There must be a better way to watch TV.
Television in 2021 is a garbage bin.
There are more great programs than ever, but the organization and cost are worse than at any time in electronic-entertainment history.
In addition to traditional broadcast-network products, outfits like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are producing a never-ending stream of incredible original shows. The a la carte mode in which our TV menu exists offers the ultimate variety and choice for our amusement. It also creates a complete dishevelment that rewards content producers and not content consumers.
We can now watch programs by subscribing to cable services, using an “over-the-air” broadcast antenna device, through subscription to an internet-carried streaming TV service or through on-demand aggregates that offer next-day availability.
While there are options to receive all kinds of content, all options for content are not feasible — or even attainable — for all viewers.
Take live sports on TV as an example. I’ve been a sports fan almost my whole life and have spent countless hours watching games on TV. As a child, I viewed as many college football bowl games as possible on broadcast channels like CBS, ABC and FOX. Now, most bowl games air on ESPN.
Obviously, ESPN is not available with a broadcast antenna. To get it on a traditional cable subscription, I’d have to shell out about $50 in a month, paying for a few channels I’d watch and many I wouldn’t. There are also options for streaming live TV like Fubo, Hulu and YouTube, but those cost as much as cable, making them superfluous. Sling offers smaller cable-channel packages for about half the cost, but the package divisions make no sense. One includes ESPN. A different group offers FS1, a FOX Sports network that provides access to many college games and other events.
ESPN+ is a completely worthless venture for most sports fans. It offers absolutely none of the games that are shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN News. The streaming service only provides tertiary programming that’s altogether pretty unappetizing.
There’s no great option.
The live sports issue reflects the overall TV problem. We currently find ourselves in a sort of television purgatory. We aren’t in the hell of broadcast-only TV with rabbit ears in which I grew up in a home without cable. But we also haven’t reached the heaven of an ideal mix of a la carte options.
I often wish we could just buy each channel individually for a flat rate. Want ESPN? That’s $5 a month. (just a round example cost) Love watching classic movies on TCM? That’s also $5 a month. Watch a lot of FX shows? Get that channel for $5 a month. Pick every facet of your viewing entertainment. The same could be offered for streaming services like Netflix and Disney.
There’s got to be a better way.
In the spring of 2021, I discovered that Locast was available in my TV market. Locast billed itself as a streaming service that delivered live TV through an app and website for multiple screens. It was free and offered all the major broadcast networks and their digital sub-channels. There were ads, but those ads could be prevented by providing a $5 donation each month.
That donation agreement is where Locast erred. In short, Federal Communications Commission regulations allow transmission of broadcast channels in such circumstances only when such activity is done for no profit. By offering the removal of additional advertising interruptions for a donation, it was deemed that Locast was a for-profit subscription service. This determination was made in court after big-media entities cried foul at Locast’s operations, citing copyright violation. As a result, Locast shut itself down without further protest. Viewers like me were left in the dark — again.
I assert strongly that if Locast had just offered a totally free transmission of broadcast channels without seeking any donation from the public, the option to stream CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, PBS and other channels would still exist. That wouldn’t solve the cable-channel issue, or the muddied environment of streaming TV, but it would have been a start.
As it stands, broadcast access continues to be relegated to using old technology, as in antenna devices that plug into a power outlet and the coaxial port on our TV. Or we can get such channels along with a cable subscription, although sometimes our access is still interrupted in that manner by disagreements between networks and cable companies in certain markets.
Additionally, we’re stuck in a place where even streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount Plus, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Apple and many more are pulling us in infinite directions for our attention and our wallets. How many places must we offer our credit card info every month in exchange for a few shows we enjoy?
Currently, the answer is too many. And the sensible viewing and payment choices are still, somehow, too few.
Matthew Tessnear lives in North Carolina. His writing is profoundly impacted by his own experiences with anxiety, depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and other challenges.
