# I had forgotten how bad cable TV is (US) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135 "2021-08-06T01:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/1 "2021-08-06T01:20:21Z")
Now, don’t get me wrong . . . it’s _mildly entertaining_, but it’s just terrible. I “cut the cord” years ago, and watch either over-the-air HDTV, or stream. Right now, I’m on business travel, killing time watching a channel that has “Travel” in it’s title, but appears to be nothing but ghosts/UFOs/etc. Right now it’s a show called “Paranormal on Camera,” seemingly an hour-long mashup of shaky, cellphone videos of ‘orb ghosts,’ and lights in the sky. Think a spooky version of “America’s ~~Funniest~~ Home Videos,” with lots of prepositions of “_could_ be a ghost” or “_might_ be a werewolf.” I reckoned that a ‘Travel’ channel would have more along video tours of Greece, Africa, etc. Hell, I thought the “Channel of History” would have something on vikings, the Aztec empire, or Qin-era terra cotta statue tombs–nope, it’s the hairswept combover “Ancient Aliens” guy pontificating that “_if_ aliens built the pyramids, they _could_ have been built with flying technology. . .” I’m glad I’m not paying $99.95/month for 50 channels of this crap. Oh well. I’ll watch some ghost videos and yak with you guys until Rick Steves comes on in an hour. Tripler I am _not_ an English major. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/2 "2021-08-06T01:27:32Z")
Yeah, I still have a subscription to Sling which is just an app for a DishTV cable channel and I use it to watch things like CNN or old movies when I dont want to think too much. But yes, I think I’m going to drop it because its like going back in time to the late 90s and not much bang for the buck. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/3 "2021-08-06T01:34:51Z")
well with the travel channel they haven’t been able to have anything new on traveling… although this is the same travel channel that became the “texas hold 'em poker” channel for a few years Also discovery owns them so there’s a lot of recycling of one channel to another … and yeah I remember when there was mostly actual history on the history channel … i mean they have some interesting things on pawn stars and the pickers but I miss a good old show on when the Romans stomped the Huns … ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/4 "2021-08-06T01:49:28Z")
Yeah, but wouldn’t they have had some old, stock travel-related shows to air? I mean, even PBS has ‘updated’ old re-runs of _Antiques Roadshow_. Now it’s some videos of doors in old houses slamming that “_could_ be ghosts, or _might_ be something from ‘beyond this world’. . .” Tripler Ooooh, now it’s more floating orbs! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/5 "2021-08-06T02:02:11Z")
I fully concur. I have never had cable TV in this house in the nearly decade I’ve lived here. I’m way out in the burbs but we’re at a fairly high elevation and I get all the on-air HD channels I need with a small outdoor UHF antenna. I rarely watch broadcast television anyway but the antenna is zero ongoing cost. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/6 "2021-08-06T02:17:46Z")
TV is evil any way. I pay for DISH network. Lots and lots of stuff the kids like. We can’t stream out here. Internet is too shaky/weak or however you call it. PBS, TCM and a few other channels are my best friends when I’m house bound. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/7 "2021-08-06T02:30:28Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I reckoned that a ‘Travel’ channel would have more along video tours of Greece, Africa, etc. Hell, I thought the “Channel of History” would have something on vikings, the Aztec empire, or Qin-era terra cotta statue tombs–nope, it’s the hairswept combover “Ancient Aliens” guy pontificating that “ _if_ aliens built the pyramids, they _could_ have been built with flying technology. . .” Welcome to the phenomenon of “channel drift,” a.k.a. “network decay.” As [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_drift) so eloquently puts it: > [@](#): > > **Channel drift** or **network decay** [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_drift#cite_note-1) is the gradual shift of a [television network](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_network) away from its original programming, to either target a newer and more profitable audience, or to broaden its viewership by including less [niche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niche_market) programming. Often, this results in a shift from informative or artistic [quality programming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_programming) aimed at cultured and educated viewers toward sensational, ratings-based or [reality-formatted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television) programming designed solely for the entertainment of a mass audience. Channel drift frequently features the incorporation of [infotainment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infotainment), reality television and heavy advertising into the channel’s lineup. It’s what gave us no music on MTV, the Real Housewives on Bravo, and pro wrestling on SyFy. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/8 "2021-08-10T01:39:01Z")
