Comcast Exploring Spinoff of NBCU Cable Networks Into New Company

[michael hagerty]

That’s the only way to go when the prices of multiple streaming services eclipse how much people are paying for directv.

Then you don't do multiples.

I used to. I let it creep up to several at once. But when I retired, I decided to exercise some discipline. Here's my approach:

HBO Max: This is my only year-round subscription. Between Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Pitt, Hacks, The White Lotus, there's always something that we watch that's in a current season. Currently watching the final season of Tokyo Vice.

Disney+ (for Hulu): With What We Do In The Shadows and The Handmaids' Tale having completed their runs and Nine Perfect Strangers having finished season 2, I've cancelled the subscription, but I'll re-up in September for Only Murders in the Building. We'll probably sample The Bear, as well.

Apple TV+: Everything we watch on Apple (The Morning Show, Severance, The Studio, Your Friends and Neighbors, Ted Lasso, Shrinking) is between seasons right now. The first of those to come back will be The Morning Show, a day after Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. So renewing Apple waits until we finish the new season of Only Murders.

Netflix: Waiting for the next season of The Lincoln Lawyer and I'm curious about The Night Agent and Nobody Wants This.

Peacock: Girls5Eva moved to Netflix (and then got cancelled) and Poker Face, which had a brilliant season one, changed showrunners and is having a terrible season two. We bailed mid-season and cancelled.

Paramount+: I don't think I ever subscribed to Paramount+, and if I did, I can't remember what the show was I wanted to see.

Amazon Prime: Not since Jeff Bezos landed on my FTG list.

So, basically, I'm paying $16.99 for HBO Max right now. I'll roughly double that to add Disney+ for a couple of months for Only Murders, then dump Disney and add Netflix. Never more than two services at the same time, and $35-ish a month.

 

[radiofan2023]

HBO Max: This is my only year-round subscription. Between Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Pitt, Hacks, The White Lotus, there's always something that we watch that's in a current season. Currently watching the final season of Tokyo Vice.
Netflix: Waiting for the next season of The Lincoln Lawyer and I'm curious about The Night Agent and Nobody Wants This.

“The Night Agent” is great. Is “Tokyo Vice” as great/innovative as “Miami Vice” is/was, or is Michael Mann not as involved with it?

 

[michael hagerty]

Is “Tokyo Vice” as great/innovative as “Miami Vice” is/was, or is Michael Mann not as involved with it?

Michael Mann directed the first episode and set the style and tone for the videography. He was given Executive Producer credit, but is otherwise not involved in the show.

The title and his involvement cause some confusion---I put it off, even though I loved Miami Vice at the time because I thought "okay, so---Miami Vice in Tokyo?"

It's nothing like that. It's actually based on the true story of journalist Jake Adelstein who moved from Columbia, Missouri to Japan in 1988 at age 18 to study Japanese Literature, and stayed there, eventually, a decade later, becoming the only foreigner on the staff of a major newspaper.

He's assigned to the crime beat, which leads him into stories (which we learn are really one big story) involving the Japanese mob---the Yakuza---and the intersection of the press, the police, and organized crime in Japan in the late 1990s.

I think it's deeper, richer and more complex than Miami Vice ever attempted to be (and again, I loved that show---40 years ago). And it gets bonus points from me for getting what it's like to be a 30-year-old journalist very, very right:

 

[tall_guy1]

That’s the only way to go when the prices of multiple streaming services eclipse how much people are paying for directv.

Eh....the only services even potentially people who cut the cord would go to is things like Philo or Sling. Even ESPN is getting it's own standalone streaming service later on. But if you look for discounts...nowhere close.

 

[davideduardo]

Michael Mann directed the first episode and set the style and tone for the videography. He was given Executive Producer credit, but is otherwise not involved in the show.

