I have a love-hate relationship with TV. After a long day and when, for a change, I don’t have anything on my plate, it’s nice to be able to sit down and essentially turn off my brain or get caught up on what’s going on in the world.
What I don’t like is the state of the television industry today and how it gets to consumers. If a person has any interest in watching AMC, Fox News, or just about any cable/satellite channel, they’re going to have to pony up and buy a subscription package. Have no interest in MTV? Too bad. You’re getting it. Not a fan of Bravo? Suck it up, buttercup. Oh, you do want Speed? Well you’re going to have to go to this larger package where you’ll end up spending $30 more a month.
This annoys me to no end. When it comes to cable/satellite TV, I’m interested in maybe five channels and only willing to pay for two. Sadly, there isn’t a single provider that’s willing to provide me those two channels and give me a rate that one would expect when they’re only getting two channels.
This is something that people all across the political spectrum can agree upon. I’m sure that there are liberals and conservatives who only want BBC America so that they can watch Top Gear (well, maybe not Piers Morgan) and only care about one of the many news channels that are provided.
Because of this, I’m going to say something that many libs won’t like: We need to support Glenn Beck.
As many know, Beck has started his own TV network, The Blaze. While this channel is available with a number of cable and satellite providers, anyone can subscribe to the channel and stream it over the internet. Isn’t this the sort of business model we’ve all wanted? I’m not stuck paying for 100 channels I don’t care about. I’m paying for one. With The Blaze, people can watch the content of this station on their computers or via a TV connected device (still waiting for an Xbox One app for The Blaze though) for $100 a year.
I know people who spend almost that much each month on cable.
Maybe you don’t agree with what Glenn Beck thinks. I don’t agree with him 100%. Perhaps some of the programs aren’t quite up to the level of what you might get from larger operations; I wouldn’t argue with that statement. But Beck has done something that those who run the content creators and providers have refused to do for my entire life: He’s given us the choice. If Fox News, AMC, FX, Bloomberg, and the others operated like Beck is running his station, consumers would be a lot happier.
So on this one thing, I think we can all agree: Everyone should be doing what Beck’s doing.
