Thursday, December 13, 2012

Free TV doesn't exist

Regarding this article and the comments below it.

The comments are amusing. Sure, you can cancel your cable subscription and stick with Netflix or downloading. But if everyone did that, then how will your favorite TV shows get the money to create programming?  Ad revenue generates the money needed to produce TV shows. All those commercials we're skipping through on our DVRs means that ad revenue has been decreasing.  With decreased ad revenue comes new methods of revenue generation.  Bones, which my husband watches, is particularly egregious in this department. It's like a mini-commercial in each episode, and it is glaringly obvious.  This week's episode of Gossip Girl hit me over the head with the new Windows 8 phone.  Way to take me out of the story by trying to sell me a crappy OS or a car I can't afford. 

Yes, the business model needs to change, and I wish they'd hurry up and make some forward progress. But you can't have everything for free. Paying for cable is one of the ways to keep new TV shows coming.

No comments: