https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

"Now TV" will have 40 cable channels plus Peacock-with-ads. Available to Xfinity broadband customers. (Not sure if it will ever be offered without an Xfinity hookup). It says 40 cable channels plus 20 FAST channels. I don't know if I understand the difference anymore between a cable channel and a FAST channel. I'm not


"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

FAST Channels: More than 20 free ad-supported streaming TV channels including NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

EDIT: In case any of y'all still think the game is ESPN/SEC vs Fox/Big Ten, this is a reality check that the real game is Disney vs Comcast.

At least until they both realize that Amazon or Apple or Alphabet Google is about to swallow them both up.

Like I posted in another thread. This should've happened a decade ago. People don't mind have cable but they don't wanna pay too much for it. Maybe with how the way streaming has been going this could lead to a resurgence in cable.

(05-23-2023 07:55 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  Like I posted in another thread. This should've happened a decade ago. People don't mind have cable but they don't wanna pay too much for it. Maybe with how the way streaming has been going this could lead to a resurgence in cable.

But this Now TV thing is very different than your cable bundle from 20 years ago. No ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. No ESPN, no CNN, no MTV. No Fox News. No USA, TNT, TBS.

Spectrum has the "Choice" package where you get to choose up to 15 cable channels, and ESPN is on the menu (but ACCN is excluded - sigh). They toss in most of these channels since they are so cheap anyway - all for $35/month (internet and/or cable box are extra).

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

This is, in my opinion, a very smart move.

And also sets them up for international possibilities.

Local channels are an unnecessary expense, and regulatory hassle for this.

As for news and sports channels, Comcast has Sky news and its own sports offerings.

And this puts them a step above the re-run heavy FAST conglomerate of products, but adding in a a bunch of the mid-tier cable channels.

Including a chunk of Warner's various Discovery channels.

Are there a couple kid-friendly channels from Warner or Paramount like CN/Boomerang or the Nick-family of channels, that families might want added? Sure. However, I don't recall about CN, but my recollection is that the Nick-family channels are expensive.

So this all seems to be about offering a lower-cost option.

Now, for 20, do you get this or the Disney bundle?...right, probably not.

But for those who get Disney and something else. This might be something that edges out the rest.

This plus Disney really would seem to get quite a bit of content.

Which, I think, might be the exact target audience they could be going for.

Edit: Another thing to note: You get the ad version of Paramount plus with a Walmart subscription.

So with that, plus this and Disney, get you three ota channels' content next-day. (CBS/NBC/ABC)

An interesting situation.

(05-23-2023 08:07 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 07:55 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  Like I posted in another thread. This should've happened a decade ago. People don't mind have cable but they don't wanna pay too much for it. Maybe with how the way streaming has been going this could lead to a resurgence in cable.

But this Now TV thing is very different than your cable bundle from 20 years ago. No ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. No ESPN, no CNN, no MTV. No Fox News. No USA, TNT, TBS.

If this goes well. There could be a more expensive tier that has those channels.

Incidentally:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/23/netflix-...kdown.html

Quote:Netflix's crackdown on password sharing has come to the U.S.

The streaming service said it began alerting members on Tuesday about its new sharing policy, noting that Netflix accounts are only to be shared within a single household.

"Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household," the company said in an email, which it posted to its blog on Tuesday.

The email goes on to say that members can transfer a profile of someone outside of their household so the person can begin a new membership they pay for on their own. Or they can pay an extra fee – $7.99 a month – per person outside of their household using their account.

On Netflix's subscription plans page, it notes that extra members can be added to its standard and premium plans without ads.

Netflix warned it would be tightening its guidelines on password sharing in a push to boost revenue and subscriber numbers, soon after the company began seeing growth stagnate.

Quote:Here's how Netflix prices its tiers in the United States:

• Standard ad-supported (2 devices at a time): $6.99/month
• Basic (1 device at a time): $9.99/month
• Standard (2 devices at a time): $15.49/month
• Premium (4 devices at a time): $19.99/month
  

Timing...

(05-23-2023 08:34 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 08:07 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 07:55 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  Like I posted in another thread. This should've happened a decade ago. People don't mind have cable but they don't wanna pay too much for it. Maybe with how the way streaming has been going this could lead to a resurgence in cable.

But this Now TV thing is very different than your cable bundle from 20 years ago. No ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. No ESPN, no CNN, no MTV. No Fox News. No USA, TNT, TBS.

If this goes well. There could be a more expensive tier that has those channels.

