Too much tv - Elizabeth Franklin

Too much tv

A while back, I wrote a blog about television, but I focused on commercials more than the availability of television in the home. Can we have too much tv?

When I received my bill from Comcast a few months ago, I noticed that the bill was higher than it had been, so I drove over to the office and was thrilled to be the first customer of the day.  I had the clerk’s full attention. I asked him about the bill, and he explained that my two year contract had expired and the fee increased automatically. I, as the consumer, should be aware that my contract has reached its end, but truthfully, when whether my contract for amenities is up is the least of my daily concerns. Anyway, I asked the guy how I could lower my expenses. Sweet guy, really. He told me the only way for me to lower my bill was to add channels.

What? Explain that, I said. He told me that I should compare getting more for less the same way that I do when I buy in bulk at Sam’s Club. Yes, but I can eat what I buy at Sam’s Club.

Anyway, I did not raise the number of channels because the number of channels that I have now is far more than I ever use. Most of the time, I watch the local tv station to catch the weather report, which is sometimes accurate. I catch a little local news like the Bill Cosby trial, the beverage tax in Philadelphia, protests, shootings and stabbings, carjackings,  and a few fires here and there. I seldom watch national news now because the shrill voices of the commentators–not journalists–makes me grind my teeth. (I can’t afford dental bills for grinding due to stress brought on by non-journalists.) So, I watch reruns of Columbo, Law and Order, occasionally an old movie like The Rear Window or Breakheart Pass, but other than that, it’s Netflix, Netflix, Netflix.  I don’t need cable for that.

You see, cable tv is not working for me. I have at least two other ways to get tv–Roku and Chrome Cast, so why should I pay for services that I don’t need?  I can get everything that I need there. My aged friends say that if I need a weather report, stick my head out the door. I love that advice, except I do want to know what weather may happen tomorrow. Nothing good is coming from the news outlets so why watch and get all bothered by it. Besides, I can read up on the events via the internet.

I am now thinking about my options. I do need Comcast for my internet but not for tv or a landline phone.  Can I cut my bill down?  I think I’m going to try, but I’m probably going to cause some tech somewhere working on a help line to have paroxysms when I say I want to cut down the services.  He or she is going to try to make me feel bad, which will probably work, but I must keep a tight grip on my purse strings.

I will say this in defense of Comcast–I have never had a disagreeable tech.  Sometimes the tech stays on the line with me for an hour as I try to figure out which wire goes where.  He or she needs to explain what a modem is, what a router is, what a splitter is, what an ethernet cable is, etc.  These are not things I want to know.  Why can’t stuff just work?  I don’t know.

I don’t think that I am the only person who is experiencing frustration related to the rising cost of cable television.  I wish there were a way to select what channels I want to watch and just pay for those.  Some genius will figure that out and will make millions because customers will sign up will-nilly just to eliminate expenses.  I will be interested to see that happen.

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