USA is doing nicely with the sitcom/drama markets with all their crime and medical shows though. Not everyone has done badly expanding, and their original shows are generally good, particularly Burn Notice and Psych.

But USA has always seemed to be a network to air anything. SciFi was for science fiction. Not for wrestling and other non science fiction. Same for History - I turn in for historical information, not UFOs and ice trucking. And what am I learning from The Learning Channel, other than Kate's a biatch? AMC was originally for classic movies. Thank goodness there's TMC that still airs older movies.

peachy92: But USA has always seemed to be a network to air anything. SciFi was for science fiction. Not for wrestling and other non science fiction. Same for History - I turn in for historical information, not UFOs and ice trucking. And what am I learning from The Learning Channel, other than Kate's a biatch? AMC was originally for classic movies. Thank goodness there's TMC that still airs older movies.

True. I gave up on History years ago, after I realized that I wasn't ever watching anything that I didn't already know, or wasn't actually historical. But it was more that expansion can work. I miss the days that I could put Spike on and watch some goddamn Star Trek.

I get all stabby every time Discovery runs another "Deadliest Catch" marathon. Which seems to happen every other farking day!

/stabby!

Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

Crap. Nothing but pure crap on TV.

">

Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

The channel you knew is now history.

Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

And Cartoon Network, too. They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

GAT_00: AMC was originally for classic movies.

In their defense, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" are arguably two of the best shows on TV right now. They don't fit the channel's name or original intent, but at least they're quality.

On the other hand, nobody can justify airing Catwoman, Terminator 3, or Ocean's Twelve. They're American, and I guess they qualify as movies, but beyond that...

Sci-Fi - BSG is over and you call yourselves SyFy. Good luck with that. Bad taste in my mouth.

TLC. Never watched you. Assume you are a Lifetime offshoot. Enjoy your estrogen.

A&E. I assumed you were going to be a classy channel way back in the day. Enjoy your continuous racist bounty hunter coverage. What the f*ck is with that guy - braids, cameras on his glasses, religious soliloquies when he grabs people and that enormous gut. Just show the burnt crosses falling into ash on his lawn. Cocksucker.

Bravo. You are lumped into TLC category - I know one of you guys had that Kate and Jeff show with the ten kids. I found out about it this year when Howard Stern mentioned it. Christ. Ten kids and cameras all over. You recall the short life spans of every child actor out there, right. The blood is on your hands. Enjoy.

As long as Turner Classic Movies doesn't dive headfirst into that pool of buffoonery, I'll be happy.


IMDWalrus: On the other hand, nobody can justify airing Catwoman, Terminator 3, or Ocean's Twelve. They're American, and I guess they qualify as movies, but beyond that...

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Are you somehow implying that Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is NOT an American Movie Classic?


In their defense, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" are arguably two of the best shows on TV right now.

Preach on, preach on.


eyehate: Sci-Fi - BSG is over and you call yourselves SyFy. Good luck with that. Bad taste in my mouth.

I wrote them off ever since they canceled MST3K.

I can't and won't forget that.

Toshiro Mifune's Letter Opener: As long as Turner Classic Movies doesn't dive headfirst into that pool of buffoonery, I'll be happy.


IMDWalrus: On the other hand, nobody can justify airing Catwoman, Terminator 3, or Ocean's Twelve. They're American, and I guess they qualify as movies, but beyond that...

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Are you somehow implying that Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is NOT an American Movie Classic?


In their defense, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" are arguably two of the best shows on TV right now.

Preach on, preach on.


eyehate: Sci-Fi - BSG is over and you call yourselves SyFy. Good luck with that. Bad taste in my mouth.

I wrote them off ever since they canceled MST3K.

I can't and won't forget that.

NO! The end of MST3K was a GREAT thing!

If it wasn't for that, then Mike would still be riffing on old movies no one cares about instead of issuing TOP quality comedy of every movie that you would actually know about and want to see made fun of!

The Harry Potter rifftrax are knock you out fantastic.

But Twilight puts them all to shame

(Bella and Edward stare awkwardly at each other)

"LINE!?"

"um uh ah, no, uh, um, ah,"

"LINE!?!?!?!"

hetheeme: But Twilight puts them all to shame

(Bella and Edward stare awkwardly at each other)

"LINE!?"

"um uh ah, no, uh, um, ah,"

"LINE!?!?!?!"

Quivering disaffectedness...

Twilight is one of the best rifftrax. The jokes are good, but this movie needed to be pilloried like no other.

I remember when TLC used to actually be The Learning Channel. Back show operations. Real in-your-face blood and guts. Now it's Jon and Kate 24/7. Total downgrade.

Tell me again why I should get cable for $80 a month? Oh, for the niche channels and informative programming?

Bwwwwhahahahahahahahahahahahaha 'pant' 'pant' Bwwwhahahahahahahaha

Hold on, my side hurts. OK

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahahahahahaha....

/Cable TV sucks dead sweaty donkey dongs. Comcast has umpteen religious, shopping, spanish and scrolling local govt. notices channels on the lower tier, they want even more for digital. Fark You Bubaloo

Phil Moskowitz: hetheeme: But Twilight puts them all to shame

(Bella and Edward stare awkwardly at each other)

"LINE!?"

"um uh ah, no, uh, um, ah,"

"LINE!?!?!?!"

Quivering disaffectedness...

Twilight is one of the best rifftrax. The jokes are good, but this movie needed to be pilloried like no other.

This is the 2nd person I have seen say that the rifftrax Twilight was good but I watched it and I thought the jokes were exceptionally weak compared to other MST3K and I was a huge fan of the old show. Those guys need to get drunk and sit around and talk shiat on the movies they seem to uptight while doing the rifftrax.

Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

To be fair, they still show 87 episodes of Modern Marvels in a row every now and then.

propasaurus: I get all stabby every time Discovery runs another "Deadliest Catch" marathon. Which seems to happen every other farking day!

/stabby!

I don't like the marathons but I do like that show. To me I have a ton of respect for those guys out on the cold ass ocean fishing for crab. The fact that they can do that year after year means they have some pretty big balls and I respect that. They are true badasses and the captains, especially Sig Hansen, crack me up.

/can't believe they wasted development time on a Deadliest catch game
//cable TV is in the crapper
///haven't had cable in months, thank you internet for teaching me why I don't need it

IMDWalrus: Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

And Cartoon Network, too. They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

I never understood why CN took a turn for the worse and did their current lineup. Well I can understand it from a budgetary accountant stand point, since reality TV is really cheap to produce and develop, but the fact that you are a network that says CARTOON in the name and you are taking that away is just mind boggling. It's basically like MTV getting rid of music videos and dropping everything they use to stand for.

The comments on that CN music ad are hilarious, I've never seen so much nerd rage.

Food Network execs should be chopped, breaded and fried for what that network had become compared to...oh..say..5 years ago

IMDWalrus: They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

The moment I saw that there was going to be a live-action Ben 10 movie I knew the channel was going to crap. (One might argue that it was always crap, but I like cartoons and I used to enjoy it.) When it was more successful (ratings-wise) than any other show Cartoon Network had ever aired, I knew it had arrived at crap.

That link you posted kind of made me want to cry.

/fan of Chowder

TheGhostofFarkPast: Phil Moskowitz: hetheeme: But Twilight puts them all to shame

(Bella and Edward stare awkwardly at each other)

"LINE!?"

"um uh ah, no, uh, um, ah,"

"LINE!?!?!?!"

Quivering disaffectedness...

Twilight is one of the best rifftrax. The jokes are good, but this movie needed to be pilloried like no other.

This is the 2nd person I have seen say that the rifftrax Twilight was good but I watched it and I thought the jokes were exceptionally weak compared to other MST3K and I was a huge fan of the old show. Those guys need to get drunk and sit around and talk shiat on the movies they seem to uptight while doing the rifftrax.

I was just saying to my husband the other day that they HAD to have been wasted when riffing on "Giant Spider Invasion."

"PACKERS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! PACKERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!"

/still would like to procure the Twilight Rifftrax
//if only it didn't require, you, know, actually watching Twilight

I watched some good shows earlier actually.
A show on the Battle of the Bulge, the Cuban missle crisis, and a few Twilight Zones. I was surprised by all of the shows I could actually watch.

It was nice.

pestluvr: I was just saying to my husband the other day that they HAD to have been wasted when riffing on "Giant Spider Invasion."

"PACKERS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! PACKERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!"

/still would like to procure the Twilight Rifftrax
//if only it didn't require, you, know, actually watching Twilight

MST3K was heavily scripted almost from the start. I believe one of the reasons J Elvis Weinstein left was because he didn't want to work from scripts.

Occam's Chainsaw: Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

To be fair, they still show 87 episodes of Modern Marvels in a row every now and then.

Whoa, whoa! The only thing wrong with Modern Marvels is that an episode of it spawned Ice Road Truckers. Back off MM, Man!

relaxitsjustme: Food Network execs should be chopped, breaded and fried for what that network had become compared to...oh..say..5 years ago

Food Network is one of the ones I've been watching a lot of since I've been home injured. I've heard it's not the same as it was a few years ago, but I still like it. Well, except for The Joker.

Your_Huckleberry: Whoa, whoa! The only thing wrong with Modern Marvels is that an episode of it spawned Ice Road Truckers. Back off MM, Man!

That was a defense of History Channel. Too much coffee?

Cartoon Network had to shuffle off all of the old cartoons worth a damn onto their OWN network, which, having been in a few different addresses in two states in the last few years, has never been available unless I want to sign up for the ULTIMATE PREMIUM 500 + Channel package.

I just want some gorram Looney Tunes on a network for cartoons. Seriously.

IMDWalrus: Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

And Cartoon Network, too. They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

Cartoon Network is throwing golf into the mix now too. Golf.

Link (new window)

Cable channels are suffering the same fate as GM (and look how that worked out for GM): instead of each brand serving a large majority of one well-defined audience, they are all fighting to dismember the course of the same dead elephant. To the accountants, it may seem like a good "strategy" because on paper it looks like a big elephant, but with too many vultures pecking it, nobody gets more than a mouthful, and some poor sucker ends up with the tail.

Um, that metaphor kinda got away from me. But you know what I mean.

I used tier buy-through to save $40+ and not get the main cable package and the accompanying dreck. The digital tier stuff still has some sorta OK channels. History International,Science Channel, DIY and some of what's on Investigation Doscovery are pretty good. To make up for not having Turner Classic Movies, I just look at what their showing and Netflix the good films.

Occam's Chainsaw: Your_Huckleberry: Whoa, whoa! The only thing wrong with Modern Marvels is that an episode of it spawned Ice Road Truckers. Back off MM, Man!

That was a defense of History Channel. Too much coffee?

Why do you ask? WHY???


Actually, more like too many pain killers and not enough sleep. And some messin'with you.

Here's one thing about cable TV I wonder about...since when do they go to the Paid Programming so early? I can understand three AM or something, but some of these channels are kicking in the Colon Detox, Houses for 300 or Montel Williams Healthmaster at midnight. What's up with that?

Sudlow: I used tier buy-through to save $40+ and not get the main cable package and the accompanying dreck. The digital tier stuff still has some sorta OK channels. History International,Science Channel, DIY and some of what's on Investigation Doscovery are pretty good. To make up for not having Turner Classic Movies, I just look at what their showing and Netflix the good films.


ID has become one of my wife's new favorites. My DVR is usually filled with my go-to block of History,National Geographic, Food Network, Planet Green, Military Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery, Science, Sportsmen, History International,MLB, E and ESPN. My DVR is often full.

Your_Huckleberry: ID has become one of my wife's new favorites. My DVR is usually filled with my go-to block of History,National Geographic, Food Network, Planet Green, Military Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery, Science, Sportsmen, History International,MLB, E and ESPN. My DVR is often full.

Nat Geo's doing a best-of marathon of their HD stuff next week. My DVR's going to start bulging around the middle.

TLC is the new lifetime. Shows that only women could pooibly like.

"Too Many Kids!"

"Midgit Marraige!"

"Too Many Midgits!"

possibly*

Occam's Chainsaw: Your_Huckleberry: ID has become one of my wife's new favorites. My DVR is usually filled with my go-to block of History,National Geographic, Food Network, Planet Green, Military Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery, Science, Sportsmen, History International,MLB, E and ESPN. My DVR is often full.

Nat Geo's doing a best-of marathon of their HD stuff next week. My DVR's going to start bulging around the middle.

Very nice.

OMG! And there's nothing you can do about it!

relaxitsjustme: Food Network execs should be chopped, breaded and fried for what that network had become compared to...oh..say..5 years ago

At least they are still talking about food. But I hear you. They need to cut way back on the competition shows. I like shows like "Unwrapped" and "Secret Life of..." and "Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives", but they can get rid of Chopped and Throwdown. Iron Chef America doesn't even come close to the coolness and charm of Iron Chef Japan.

And please, please, please, Food Network, no more Next Food Network Star!

/oblig

NYZooMan: OMG! And there's nothing you can do about it!

Honestly, I'm ready to cancel mine, but I don't get regular antenna reception in my apartment, not even with digital rabbit ears. Looking at the digital channels I should get in over the air, I don't need cable. The five digital PBS channels available in my area alone would adequately stand in for Food Network and HGTV. But since I can't get in anything over the digital airwaves, I sit and I grumble when I pay the bill every month for 100+ channels I don't even watch.

I would miss The Soup, though.

NYZooMan: OMG! And there's nothing you can do about it!

Actually, there are 2 things you need to do about it. One was well defined by your picture. Two is a group of e-mails to your cable company and the stations in question saying WHY you are doing step 1.Step 2 won't work unless other people do it as well, but the OFF button will always work.


/On the road, tried to find a movie on a sleepless Wednesday morning 2-3 AM.
//Not anything. Just infomercials.
///Cause that's what America wants on TV, I guess. Billy Mays in his Final Days.

msannomalley: NYZooMan: OMG! And there's nothing you can do about it!

Honestly, I'm ready to cancel mine, but I don't get regular antenna reception in my apartment, not even with digital rabbit ears. Looking at the digital channels I should get in over the air, I don't need cable. The five digital PBS channels available in my area alone would adequately stand in for Food Network and HGTV. But since I can't get in anything over the digital airwaves, I sit and I grumble when I pay the bill every month for 100+ channels I don't even watch.

I would miss The Soup, though.

I'm canceling mine soon, too. As for the shows I'll miss out on, well, there are ways around that. I wonder if the TV stations realize that they're losing popularity because they're NOT catering to their niche markets anymore.

Television will eat itself.

propasaurus: I get all stabby every time Discovery runs another "Deadliest Catch" marathon. Which seems to happen every other farking day!

/stabby!

I try to avoid saying it, but THIS

I hate that show. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Everyone on that show just looks miserable. The ship is miserable, the weather is miserable, and they all just seem to be pissed off, angry and dramatic all the time. And every farking preview looks the same: they're on a boat, it's wet, it's cold, and someone is biatching about something. I hate farking sick of it.

Phil Moskowitz: pestluvr: I was just saying to my husband the other day that they HAD to have been wasted when riffing on "Giant Spider Invasion."

"PACKERS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! PACKERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!"

/still would like to procure the Twilight Rifftrax
//if only it didn't require, you, know, actually watching Twilight

MST3K was heavily scripted almost from the start. I believe one of the reasons J Elvis Weinstein left was because he didn't want to work from scripts.

I didn't say it wasn't scripted. Just seemed they relished screaming those lines a bit too much.

Then again, they were based out of Minnesota. Damn Viking fans.

I no longer trust the History Channel either, as some have mentioned. Aside from the ghost hunting and trucking shows, there are massive blocks that treat the Bible as fact (until the last 10 or 15 minutes where they admit it's speculation).

The entire channel has become sensational.

The only time actual history is portrayed involves programming no the Nazis. Not bad in itself, but that's all they ever show.

Brooklyn Irish Mets Fan: TLC is the new lifetime. Shows that only women could pooibly like.


This woman thinks TLC is full of poo.

WFern: ...The only time actual history is portrayed involves programming no on the Nazis...

That too.

Even the channels that remain dedicated to their original audience are disappointing. Look at Sleuth, which is essentially a bunch of canceled Canadian detective shows and the same 4 episodes of Monk shown over and over.

IMDWalrus: Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

And Cartoon Network, too. They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

Flapjack is freaking brilliant. I can't believe they'd cancel it.

This is what is wrong with people getting MBAs.

Let's presume CN and SciFi etc were profitable. I don't know this, but let's stipulate that just for now.

So you had a niche market, that was loyal, dependable, and dedicated. Sure, it's not as big as it could be, but you could depend on selling ads pretty much regardless. And you're employing people, and creating new content, and making people happy.

