guatemala.
America's Next Top Model fans, do not miss this interview with ex- Top Model judge Janice Dickinson. A note from reader Howard Lapin of Ft. Wayne, Ind.
: Have the network muckety-mucks decided that we just don't get enough Boston? `Boston Commons,' `Boston Public,' now `Boston Legal.' And don't forget `Ally McBeal' was in Boston.
Is Boston that much more interesting than, let's say, Philadelphia or (perish the thought) a town in the Midwest? The one thing I have learned from all of these TV shows is that I really don't ever want to rent an apartment, attend high school or require legal services of any kind in Boston. `Boston Commons' wasn't funny, `Boston Public' had a shooting or student affair every week .
...
. and between Denny Crane and Richard Fish, it's only a matter of time before your lawyer shows up to a deposition in his underpants or starts singing in the courtroom. I suppose I'll take the good old boring Midwest, even if we don't have any shows that showcase our beautiful cities.
in General television, TV grab bag, TV tech/cable/satellite | Permalink | TrackBack (0) story on the future of television, networks are counting in part on this kind of on-demand revenue to make up for any advertising revenue that migrates away from television and to the online world and other mediums.
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