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.