Then the MBAs come in. And much like the people who gave us G, they've got to do something to justify their existence. That means changing stuff- unless you commission a new Star Trek series, exclusively for SciFi, you're not going to increase your market- and that's only if you caught lightning in a bottle again.

Why? Why not just be happy with a nice little profit? If you've got a dozen channels, that adds up to a nice chunk of change, I'm sure.

Cable should institute the "a la carte" package. For so much a month, you get all your local and local digital channels, plus X amount of any channels of your choice. If you want to watch a show that is not on one of the channels you subscribe to, you can watch it on a pay-per-view basis.

When the cable networks have to compete for the viewer to add their channel to their package, the programming will get better. Fewer channels=better quality.

That's the theory anyway.

Cable won't do it, though. They should, but they won't.

No mention of TechTV (then "G4/TechTV," now just "G4")? It was one of the first channels to do it, and absolutely the worst.

emocomputerjock: IMDWalrus: Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

And Cartoon Network, too. They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

Flapjack is freaking brilliant. I can't believe they'd cancel it.

Flapjack was like Chowder, but on a very, very bad acid trip. It was aggressively farked up and horrifying.

I really liked Chowder. It was some farked up, actually clever humor. Plus, some of the stuff they did was just off-the-wall hilarious on many levels.

I mean, the main characters lost so much money that they couldn't afford animation, so it cut to the voice actors doing a car wash. What the fark? That's like driving a goddamn school bus through the fourth wall for comedy's sake, and I love it.

Also, Gazpacho is Master Shake.

I gotta agree that I watched more of the channels when Food Network told you how to prepare food and wasn't a bunch of competitions. When Home & Garden told you how to landscape. When Lifetime had shows showing operations in all their gory detail. When Mtv showed nothing but videos and maybe a few cool 1/2 shows like Liquid TV. Now I spend way more time watching streaming vids on my laptop. I wonder if there are people out there that will be looking back to the current shows as the "Good old days?"

The_Philosopher_King: I gotta agree that I watched more of the channels when Food Network told you how to prepare food and wasn't a bunch of competitions.

Or when the Travel channel wasn't a bunch of 1 hour long cruise ship commercials and shows about finding and selling shiny stones.

millia: This is what is wrong with people getting MBAs.

Let's presume CN and SciFi etc were profitable. I don't know this, but let's stipulate that just for now.

So you had a niche market, that was loyal, dependable, and dedicated. Sure, it's not as big as it could be, but you could depend on selling ads pretty much regardless. And you're employing people, and creating new content, and making people happy.

Then the MBAs come in. And much like the people who gave us G, they've got to do something to justify their existence. That means changing stuff- unless you commission a new Star Trek series, exclusively for SciFi, you're not going to increase your market- and that's only if you caught lightning in a bottle again.

Why? Why not just be happy with a nice little profit? If you've got a dozen channels, that adds up to a nice chunk of change, I'm sure.

This deserves repeating. The TBS/TNT-ification of cable networks only works for short-term. With niche programming, you can always turn in and see something you like. When you branch out into superstation territory, you get a lot more viewers but none of them will stick with you for anything. Why would you keep viewers if they can find whatever you have to offer anywhere else on the dial?

Sci-Fi has to be the saddest case of this. For all the hits they could have had, they're now reduced to bad movie marathons and the occasional Twilight Zone marathon.

eyehate: Sci-Fi - BSG is over and you call yourselves SyFy. Good luck with that. Bad taste in my mouth.

Networks really need to be run by executives who don't completely hate or aren't utterly ignorant regarding the themes and concepts of said network.

/Too early for grammar

Bloody William: eyehate: Sci-Fi - BSG is over and you call yourselves SyFy. Good luck with that. Bad taste in my mouth.

Networks really need to be run by executives who don't completely hate or aren't utterly ignorant regarding the themes and concepts of said network.

/Too early for grammar

Networks need to be run by people who understand the purpose of niche programming and not by a bunch of losers who, fresh from their MBA, feel the need to 'prove' themselves at the expense of their channel.

As long as I can catch up on shows like Dexter, Rome, and Metalocalypse on DVD, I have no reason to subscribe to cable. I was farked hard by Comcast years ago, and am no longer willing to shell out lots of money just to watch TV.

/ I stopped paying when my combined internet/TV bill hit $115/month. I hear it's much worse now...

This is one of the most depressing threads I've read that doesn't have puppies dying.

We're getting charged way too much for tv, I'm waffling between changing providers, or just cutting it all off. SyFy and CN Real is what's driving me to think about cancelling it all.

The funny thing is, if you'd asked anyone 10 or 20 years ago, they'd have told you the future of TV was to find a niche audience and make it happy. Seeing all the channels try to capture the same, bland bunch of mouth-breathers is an interesting twist.

I guess the Internet's done a good job of filling in for TV. Unfortunately, it's dangerous, because it gives those niches ideas, like, "Put on a fur costume and tell everyone you have an animal spirit trapped inside you!". Yikes.

Bloody William:

Flapjack was like Chowder, but on a very, very bad acid trip. It was aggressively farked up and horrifying.

That's the best part. The episode where Flapjack and Captain Knuckles are on the raft drinking seawater needs to be aired daily.

peachy92: AMC was originally for classic movies.

Don't kid yourself. It was for old movies, with the assumption that old=classic. (Kind of like "classic rock' stations) They always showed more than their fair share of crap mixed in with the legitimate classics. I'm OK with this as long as the movies they replace are the crap and not the legitimate classics.

Palladia shows some great concerts and is a pretty good music channel in general.
I wonder how long that's gonna last.

secularsage: I guess the Internet's done a good job of filling in for TV. Unfortunately, it's dangerous, because it gives those niches ideas, like, "Put on a fur costume and tell everyone you have an animal spirit trapped inside you!". Yikes.