I think it's deeper, richer and more complex than Miami Vice ever attempted to be (and again, I loved that show---40 years ago). And it gets bonus points from me for getting what it's like to be a 30-year-old journalist very, very right:

I was in Miami when Miami Vice began. And I was at the sister station of Y-100. We had Miami Vice stars in the building often, and a number of the jocks did parts on one or more episodes. Even one of my Radio Hit jocks did a part that required a Cuban character. Y-100 did lots of promotions involving the show, too.

Some broadcasters would say that we were promoting TV, a competitive medium. But we knew "everyone" would watch the show so we rode along with it so that it seemed to belong to us.

 

[radiofan2023]

I was in Miami when Miami Vice began. And I was at the sister station of Y-100. We had Miami Vice stars in the building often, and a number of the jocks did parts on one or more episodes. Even one of my Radio Hit jocks did a part that required a Cuban character. Y-100 did lots of promotions involving the show, too.

Some broadcasters would say that we were promoting TV, a competitive medium. But we knew "everyone" would watch the show so we rode along with it so that it seemed to belong to us.

That’s so cool! Did you meet any of the show stars ever and were they nice? They all seem nice in the Miami Vice convention videos I’ve seen & when I talked to Penelope Ann Miller about the show, she was super nice.

 

[inari]

That’s the only way to go when the prices of multiple streaming services eclipse how much people are paying for directv.

The cheapest Directv plan is $89 per month. I guess if you subscribed to every streaming provider it would be more. I don't know anyone who does that.

We have Disney+ and Prime and pay less than $25/month and I'm happy to *not* support and pay for garbage channels on Directv.

 

[davideduardo]

That’s so cool! Did you meet any of the show stars ever and were they nice?

I "met" nearly all the names you saw in the credits, but sort of "hi, nice to meet ya'" sorts of encounters. Yeah, they were nice.

But at the same time, our Spanish Top 40 was doing its own promotions; lots of street events with our little garage band that we took out with us. The band had an Americanized name, too: Miami Sound Machine.

 

[yeoldeschool]

our little garage band that we took out with us. The band had an Americanized name, too: Miami Sound Machine.

That is just cool.

 

[secondchoice]

How many others used streaming in 2011?

I used an antenna for OTA stations in 2010, watched DVDs and later added Sling. Our cable bill was over (basic) $100. We didn't have HBO or any of the other premium stuff

 

[TheBigA]

As part of this cable spinoff, E! News will end production next month:

'E! News' to end this year after 3 decades

The final tape date for the nightly show will be Sept. 25. It first aired in 1991.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Streaming is such a huge success that NBC is launching a cable channel. I stand on what I said, streaming is a fad and won’t be popular by the end of this decade.

Au contraire, streaming allows the providers to serve unskippable commercials which could previously be bypassed with a cable or OTA DVR. Not only is it not going anywhere, but count on streaming to evolve into an even more cable-like model with locked-in contracts, early termination fees, frequent rate hikes that far outpace the rate of inflation, and all the other nasty anti-consumer tricks that have always made media subscriptions such a miserable experience.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Au contraire, streaming allows the providers to serve unskippable commercials which could previously be bypassed with a cable or OTA DVR.

Minor correction, if I may: My TiVo is designed entirely for OTA use. It is a model that cannot be used for cable. And it has the ability to skip ahead 30 seconds at a time to avoid commercials.

And some programming is actually encoded to enable a single button push to bypass the entire break; in my case, I have noted that if I record "World News Tonight" from ABC but wait an hour or so before watching it, that encoding has been added to it.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Minor correction, if I may: My TiVo is designed entirely for OTA use. It is a model that cannot be used for cable. And it has the ability to skip ahead 30 seconds at a time to avoid commercials.

And some programming is actually encoded to enable a single button push to bypass the entire break; in my case, I have noted that if I record "World News Tonight" from ABC but wait an hour or so before watching it, that encoding has been added to it.

Right, if you re-read my post that was my point. The content providers are all-in on streaming, in part because you can't skip the commercials.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Right, if you re-read my post that was my point. The content providers are all-in on streaming, in part because you can't skip the commercials.

Sorry, got confused there for a second. Too many distractions here at the moment.