I got to thinking again about cable TV bundling. Sure, one probably knows if he or she wants want something such as the Weather Channel, Home Shopping Network, or the History Channel, though perhaps not – one might REALLY learn to enjoy Storm Stories. Or this on C-SPAN. But how would the novice viewer know exactly what an FX is, or a Bravo? Or perhaps one has channels one doesn’t even realize one has, then stumbles across it, and realizes, “Hey, that’s kind of interesting.”
Lydia grabbed hold of the remote last week – your comments about gender trends here – and I ended up on Movie Trailers on Demand, a station I didn’t even know I had, and probably would not have selected. I poked around the choices, and ended up seeing, among others, the trailer for the upcoming Superman Returns movie. It was interesting enough that I’m more inclined to see the film based on the iconic character than I was before.
Maybe there should be some way for cable subscribers to get a range of stations for a short time, with blocks on networks folks already know they don’t want in their homes – “no Playboy channel, but thanks anyway” – so that consumers can make more informed choices.
Or maybe that’s just too much pressure.
***
A tool to pervert the copyright law from its intended function, which was to reward creativity.