Not to quibble or hammer further on a running gag, but that's two different lunatic subcultures. It's like you just said "put on chainmail and fight with lightsabers at a Klingon wedding."

The ladder group are called "otherkin," and... okay, they're so goddamn crazy even furs, hell, even fursuiters stay the fark away from them.

With a few extreme exceptions, furs are like Trekkies, but with a creepy fetish on anthromorphization. Otherkin really believe that shiat. They're like those uber-goth twatwaffles who say they REALLY ARE vampires. It's the difference between being weird and being in DSM IV.

Latter group. What the fark is wrong with me this morning?

It's alright for networks to show programs that don't fall entirely under their 'thing'.

I submit to you, in all it's Mike Rowe greatness, Dirty Jobs.

I used to enjoy National Geographic channel on my regular cable package until Comcast bought my local cable provider last year.
They promptly moved it to the higher priced digital package.
Rat bastards.

Primitive Screwhead: Palladia shows some great concerts and is a pretty good music channel in general.
I wonder how long that's gonna last.

I think they are owned by MTV (or Viacomm does, same thing) but so far they have had a fair showing of interesting concerts across a wide spectrum, some very recent and some from years ago. I've liked it.

msannomalley: I would miss The Soup, though.

The bad thing about The Soup is I'd never had learned about Kendra, the Kardassians or however you spell that, or the two scourge of the earth from the hills. Flesh colored beard boy and his dumb blonde bimbo and her friends.

It's nice to go through life fat dumb and happy when it comes to that. It gets to the point now I skip through those segments because even making fun of them is impossible to watch.

That and that tyra lunatic. Proof positive we need to go back to the late 80s/early 90s of swapping porn GIFs because god damn they were hot when they didn't open their mouth.

I'm looking right at you Jenny McCarthy. If anyone should never been handed a soapbox it's that crazy hot biatch.

I'd get rid of cable but I really enjoy live sporting events. Streaming sports over the Internet just isn't up to par yet for me to pay for it.

secularsage: The funny thing is, if you'd asked anyone 10 or 20 years ago, they'd have told you the future of TV was to find a niche audience and make it happy.



Recent trends may dispute my opinion, but I think it will eventually go this way; largely because of said trend. This trend of turning from niche audiences will either prompt most people to drop their cable services entirely or the internet will fill the market. The latter is more likely in the long run, but in the short term, the former will happen to prevent the latter. Hell, I think most of us would at least be satisfied if we could at least pay for what channels we want to watch rather than a lump sum for a handful of channels and dozens of other we don't watch.

RoxtarRyan: I submit to you, in all it's Mike Rowe greatness, Dirty Jobs.

Mike Rowe is awesome but I would say Dirty Jobs could still fall under the heading of "Discovery Channel". You're still learning something not many did; while being heavily entertained.

/Anyone who paddles around in an ancient rowboat in a lake of shait isn't getting paid enough.

NuclearPenguins: I'd get rid of cable but I really enjoy live sporting events. Streaming sports over the Internet just isn't up to par yet for me to pay for it.

True, but while we're on the subject, when the fark did POKER become a sport to be shown on ESPN?

msannomalley: Cable should institute the "a la carte" package.

Please, for the love of dog, yes!
I do NOT need or want 4 sports channels, two religious ones, the Mexican station, BET, and if that's not possible at all, please somebody move whatever channel has got "what not to wear on" and the drama show with the bridal dresses to the most expensive package there is.

Bloody William: emocomputerjock: IMDWalrus: Bladel: Throw "History Channel" into that mix.

Still haven't figured out what truckers, chainsaw lumberjacks, and ghost hunters have to do with "History."

And Cartoon Network, too. They've begun showing reality TV, and the people who did make cartoons for them are reporting empty offices and laying off their staff.

Flapjack is freaking brilliant. I can't believe they'd cancel it.

Flapjack was like Chowder, but on a very, very bad acid trip. It was aggressively farked up and horrifying.

I really liked Chowder. It was some farked up, actually clever humor. Plus, some of the stuff they did was just off-the-wall hilarious on many levels.

I mean, the main characters lost so much money that they couldn't afford animation, so it cut to the voice actors doing a car wash. What the fark? That's like driving a goddamn school bus through the fourth wall for comedy's sake, and I love it.

Also, Gazpacho is Master Shake.

And Schnitzel is Bender!

TheGhostofFarkPast: I never understood why CN took a turn for the worse and did their current lineup. Well I can understand it from a budgetary accountant stand point, since reality TV is really cheap to produce and develop, but the fact that you are a network that says CARTOON in the name and you are taking that away is just mind boggling. It's basically like MTV getting rid of music videos and dropping everything they use to stand for.

I think the reason lies in that Time Warner wants Cartoon Network to be their own version of Nickelodeon and Disney. Classic cartoons these days only appeal to the folks who grew up with them, and even modern cartoons can only reach so many viewers, hence why Cartoon Network has broadened into live-action.

Not that this excuse makes it suck any less. Cartoon Network used to be one of my favorite channels that had a wicked sense of humor about itself - its commercials that made fun of classic animation tropes were hilarious - but now it caters to the lowest denominator and basically craps all over its legacy for the sake of a few measly ratings.

So, is the tag off for the fourth?

Bloody William: Latter group. What the fark is wrong with me this morning?

Haha. I wondered about that in the original post.

WFern: I no longer trust the History Channel either, as some have mentioned. Aside from the ghost hunting and trucking shows, there are massive blocks that treat the Bible as fact (until the last 10 or 15 minutes where they admit it's speculation).

The entire channel has become sensational.

The only time actual history is portrayed involves programming no the Nazis. Not bad in itself, but that's all they ever show.

