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YouTube TV Costs $50 Per Month After Another Price Hike (engadget.com)
YouTube TV isn't immune to the latest wave of rate hikes plaguing the streaming world. From a report: The Google-owned service has announced that it's raising the base monthly price to $50 ($55 if you subscribe directly through an Apple TV), effective immediately for new subscribers and from May 13th onward for existing customers. You'll at least get something for your trouble, though, as YouTube TV will finally offer a host of additional channels.
You now have access to eight Discovery channels that include the original as well as Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, MotorTrend, TLC and Travel Channel. Oprah Winfrey's OWN channel is coming later in 2019, and Epix's movie-oriented channel is available today if you're willing to spend extra.
You now have access to eight Discovery channels that include the original as well as Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, MotorTrend, TLC and Travel Channel. Oprah Winfrey's OWN channel is coming later in 2019, and Epix's movie-oriented channel is available today if you're willing to spend extra.
The Pirate Bay is free -- $50 is almost basic cable pricing territory. What a joke.
I was on the $40/month DirecTV now with 105 channels. It went up to $65 a month which was too much for me. Why can't we do a cafeteria plan? Give me ABC, CBS, NBC, HGTV, ESPN, and that's it. I don't want anything else. I don't even need DVR capability, I just need my login to the tv provider to work to OAuth into the various channel apps so I can do their shows on demand.
- Vincit qui patitur.
What I celebrate most in YouTube is the death of the channel. I've never "subscribed" to one damn thing.
Obviously, if you find someone who produces smart content, it's nice to be able to browse that person's back catalogue. But you can do that with Andy Warhol, too, and he never had a "channel", he just had whatever he had made up to that point.
Channels are the natural domain of lazy, content-consuming slobs. Honestly, should what you watch next be a function of your recent viewing history? Only if questions pertaining to fresh material remains insufficiently answered.
But many people seem to prefer the girl-next-door algorithm. If the girl-next-door to the girl-next-door is even prettier, you continue to incrementally change your address: hill-climbing algorithm, one back-yard fence at a time.
Or you could head to a street cafe in the center of Paris, and skip all these silly "channel" increments.
These companies just don't get it, do they?
Oh, they get it, they just don't care enough to do anything about it.
Give me an option where I can choose exactly what channels I want, and exclude the channels I don't want..
Start with an example: I like Science channel, as it is one of the few "science-y" channels left that actually shows "scienc-y stuff". Unlike The Learning Channel that is hasn't had anything of any value on it in a decade, and I wouldn't pay a dime for. The problem? They are both owned by Discovery, Inc, who owns among others, The Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, Great American Country. You'll quickly find that almost every one of your favorite channels is owned by a conglomerate. And while that large "network" may have one or two channels you like, they likely have a dozen that you couldn't care less about. And from what I've seen, all of the "Entertainment Providers" are only willing to sell them by the bundle. Oh, you only want to buy Science Channel? That'll be $50/month please, but the good news is that it includes all this other useless shit we have that you have no interest in.
Actually, they know _exactly_ that you want TV a la carte -- the thing is they don't care. What are you going to do? They know they have you over a barrel.
A few piddly people "cutting the cord" isn't going to get them to stop.
If people were smart they would **cooperatively organize** a month of no cable / streaming to send a message. But they won't so nothing will change with licensing shenanigans like this.
What I'm going to do is exactly what I've been doing - refusing to subscribe to / pay for such services, until they're willing to offer me what I want. I vote with my wallet.
Actually, they know _exactly_ that you want TV a la carte -- the thing is they don't care. What are you going to do? They know they have you over a barrel.
Addicts are abused the same way the world over. Don't want to be thrown over a barrel and abused? Then fix your addiction problem.
Yeah, it is that simple. No one needs the Boob Tube.