I mean if they're targeting cord cutters with this then they'll likely get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, and Ion (and whatever else) with a digital antenna instead of paying more on a cable package.

The same group probably wouldn't care about not having ESPN, CNN, MTV, or the rest.

I actually watch sports but don't get any of those channels through cable. Most of my relatives who don't watch sports couldn't care less about it.

This is a good move on their part for sure to keep a larger customer base.

(05-23-2023 08:34 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 08:07 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 07:55 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  Like I posted in another thread. This should've happened a decade ago. People don't mind have cable but they don't wanna pay too much for it. Maybe with how the way streaming has been going this could lead to a resurgence in cable.

But this Now TV thing is very different than your cable bundle from 20 years ago. No ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. No ESPN, no CNN, no MTV. No Fox News. No USA, TNT, TBS.

If this goes well. There could be a more expensive tier that has those channels.

Yes - I think this could be a preliminary shot at Hulu +

(05-23-2023 08:39 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 08:34 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 08:07 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 07:55 PM)ExpertAd991 Wrote:  Like I posted in another thread. This should've happened a decade ago. People don't mind have cable but they don't wanna pay too much for it. Maybe with how the way streaming has been going this could lead to a resurgence in cable.

But this Now TV thing is very different than your cable bundle from 20 years ago. No ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. No ESPN, no CNN, no MTV. No Fox News. No USA, TNT, TBS.

If this goes well. There could be a more expensive tier that has those channels.

Yes - I think this could be a preliminary shot at Hulu +

Yeah I mean who knows how things will go but I'm happy to see some cable companies that are innovating. Will be interesting to see if this affects conference realignment. Maybe this gives the pac 12 a lifeline.

Sounds like Philo TV-lite. $5 less.
https://www.philo.com/login/subscribe

(05-23-2023 06:59 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

"Now TV" will have 40 cable channels plus Peacock-with-ads. Available to Xfinity broadband customers. (Not sure if it will ever be offered without an Xfinity hookup). It says 40 cable channels plus 20 FAST channels. I don't know if I understand the difference anymore between a cable channel and a FAST channel. I'm not


"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

FAST Channels: More than 20 free ad-supported streaming TV channels including NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

EDIT: In case any of y'all still think the game is ESPN/SEC vs Fox/Big Ten, this is a reality check that the real game is Disney vs Comcast.

At least until they both realize that Amazon or Apple or Alphabet Google is about to swallow them both up.

That package is a great deal for the cat ladies.

(05-23-2023 09:39 PM)PlayBall! Wrote:  Sounds like Philo TV-lite. $5 less.
https://www.philo.com/login/subscribe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_(company)

Looks like the main difference is paramount channels instead of comcast channels.

The rest look pretty much the same.

(05-23-2023 09:39 PM)PlayBall! Wrote:  Sounds like Philo TV-lite. $5 less.
https://www.philo.com/login/subscribe

Exactly, it's $5 cheaper plan than Philo with less channels and no features. There is nothing to see here, you can stop analyzing this product now.

People are looking for a sports bundle for TV. Complete with DVR and/or On Demand watching like Prime has - Watch from Beginning or Watch Live or Resume. That's the product people would pay for, not another collection of channels you can easily get by subscribing to Hulu or Peacock.

(05-23-2023 08:13 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  Spectrum has the "Choice" package where you get to choose up to 15 cable channels, and ESPN is on the menu (but ACCN is excluded - sigh). They toss in most of these channels since they are so cheap anyway - all for $35/month (internet and/or cable box are extra).

Note that Spectrum Choice is really $55-60 after fees like DVR, etc. They say Locals are included but then add in a $15-20 Broadcast fee, so they aren't really free.

(05-23-2023 06:59 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

"Now TV" will have 40 cable channels plus Peacock-with-ads. Available to Xfinity broadband customers. (Not sure if it will ever be offered without an Xfinity hookup). It says 40 cable channels plus 20 FAST channels. I don't know if I understand the difference anymore between a cable channel and a FAST channel. I'm not


"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

FAST Channels: More than 20 free ad-supported streaming TV channels including NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

EDIT: In case any of y'all still think the game is ESPN/SEC vs Fox/Big Ten, this is a reality check that the real game is Disney vs Comcast.

At least until they both realize that Amazon or Apple or Alphabet Google is about to swallow them both up.