This so this. The thing that suchs is that if you go to thier online store they have some really good DVD's. I have Terry Jones History of the crusades and I watch that every couple of months. Also I hate when they claim to have a new show on a subject I'm interested in only to have it be a montage of clips and commentary from previous shows on the same subject spliced together. If your lucky you may get new commentary or narration.

Arxane: Not that this excuse makes it suck any less. Cartoon Network used to be one of my favorite channels that had a wicked sense of humor about itself - its commercials that made fun of classic animation tropes were hilarious - but now it caters to the lowest denominator and basically craps all over its legacy for the sake of a few measly ratings.

I usually boil this down to a simple fact: if you're doing something *for money* odds are that it's going to be crap. Do something you love, and the money will usually happen. It was very apparent that the people who started CN loved cartoons. They had fun with them; they poked fun at them sometimes, yes, but they still respected the (sometimes) art and production.

My father-in-law used to be in charge of engineering for Hunter fans. Wife tells about coming home to find a forest of people standing around listening to a fan, and deciding that the completely inaudible fan was too loud. That's not the way to make easy money. It's the way to making something you can be proud of, that you can point to and say, I did that, and not feel ashamed.

How often does that happen at CN today? Yes, the number of people who could appreciate somebody saying "I made that cartoon!" is smaller than it should be. I wish it were larger. But, maybe, it's just not going to get larger, and they should just admit it and resign themselves to making buckets of cash instead of dumptrucks of cash.

suchs=sucks. Spelling is not my strong suit.

USA used to suck.
Now, with MONK, PSYCH, BURN NOTICE and it's 3x NCIS, I almost don't watch anything else.
Problem with Sci-Fi is, NO NEW people will come.

It's like a comic book store suddenly selling romance novels.

I canceled my cable last month so im really getting a kick out of these replies

As much as Viacom overall sucks, this channel has stayed pretty true to its post-exclusively-standup format:


And this channel is just pure win (although I'd prefer a little less Michio Kaku.)

sy-fy needs to put the stargate franchise to rest for a couple of years and go with something new like a live action Cowboy Beebop series or a reimaganing of Robocop with a more cyberpunk transhumanist feel.

CanisNoir: Mike Rowe is awesome but I would say Dirty Jobs could still fall under the heading of "Discovery Channel". You're still learning something not many did; while being heavily entertained.

Good point.

Heroic Poser: USA used to suck.
Now, with MONK, PSYCH, BURN NOTICE and it's 3x NCIS, I almost don't watch anything else.

Royal Pains is good, too.

The Blipverts can't arrive soon enough.

I am going to have to side with the evil network heads here. Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

These people know their audiences. They cater their programming to their audiences. Therefore, if the name of the network interferes with reaching the audience, what do you do? Do you serve the audience or disregard the name? Easy answer.

The people running History know that their audience is largely adults with an interest in history, technology, and the like. They don't come up with the idea of showing a bunch of lumberjacks on a whim. They know their audience and they show programs they will watch; no history be damned.

Same goes with CN. They know the audience is kids. That audience is pretty loyal, and they will watch shows that interest kids. They are not trying to reach ironic 20 somethings, so they program shows that kids will watch, even if it is not animated.

The reason TLC stopped being about learning is because no one was watching. That market was cornered, so they branched out to make money...and it worked. It was a smart move. Keeping unpopular programming to uphold the networks name would be the stupid move.

BilltheThrill: Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

Yes, because the changes "Syfy" have been making have certainly been pulling in the viewers. They haven't been leaving in droves, not at all.

BilltheThrill: I am going to have to side with the evil network heads here. Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

These people know their audiences. They cater their programming to their audiences. Therefore, if the name of the network interferes with reaching the audience, what do you do? Do you serve the audience or disregard the name? Easy answer.

The people running History know that their audience is largely adults with an interest in history, technology, and the like. They don't come up with the idea of showing a bunch of lumberjacks on a whim. They know their audience and they show programs they will watch; no history be damned.

Same goes with CN. They know the audience is kids. That audience is pretty loyal, and they will watch shows that interest kids. They are not trying to reach ironic 20 somethings, so they program shows that kids will watch, even if it is not animated.

The reason TLC stopped being about learning is because no one was watching. That market was cornered, so they branched out to make money...and it worked. It was a smart move. Keeping unpopular programming to uphold the networks name would be the stupid move.

I don't know that your argument is completely correct. I see it moreso as "mission creep." They replace one show that is a "core mission" type show with another, non-related show that gets 0.1 higher in the ratings, or is more cheap to produce. Over time, as this dilution goes on, the core viewers have been ghettoized and know when to turn the channel. They are still fairly loyal to the channel, they just ignore the pro wrestling, for instance. The longer the creep continues, the loyal viewers quit watching as much, and the undifferentiated hordes make up a large, but shallow fanbase.

I thought "the long tail" was supposed to finally generate specialized content.

As a child I hated live action shows. As a teen I hated the shows marketed to teens.

s

So which one of these cable giants will have the courage and the vision to be the first to air a real version of 'Ow, My Balls'?

/So glad I don't pay for TV

Bloody William: No mention of TechTV (then "G4/TechTV," now just "G4")? It was one of the first channels to do it, and absolutely the worst.

That channel is just awful now. All day marathons of COPS, Cheaters, and Ninja Warrior. Occasional long blocks of commercials broken up by parts of a B-movie. X-Play and maybe Attack of the Show are all that's left.

BilltheThrill: I am going to have to side with the evil network heads here. Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

A google search of Bonnie Hammer will convince you otherwise.

msannomalley: Cable should institute the "a la carte" package. For so much a month, you get all your local and local digital channels, plus X amount of any channels of your choice. If you want to watch a show that is not on one of the channels you subscribe to, you can watch it on a pay-per-view basis.

