Posted on 06/19/2019 5:52:54 PM PDT by T Ruth
1. YOU HAVE THE POWER!
Every once in a while I like to remind everyone of the power they hold to destroy the national news media and Hollywood. Simply put, there is a one-legged stool propping up both of these malevolent institutions, and it is called bundled cable and satellite television. And nothing is more damaging to either than you making the choice to cancel your television bundle.
You see, ratings don't really matter much anymore.
The television game has been so expertly rigged that eyeballs have almost nothing to do with revenue.
CNN is an excellent example. Did you know that, on average, CNN is not only in last place behind MSNBC, but that the left-wing outlet's average viewers are below 1 million? With such poor ratings, there is no way CNN could survive on advertising revenue alone.
So how does CNN stay afloat?
By picking YOUR pocket.
Yes, Genius, YOU are subsidizing a Fake News outlet that is actively trying to destroy you and everything you stand for.
How?
Whether or not you watch CNN (and no one really does), if it is part of your cable package, you are putting money directly into CNN's pocket with what is called a subscription fee. Somewhere around 50% of CNN's total revenue comes from suckers like YOU, dupes who continue to pay for obscenely overpriced subscription television packages that enrich our world's CNNs.
***
Save money. Decrease the white noise in your life. Bring down the corrupt Man.
And all it takes is one phone call.
Cut the cord… For yourself and for America.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailywire.com ...
Question for the legal eagles at FR: under the Janus ruling, isn't the bundling of CNN with other cable services a form of compelled speech and association that deserves heightened constitutional scrutiny. Under this heightened scrutiny, shouldn't the bundling be unconstitutional?
In many (all?) jurisdictions, cable TV is a regulated utility. The FCC's website includes the following:
Questions or complaints handled by your franchising authority include:
Rates for basic service and equipment, installation and service charges related to basic service. This refers to the lowest level of cable service and generally includes local broadcast channels and public, educational and governmental access channels.
Rates for cable programming services tiers, also known as "enhanced basic." Cable programming services tiers ("CPSTs") include those programming services except the basic service tier, and does not include any premium channels (such as HBO or Showtime) or any pay-per-view services. The CPST rate is determined by the cable operator and is not subject to government review.
Customer service problems, including billing disputes, office hours, telephone availability of personnel, installations, outages and service calls. Local franchise authorities may adopt the Commission's Customer Service rules, at any time. The local franchise authority must provide the cable operator 90-days notice prior to enforcing the federal standards and may not adopt more stringent standards without the cable operator's consent.
Franchise fees, which are determined and retained by local governments.
See FCC: Cable Television - Where to File Complaints Regarding Cable Service
Could this be a valid legal case? Could bundling under the aegis of local governments be invalidated? Could subscribers get a pro-rata refund for the monies that go to CNN? Could an argument under a combination of anti-trust law, or under State unfair business practices acts or little FTC Acts plus First Amendment free speech work?
It's clear that a lot of people object to the current arrangement. Given the government involvement in the regulation of cable services, is it a violation of the First Amendment to force people to the choice of no cable or supporting repugnant speech? If it were entirely a free market, I suppose the cable companies could say, 'If you don't like our bundle, don't buy it.' But if it were a free market, competition would arise to fill an unmet demand. Because of the regulation, because of the oligopoly, that can't happen.
and CNN SUCKS
I think you bring up some valid points.
The cable industry has forced all of us to support channels we never watch or would watch. Without that bundling those channels would not exist.
It has always been a mystery as to why the cable industry would not support ala carte programming. The ability to pick and choose what you would want and pay accordingly. Of course the short answer is that without bundling the cable companies could not offer so many channel alternatives.
So many of those channels are terrible and I wonder just how many people watch them at all.
I use Amazon prime and find all kinds of things to watch. Right now watching shows from new zeland.
You mean Amazon prime instead of cable?
Oh, the thunda from down unduh that banned semi auto military style rifles and deleted Israel from their maps. That New Zealand? LOL! Yeah, we cut the cable a while back and don’t miss it.
I did that exactly 18 months ago and I haven’t missed any of it at all. I am much calmer without listening to all the propaganda, I don’t even watch any of the network news shows.
CNN gets about $1 per month from every cable and satellite customer, of which there are 900,000. Do the math, that’s about $1 billion in revenue, so even if you get a thousand of your friends to cut the cord it only affects their carriage fee revenue by 1 percent.
And if you don’t think they will get a monthly fee once online streaming reaches critical mass, think again. Think about who owns the bandwidth: Verizon, AT&T, Comcast...
Yeah, with streaming there is now so much out there. YouTube has a lot of info videos as well as news. We have PlayStationVue and get lots of everything! Then sign up with the NOW platforms like HBO Now, AMC Now, etc etc etc. Also the service providers have loads of channels...all streaming. ROKU lets me get Netflix and Prime Video and YouTube plus so many more channels. I just can’t believe it. Definitely glad we cut the cord two yrs ago.
Is there some way to receive Turner Classic Movies after cutting the cord? If so, I’m outta there in a heartbeat.
Yes. I’ve been strictly antenna now for about 3 yrs.
If there is something I want to see(Hannity and Trump tonight), I can get it on the computer(thanks to a Freeper’s excellent link that I bookmarked).
Here it is... http://ustvgo.tv/page/5/
Saves me over $150 a month and you can pick and choose what to watch, when to watch it and there are no commercials.
Best thing I ever did was to cut the cable.
I have a spectrum package that offers ala carte.
I get all the local channels, plus I pick 10 non premiums.
It’s 21 bucks but gotta have internet too, since it’s streamed.
I use a Roku for the stream device on my Teev.
I don’t have cable. Had it many many years ago and only watched golf.
Now the big golf tournaments are on regular tv in the summer, and before the PGA season officially starts, I can go to the gym and watch it there. Lots of us do.
“I use Amazon prime and find all kinds of things to watch. Right now watching shows from new zeland.”
Easily the best bang for the buck in streaming. Really good international shows and documentaries.
I am now listening to Trump on Hannity and I didn’t pay for a damn thing.
I cut the cord this week. I’m now streaming YouTube TV and saving about $150 a month. If the programming on Netflix doesn’t improve, I may dump that too.
And there is an easy solution to that too. Just don't watch it. There will another work around that too. Just takes some time.
I will never ever again pay for cable tv. I refuse to aid and abet these dirty rotten anti-American SOBs.
CNN survives on international income according to what I have read.
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