Those "Fast" channels are free streaming channels that are available on other platforms for free (Pluto TV, Roku Live, etc.). The Now Channels look like a collection of channels I would never watch. My wife likes the Halmark stuff but I can get that on Frndly TV that has Unlimited DVR and 40 channels for $8.99 a month.

https://try.frndlytv.com/?utm_source=goo...HsQAvD_BwE

(05-24-2023 07:20 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 06:59 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

"Now TV" will have 40 cable channels plus Peacock-with-ads. Available to Xfinity broadband customers. (Not sure if it will ever be offered without an Xfinity hookup). It says 40 cable channels plus 20 FAST channels. I don't know if I understand the difference anymore between a cable channel and a FAST channel. I'm not


"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

FAST Channels: More than 20 free ad-supported streaming TV channels including NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

EDIT: In case any of y'all still think the game is ESPN/SEC vs Fox/Big Ten, this is a reality check that the real game is Disney vs Comcast.

At least until they both realize that Amazon or Apple or Alphabet Google is about to swallow them both up.

Those "Fast" channels are free streaming channels that are available on other platforms for free (Pluto TV, Roku Live, etc.). The Now Channels look like a collection of channels I would never watch. My wife likes the Halmark stuff but I can get that on Frndly TV that has Unlimited DVR and 40 channels for $8.99 a month.

I'm not sure if you're referring to the FAST channels there, or the traditional cable channels. I'm not sure what the difference is between a bottom-feeding cable channel like RFD TV and the FAST (making up a name) Wild West Channel.

https://try.frndlytv.com/?utm_source=goo...HsQAvD_BwE
[/quote]

(05-24-2023 07:37 AM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(05-24-2023 07:20 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 06:59 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

"Now TV" will have 40 cable channels plus Peacock-with-ads. Available to Xfinity broadband customers. (Not sure if it will ever be offered without an Xfinity hookup). It says 40 cable channels plus 20 FAST channels. I don't know if I understand the difference anymore between a cable channel and a FAST channel. I'm not


"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

FAST Channels: More than 20 free ad-supported streaming TV channels including NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

EDIT: In case any of y'all still think the game is ESPN/SEC vs Fox/Big Ten, this is a reality check that the real game is Disney vs Comcast.

At least until they both realize that Amazon or Apple or Alphabet Google is about to swallow them both up.

Those "Fast" channels are free streaming channels that are available on other platforms for free (Pluto TV, Roku Live, etc.). The Now Channels look like a collection of channels I would never watch. My wife likes the Halmark stuff but I can get that on Frndly TV that has Unlimited DVR and 40 channels for $8.99 a month.

I'm not sure if you're referring to the FAST channels there, or the traditional cable channels. I'm not sure what the difference is between a bottom-feeding cable channel like RFD TV and the FAST (making up a name) Wild West Channel.

https://try.frndlytv.com/?utm_source=goo...HsQAvD_BwE

Now Channels
"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

Fast Channels
NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

(05-23-2023 11:23 PM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 09:39 PM)PlayBall! Wrote:  Sounds like Philo TV-lite. $5 less.
https://www.philo.com/login/subscribe

Exactly, it's $5 cheaper plan than Philo with less channels and no features. There is nothing to see here, you can stop analyzing this product now.

People are looking for a sports bundle for TV. Complete with DVR and/or On Demand watching like Prime has - Watch from Beginning or Watch Live or Resume. That's the product people would pay for, not another collection of channels you can easily get by subscribing to Hulu or Peacock.

Sports fans are looking for that....but about two-thirds of the people in the US don't watch sports.

(05-23-2023 10:08 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(05-23-2023 06:59 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/co...235622840/

"Now TV" will have 40 cable channels plus Peacock-with-ads. Available to Xfinity broadband customers. (Not sure if it will ever be offered without an Xfinity hookup). It says 40 cable channels plus 20 FAST channels. I don't know if I understand the difference anymore between a cable channel and a FAST channel. I'm not


"Now TV Live: More than 40 cable channels including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WEtv and Weather Channel."

FAST Channels: More than 20 free ad-supported streaming TV channels including NBC News NOW, Sky News and the following genre-based channels from Xumo Play: Action Movies, Black Cinema, Bollywood & Indian Cinema, Comedy Movies, Comedy TV, Crime TV, Documentaries, Drama & Action TV, Family Movies, Food TV, Movies, Game Shows, Her Movies, Horror & Thriller, Kids TV, Reality TV, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies, Travel & Lifestyle TV and Westerns.

EDIT: In case any of y'all still think the game is ESPN/SEC vs Fox/Big Ten, this is a reality check that the real game is Disney vs Comcast.

At least until they both realize that Amazon or Apple or Alphabet Google is about to swallow them both up.

That package is a great deal for the cat ladies.

I was gonna say blue hairs