When the cable networks have to compete for the viewer to add their channel to their package, the programming will get better. Fewer channels=better quality.

That's the theory anyway.

Cable won't do it, though. They should, but they won't.

I used to, but no longer think this is economically viable. Programming quality would not improve, because without enough subscribers, NONE of the niche networks (including the ones you or I like) would be profitable. Their only shot would be to cater to the lowest common denominator, with hopelessly derivative "pseudo-reality-du-jour" or absurdly overwrought game shows.

In the end, the landscape of programming would be much less diverse, which IMO is not better. I don't even think the almighty Disney channel could survive losing the portion of child-less subscribers no longer forced to subsidize them.

Cable companies aren't ever going to charge less, so would you rather pay for 100 channels, 10 of which actually appeal to you or 20 channels of mostly the same crap?

BilltheThrill: I am going to have to side with the evil network heads here. Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

These people know their audiences. They cater their programming to their audiences.

Have to respectfully disagree here. Programming does NOT reflect what the audience wants. Programming reflects what's cheap to produce and might attract advertisers. Programming isn't about making audiences happy, it's about making shareholders happy.

Kicking back yesterday at night, click MTV and see Terminator 2 !!

WTF ? Maybe a musical movie or biopic of a singer i can understand on the carcass that is MTV. But what my state's gov. doing on MTV? Does Sarah Connor break into a song ?

/RIP SciFi Channel
//SyFy will probably be wresting 24/7

Primitive Screwhead: Palladia shows some great concerts and is a pretty good music channel in general.
I wonder how long that's gonna last.

the secret to that station is that they just play live DVDs that bands put out. There isn't any original programming it's just literally someone getting the DVD from the store and playing it for you. They have been dong that since before the name change.

I hate to tell you guys this, but we are a Neilson family. Yep, we fill out the shows that we watch, and get paid to do it. That being said, my wife, (god bless her) watches all those crap shows. 'What Not to Wear' 'Deadliest Catch', all the huge-family shows (Duggers, Goeslins, Midgets) The stupid ghost chasers, etc. Seriously. I spend most of my time in the basement nowadays, on the computer. But she is possibly the part of the reason that this kind of stuff is so 'popular'.

petcat2469: I hate to tell you guys this, but we are a Neilson family. Yep, we fill out the shows that we watch, and get paid to do it. That being said, my wife, (god bless her) watches all those crap shows. 'What Not to Wear' 'Deadliest Catch', all the huge-family shows (Duggers, Goeslins, Midgets) The stupid ghost chasers, etc. Seriously. I spend most of my time in the basement nowadays, on the computer. But she is possibly the part of the reason that this kind of stuff is so 'popular'.

I hope you know the only way to fix television is to kill your wife

petcat2469: Seriously. I spend most of my time in the basement nowadays, on the computer.



/keed

t3knomanser: BilltheThrill: Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

Yes, because the changes "Syfy" have been making have certainly been pulling in the viewers. They haven't been leaving in droves, not at all.

I don't, nor have I ever watched Scifi, so I didn't feel like commenting on them. Either way, what I was saying was by no means universal. If Scifi thinks going superstation will help them, more power to them. They have to deal with the nerd rage, not me.



Kar98: BilltheThrill: I am going to have to side with the evil network heads here. Methinks they know more about TV programming than we do.

These people know their audiences. They cater their programming to their audiences.

Have to respectfully disagree here. Programming does NOT reflect what the audience wants. Programming reflects what's cheap to produce and might attract advertisers. Programming isn't about making audiences happy, it's about making shareholders happy.

We are both right. Since I don't want to put anyone to sleep with a long, boring treatese on the TV biz, I simplified my argument down.

Obviously networks are going to try to maintain or increase their viewership as cheaply as possible. However, they will not alienate the audience to do so. If no one is watching, it doesn't matter how cheap the shows are, because shareholders wont make money. The TV networks will try and make the audience happy, however, what constitutes an audience may change over time.

If only my cable company would allow me to subscribe to TCM without forcing me to pay for dozen of crap channels I never watch.

BilltheThrill: If Scifi thinks going superstation will help them, more power to them. They have to deal with the nerd rage, not me.

Thus far, it's been an abysmal failure. They've lost their loyal viewers and haven't gotten any new ones.

msannomalley: PBS

Anyone remember when the several Republicans argued we could kill PBS because channels like TLC, Discovery, and History replaced the need for a public television network? Yes, Frontline doesn't bring in the numbers of a Jon and Kate, Cosmos doesn't bring in the money that UFO Hunters does, so I guess that proves...something.

t3knomanser: BilltheThrill: If Scifi thinks going superstation will help them, more power to them. They have to deal with the nerd rage, not me.

Thus far, it's been an abysmal failure. They've lost their loyal viewers and haven't gotten any new ones.

I used to watch SciFi on a fairly regular basis. BSG, SG1 reruns. Ever since BSG ended/Ghost Hunters went into heavy rerun rotation I never watch that channel anymore.

Last time I watched it was when they had some 007 movie on. Made it halfway through the movie, but finally gave up because it had been so packed full of commercials it was going to take 3 hours to run.

I don't really have any nerd rage at them. I have Dune and BSG on DVD and I've seen every SG episode out there about six times it seems, so I'm good.

USA and FX are my new gods. Sons of Anarchy and Burn Notice!

(More correctly Hulu and/or On Demand is my new god since it has both of those shows on it).

I have a tivo, so I no longer have any clue what channel shows what anymore.shiat just appears.

/I do know that my tivo is practically empty right now though.

Dear USA,

Please stop showing NCIS. Your original programming, such as Psych and Burn Notice, is infinitely better than that crap show, yet you continue to show it more often than any of your original programming.