Back on the road again this week, and I see your point @kenobi_65 . It’s "Mysteries at the Museum’ which has a _tangential_ link to “local”\*\* museums. Yeah, with the new Discourse interface, the double asterisk is added just for comical effect. These episodes are a couple of years old, filmed in ‘stock footage “museums”’. There are embedded quotation marks there. . . Tripler I’m on travel . . . again. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/9 "2021-08-10T01:49:27Z")
We cut the cable a little over two years ago, though in fairness we also added some streaming channels, so it’s not like we are fully cable free…we’re just cable-package free. Actually, that’s not even 100% true. We do subscribe to something called basic/reception cable that’s $13.99 a month… we could use an antenna instead, but because we have subscribe to some form of cable, we get a $10 discount off our Internet. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/10 "2021-08-10T04:59:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s what gave us no music on MTV Yeah real world happened right when the music companies decided videos weren’t worth hassle or money to the point that only the hip hop/rap which moved to bet and such made them regularly and after trl and the specific shows like headbangers ball etc died ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/11 "2021-08-10T13:19:44Z")
I _miss_ shows like _Headbanger’s Ball_! That and _Beavis and Butthead_ were my “summer staples” as I got home at 2AM from working at my paint store/fast-food joint double header summer jobs. Tripler Some good memories from cable TV, but now they’re just memories. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/12 "2021-08-10T14:09:40Z")
One can argue that MTV’s pivot to scripted shows was quite brilliant. It wasn’t long after that when YouTube became a phenomenon. No music video heavy cable TV channel would have really survived after that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/13 "2021-08-10T14:19:08Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > One can argue that MTV’s pivot to scripted shows was quite brilliant. It wasn’t long after that when YouTube became a phenomenon. You may not remember how much time passed between the two. MTV launched _The Real World_ in 1992, and the 1994 season in San Francisco was what really made it a phenomenon. YouTube wasn’t even launched until 2005. While it may be true that a music video channel wouldn’t have been able to compete with YouTube, MTV had largely abandoned music videos long before YouTube was a thing. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/14 "2021-08-10T14:23:58Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > You may not remember how much time passed between the two. MTV launched _The Real World_ in 1992, and the 1994 season in San Francisco was what really made it a phenomenon. YouTube wasn’t even launched until 2005. That was just the first scripted show though. MTV had a ton of music videos during the 90s. Total Request Live, which counted down the top music videos of the day, started in 1998, for example. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/15 "2021-08-10T14:32:21Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > That was just the first scripted show though. MTV had a ton of music videos during the 90s. Total Request Live, which counted down the top music videos of the day, started in 1998, for example. True, but by the early 2000s (still several years before YouTube was a thing), their programming was already predominantly scripted shows. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/16 "2021-08-10T14:54:09Z")
Kind of. Their really big shows like Jackass, Viva la Bam and Wild Boyz werent scripted. MTV is mostly clip and reality shows. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/17 "2021-08-10T15:00:18Z")
Fair point; I used the term “scripted shows” when what I had really meant was “non-music video shows.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/18 "2021-08-10T15:00:47Z")
Thats fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/19 "2021-08-10T15:22:46Z")
I read an article once about MTV and the CEO said something about how their audience ages out every so often. So they constantly have to appeal to a new group of kids. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135/20 "2021-08-10T17:20:52Z")
@Tripler I 100% agree with you, and since I became a bill-paying adult (in the USA), I opted to never pay for cable TV. I figured I had a better use for this money and time. - Money: not going with comcast saved $1000 per year initially, which I used to pay for broadband internet and a new PC every few years. - Time: well, spent doing internet stuff and gaming. But at least the internet is interactive, compared to watching bland or silly stuff on TV. Ah, TV… has anyone here noticed that, when you turn the sound off, the TV experience seems to go up by several IQ points? You can actually focus on what’s being shown (I find), and try to interpret things, rather than being fed bad, stream-of-consciousness type narrations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-forgotten-how-bad-cable-tv-is-us/948135.md?page=2)