LA Times Article: Frndly TV streaming service is for cord-cutters in Middle America

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

This streaming service is for cord-cutters in Middle America

The Denver-based start-up Frndly TV is already profitable from consumers seeking a cheaper, "family-friendly" alternative to cable.

www.latimes.com

Kelly Arbaugh, a 58-year-old executive assistant for a wealth management firm outside of Philadelphia, was tired of paying $300 a month for internet and cable TV service and this year became one of the thousands of U.S. households that cut the pay-TV cord each month.

But breaking up with your favorite channels is hard to do, so Arbaugh turned to Google for help. “I asked, ‘How can I get the Hallmark Channel and UPtv without cable?’”

The search turned up Frndly TV, a Denver-based streaming service that offers a modest number of channels — including her favorites — starting at $5.99 a month. The name conveyed what Arbaugh was looking for: an inexpensive subscription with “family-friendly” programming that will never earn Emmy nominations or raves from TV critics but soothes her after a long day.

This is an interesting profile of this company role in competing against the bigger outlets for viewers.

 

[Mikey Radio]

I think many are searching for decent programming without breaking the bank. Comcast and the like can become ridiculously expensive, and the "cord cutters" are finding that much of the content that was once available for free (older episodes of programs that were available on the networks' websites, content on Hulu, etc.) often requires a subscription now. With Hulu, YouTube, Discovery+, Peacock, Amazon, Netflix, the one from CBS, etc. out there, all offering programming but each requiring a monthly fee, its starting to get expensive for people to stream content from different places and networks, which defeats the purpose of them dumping cable in the first place.

I get free high speed WiFi through our HOA, but need to pay for Comcast. Even though we only watch a handful of channels regularly, to get all the ones we wanted, a few of which aren't available via streaming, our monthly bill is more than $100/month and the crappy thing is we're paying for hundreds of channels of 'stuff' we'll never watch, just to get the fewer than a dozen we actually do. Networks like HGTV run marathons of crap shows like Home Town, then during the breaks they show you all this amazing programming you really want to watch, then break it to you that if you liked the teaser you just saw, you need to subscribe and pay for Discovery+ to get it. Where Comcast used to over several hundred movie titles and TV shows on demand as part of ones' subscription to their cable service, even they screw you over because even if you're paying $$$ each month for a cable subscription, you can't watch much of that on demand content now unless you're also using Comcast as your internet provider.

 

[Deleted User]

I get cable TV and internet from my HOA for $72 a month in Florida..... up north it is 3 times that.... FL is fiber based 300megs up and down, NH is 300 down 10 up on coax

With Comcrap I get to watch some stuff online, but no local channels, with BlueStream I get an app that I can watch EVERY channel on the lineup anywhere in the US.

I am sooo tempted to drop Comcast TV and phone and just go internet and use my BlueStream app to watch TV... and at least on Bluestream CMT is not considered a "premium" channel like it is on my Comcrap lineup. Toss up an antenna for the local stations and watch the rest on a stream.

 

[gr8oldies]

I said this some time ago, by the time you subscribe to 30 streaming services you have your cable bill back. Having only 12 channels you watch is one thing, but thousands of people want a different 12.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Frndly TV offers only the "independent" cable channels, i.e. those which are not owned by ViacomCBS, Disney, Warner and Comcast. But even so for the price it's a decent value.

 

[Mikey Radio]

I said this some time ago, by the time you subscribe to 30 streaming services you have your cable bill back. Having only 12 channels you watch is one thing, but thousands of people want a different 12.

I think the biggest turnoff to Comcast and similar is that most subscribers are paying $1,200/year or in some cases much more for the few channels they watch on a regular basis, while they're stuck paying for hundreds of other channels they'll never view, while there are more non-premium channels they'd like access to, but they're blocked because they aren't included in their specific packages. With the Xfinity X1 boxes being so customizable, Comcast should be capable of offering an a la carte option where one can pick only the channels they're interested in, rather than being bound by specific "packages". IMO it would make good business sense for Comcast to get a ton more subscribers paying $100/month to get exactly the content and channels they want, vs. getting no $$ from those same subscribers as they've become frustrated with the crappy offerings they get for the $$ they were paying and they cut the cord as a result. I'm not referring to "premium" channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz or adult content, which would still cost extra.

While I don't understand the legal requirements Comcast may be bound by (i.e. if they carry Discovery and HGTV, then perhaps they must, under contract carry another 5 crappy channels that no one watches?), at the same time I really don't think the monthly fee for cable is the dealbreaker - but people want to get the content and channels they actually WANT to watch for that price. For me, I'd grab the handful of channels we normally watch, plus national news networks, our local stations and also get a few more non-premium channels like the Cooking Channel and Destination America which have shows I'd like to watch, but are currently blocked as they're not included in the specific packages we're bound by. I'd also prefer to have the option of blocking all the on demand movies and TV shows I can't view without subscribing to Comcast internet so I can only see what's available to me with my cable subscription and I don't waste my time making selections I can't actually watch. Again, with Xfinity's current boxes, all this should be doable.

 

[boombox4]

And then you can just tune out TV altogether. There is plenty of free, commercial driven video info and entertainment on YouTube, Vimeo, and similar services.