-doogled

Cable TV networks such as SyFy, TLC, A&E, and Bravo increasingly blow off their painstakingly developed niche audiences in order to chase general viewers who prefer "vanilla soup of reality and broadcast repeats"

Interesting. That is a partial list of channels I no longer watch. I wonder if there is a connection.

msannomalley: relaxitsjustme: Food Network execs should be chopped, breaded and fried for what that network had become compared to...oh..say..5 years ago

At least they are still talking about food. But I hear you. They need to cut way back on the competition shows. I like shows like "Unwrapped" and "Secret Life of..." and "Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives", but they can get rid of Chopped and Throwdown. Iron Chef America doesn't even come close to the coolness and charm of Iron Chef Japan.

And please, please, please, Food Network, no more Next Food Network Star!

Dang! I actually like Throwdown! Chopped...not so much. Iron Chef is okay and the wife and I are watching the Next Food Network Star for the first time. I guess we really suck. I watched a Challenge episode about some massive BBQ competition in 'Bama last night that was pretty interesting. Especially the guy cooking in the flower pot, like he'd seen Alton Brown do.

7Mary3and4: NuclearPenguins: I'd get rid of cable but I really enjoy live sporting events. Streaming sports over the Internet just isn't up to par yet for me to pay for it.

True, but while we're on the subject, when the fark did POKER become a sport to be shown on ESPN?

Not as much anymore, that fad is fading. At least off the main channels, they can put lawn darts on ESPN2 for all I care.

Cathedralmaster 2009-07-04 12:42:13 PM
Bloody William: No mention of TechTV (then "G4/TechTV," now just "G4")? It was one of the first channels to do it, and absolutely the worst.

That channel is just awful now. All day marathons of COPS, Cheaters, and Ninja Warrior. Occasional long blocks of commercials broken up by parts of a B-movie. X-Play and maybe Attack of the Show are all that's left.

Isn't G4 a bunch of video game stuff, too? And Web Soup?

Doogled: Dear USA,

Please stop showing NCIS. Your original programming, such as Psych and Burn Notice, is infinitely better than that crap show, yet you continue to show it more often than any of your original programming.

-doogled

Oh, you're nuts!

Though the do play it too much.

What I love is how they'll talk about expanding the brand or some such drivel when defending doing this. When by blowing off their audiences, they're actually destroying their brands. More proof that people who talk about branding are utterly clueless.

So I registered SyFyLys.com and posted a WordPress blog to it today.

Any ideas for content from Farkers?

I'd like to load it up with something like a parody of SciFi channel's web site, along with satirical commentary on their programming.

Does anyone else think of the following when they see the new spelling for SciFi?



/hates that they removed the "Science"

Your_Huckleberry: Doogled: Dear USA,

Please stop showing NCIS. Your original programming, such as Psych and Burn Notice, is infinitely better than that crap show, yet you continue to show it more often than any of your original programming.

-doogled

Oh, you're nuts!

Though the do play it too much.

Maybe I just caught a run of bad episodes. However, due to the way they shoot that show, I now have empathy for those who suffer from motion sickness.

Which is why I don't have TV service anymore. It started sucking a long time ago. I can buy or rent any series I want or catch it online.

with the way the headline displayed on my system, the line breaks made it read:

Cable TV networks such as SyFy, TLC, A&E, and Bravo increasingly blow

and I thought, "they got that right!"

pestluvr:

/still would like to procure the Twilight Rifftrax
//if only it didn't require, you, know, actually watching Twilight

I agree, I'd rather watch Manos, Hands of Fate without the commentary than Twilight with it.

Foxxinnia: If only my cable company would allow me to subscribe to TCM without forcing me to pay for dozen of crap channels I never watch.

You can Netflix those TCM movies and they even have online streaming for those too impatient to wait for the post. I watched 'The Great Escape' with Steve McQueen yesterday.

Doogled: Your_Huckleberry: Doogled: Dear USA,

Please stop showing NCIS. Your original programming, such as Psych and Burn Notice, is infinitely better than that crap show, yet you continue to show it more often than any of your original programming.

-doogled

Oh, you're nuts!

Though the do play it too much.

Maybe I just caught a run of bad episodes. However, due to the way they shoot that show, I now have empathy for those who suffer from motion sickness.

Yeah.....spinning cam stuff, can't argue with you there. To each his own, I actually got hooked on the show during one of USA's many marathons. Almost like that was the point of a marathon......

Doogled: Dear USA,

Please stop showing NCIS. Your original programming, such as Psych and Burn Notice, is infinitely better than that crap show, yet you continue to show it more often than any of your original programming.

-doogled

NCIS isn't awful. It's not my favorite show, but it can be pretty entertaining at times. But yeah. I do find it weird that USA airs that so much while barely ever rerunning their own programming (all which I find much much more entertaining).

Cable won't change unless you drop cable.
When my intro package from comcast expired after the first year ($33 for cable $33 for internet) and it went up to $100 a month, I called in and dropped down to just basic broadcast and internet.
I'm paying $40 for internet and another $15 for about 15 broadcast, shopping, and misc channels.
I don't miss those shows on the other channels because of hulu and other means of catching worthwhile or fun stuff like Mythbusters. I'm up at my parents for the weekend who still have cable and there's nothing on.
Either you drop the channels or we get ala carte pricing though legislation in order to shape up these channels.

Brooklyn Irish Mets Fan: TLC is the new lifetime. Shows that only women could pooibly like.

"Too Many Kids!"

"Midgit Marraige!"

"Too Many Midgits!"

You magnificent bastard. I just shot milk through my nose. It's really weird, because I wasn't drinking milk at the time.