Posted at my 24/7 blog at GO386.com:
‘So Fox decreed that they should be paid more for their programming based on the innovative business model “We Want More Money For The Same Product Because We’re Pretty Sure We Can Make You Do It.”And Time-Warner (and locally, their Bright House partner or affiliate or henchman or whatever the relationship is) is resisting, based on their own tried and true business model, “We Ain’t Paying You Jack.”
Meanwhile, millions of affected customers are fearfully watching the two monsters battle, crushing buildings in their wake, with only one terrified thought: “Am I going to miss the Sugar Bowl because of these idiots?”
In a nutshell, Fox wants money for its previously free programming. Time-Warner (and locally their partner Bright House) doesn’t want to pay. Both mega-companies have been flooding the local airwaves, TV and newspapers with ads claiming the people are on their side and demand that the other party to back down.
Personally, I’m not too bothered by the Fox/Time Warner smackdown and wouldn’t be affected if Fox disappeared from my TV. I’m not a football fan, most of their programming actively bothers me, and I can watch the last episodes of Dollhouse on Fox.com, Hulu.com, or get ’em from iTunes a day later. Worst case scenario, I have to wait til summer and buy the DVD set. That’s about it for me and Fox-owned shows these days, although I have plenty of friends who would miss Glee and Fringe. (Note that FOX News would not be affected, dammit)
But hey, guys? The people are not on your side. Honest. We distrust both of you more or less equally. We know that you are not providing us with entertainment out of the goodness of your hearts, and that you need to stay profitable to do what you do. However you work that out is fine by us, but we know already that no matter what happens, our rates will go up. We are not your friends or your grassroots army. Please stop trying to rally us as a way to bully the other guy. Just work it out, let us know what the hike will be and let’s move on with our lives.
Be sure to read the rest of my column, which suggests ways to make do without Fox. It’s surprisingly easy, something both companies might want to think about.
SO, you’re saying that reality shows would also be affected? Shows like ‘Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire’?
I fail to see the downside to this, really. ‘SImpsons’ is past its prime: ‘Family GUy’ and its ilk never HAD a prime, ’24’ is glorified torture porn, and reality shows are one step below ‘I Love Lucy’ in terms of willful stupidity (although ‘Lucy’ had some genuinely funny moments)
No, I can’t really say that I’d miss Fox all that much. Now, if only they could do the same with ‘Nancy Grace’, the airwaves might move from ‘pants-on-head retarded’ to ‘trainable’
I’ve been FOX-free since their willfully-shabby treatment of Firefly, and I was bitter about FOX in general since about the time they cancelled Brisco County Jr. after one season. Now that the local affiliate doesn’t air Stargate SG-1 reruns (and I have all the DVDs anyway), we usually take the channel out of the TV programming, along with all the shopping channels and other dreck. Makes channel-surfing a lot faster.
The only thing FOX has now that’s even halfway worth watching is House, and that seems to turn up over on USA after a while. And after watching a few dozen, I mostly watch to see Hugh Laurie do an American accent and see who the guest-patient of the week is.