My Ads, I Paid For Those! - Repost

While we're on the subject of cable TV, here is an old post about my cable that still applies!


Okay, first off this isn't about Unions or 527's buying ads attacking our President, and I am sure you can figure out that I think a Union using member dues to buy ads is a complete farce! They have completely distorted the purpose they were founded for and have become parasites that exist only to grow larger - but I am sure I will write more on that later. And the 527's, well they had to have a law didn't they! (As an aside - American's are great at finding the loopholes aren't we.)

No, what I am talking about now are the commercials for Cable TV. I don't know about where you’re at, but here we get 8 to 12 commercials an hour for Cable TV, Cable Internet, or Digital Cable. One of them even says Cable Internet will do for the Internet what Cable TV did for watching TV. I hope not (full disclosure, I have cable Internet - love it, but not happy about the price!) That is all I need, infomercials all day, tons of stuff I don't want, and more advertisements for the stuff I can't get unless I am willing to pay more.

They advertise extra special channels coming soon.......OH COOL.......on digital....OH CRAP... but nothing for me. Oh sure, they added golf, home, women’s....but nothing I really really want. Being in a smaller market I have 65 choices of stuff I don't want. Why, because they have packaged these together to appeal to such a broad market that there is no way they can appeal to anyone. At least when we only received 3, and then later 4 broadcast channels they had stuff on that we watched - it might have been crap, but it was the only crap on. With more choices we have more crap.

Congress is supposed to be working on this, coming up with an ability to choose the channels you want and pay only for those you choose - but of course the Cable Company says the price will go up and then something will be on a channel one time and you will probably have to pay for 6 months worth or something foolish like that.

Why do I complain? I know I paid for those ads! How do I know? My rates keep growing at almost the same pace as the number of those ads. And I really wonder if they really help or if more people are like me, becoming more and more irritated with the Cable Company each and every time I see them?

I know the economics with the cable companies losing business to the only competition - the dishes - they need to keep reminding you all Cable gives you. But couldn't they sell half that time and cut my rates? Or better yet sell half that time and give me some of those extra special channels they keep trying to tempt me with in those ads.

Seriously though, if they don't give me a true choices soon I am going to start looking at alternatives, and it won't be Digital Cable - at least not as long as they are running all of these commercials.
DKK