It’s All a Scam
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
United States
March 12, 2016 9:55am CST
Once upon a time, you could put a television antenna on your roof and watch television for free. Those days are gone. I know there are some people who still use an antenna, either on the roof, or inside the house. There are even people who don’t watch television at all. But for the most part, people pay for cable or satellite television. Why is this? It’s because long ago, when I was a child, someone had the bright idea to make money by selling what was free at the time.
Fast forward to this week, and you find me discovering that Amazon has produced a television show based on the Michael Connelly series of novels about a police officer in Los Angeles named Bosch. I have read most of these books, and intend to read the rest too. The news about the show should make me happy, but it doesn’t.
It is too difficult and expensive to watch the programs that you might enjoy now. Just check out the Emmy Awards Show. Amazon, Showtime, HBO, Netflix and several others are producing shows, and demanding payment from anyone who wants to watch them. It might not seem like very much money, but think about it. At one time, everything was free. Now, you cannot pay one price and get it all. You have a basic cost, and then the extras are piled on top.
Yes, I know, there are people who have figured out how to bypass a few of the fees, by spending lots of time jerry rigging their computers and televisions so that they can stream programs. But I taught foreign languages for a living, not electronics. This is too complicated; too time consuming, too expensive and mean.
I won’t be watching Bosch. I won’t be watching House of Cards. I won’t be watching lots of programs that I might otherwise, if they were offered in a simple package for a reasonable price. But this isn’t going to happen any time soon. Greed has won, and we have all lost.
What other free things will they figure out how to make us pay for in the future?
28 people like this
22 responses
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
12 Mar 16
In the UK we just pay an annual licence fee and get a good choice of programmes. If you are over 75 you don't have to pay anything.
Of course you can get Sky or cable if you want to - we have Sky for my husband's sports programmes but it's not that expensive.
6 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
The UK and other places are much better at giving seniors a break. Here, the only benefit I have is going to the movies, and an occasional senior discount at lunch.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (94824)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
13 Mar 16
I know what you mean. There is no more free television anymore. It is a shame that we the people have to pay watch our one way of entertainment.
4 people like this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace I was watching a movie last week on TV and I wanted to go to bed so I hopped on the internet and found the movies, watched the rest quickly and was in bed before the one on TV even had a chance to finish.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I think it should either be commercials and free, or no commercials and cost something. But even then, it should not cost more than our electricity and gas (mine does).
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
14 Mar 16
@OneOfMany Really absurd, isn't it?
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
12 Mar 16
Yes, and it ticks me off. Whatever happened to integrity?
1 person likes this
@AD11RGUY (1265)
• United States
12 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace No profit in integrity. 
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@CoralLevang Perhaps, but it sure seems to have grown to the extent that it is having a much more significant impact upon the lives of the common folk.
@LadyDuck (458976)
• Switzerland
12 Mar 16
You are so right and you cannot imagine how angry I am about the fact that we can see almost nothing with an antenna today. I do not care of most of the programs proposed by cable. We have a free TV over Internet, that is part of our Internet subscription. The choice is limited with the free package, but we almost never watch TV, it's enough for us.
4 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I like technology improving, but the laws reguating it need to catch up.
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
12 Mar 16
There used to be music channels included in the regular cable package, but now if you want them you have to pay more. They used to be good background for when you were working around the house or during holidays, but now they are gone.
For now radio is still mostly free, but things like Sirius Radio obviously are the paid version. I imagine eventually you'll have to pay for that as well.
3 people like this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace Yes, when you get charge after charge for something you paid for one time already, that's more than enough.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
12 Mar 16
That is how pay TV started. It is a slippery slope.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@OneOfMany I don't mind paying a reasonable cost for convenience, but the way things are done now, is just wrong.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (79958)
• United States
12 Mar 16
I get annoyed every month when I have to pay my high cable bill but we're tv people and enjoy watching shows we wouldn't otherwise be able to see. It's a racket paying for what used to be free
4 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40063)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Mar 16
@Marilynda - Our homeowner dues cover basic cable and we also pay extra for a DVR so we can record the shows that are on when we are not at home. Plus, we have NetFlix and Hulu on our Blue Tooth. Anything else, we simply do not watch.
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I agree completely. I am a TV person too, but don't think I should have to pay so much for so little. It's bad enough that the cost is so high, but I only want about 10% of the stations they bundle together.
@FourWalls (62424)
• United States
12 Mar 16
There was a segment on Mysteries at the Museum that told how the builders of buses and the oil industry basically "conspired" together to eliminate the cheap, efficient, non-polluting, and popular cable cars in the 1940s.
You might say that radio is undergoing a similar phase, given that "free" radio (commercial radio) is pretty much owned by one of three companies and airs the same 120 songs all the time on every radio station. If you want variety and diversity in music (or even in talk radio or sports radio) you have to go to the Internet or satellite (Sirius/XM).
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I remember The Red Cars in California from when I was very young. It was the best public transportation in the U.S. at the time.
@Tampa_girl7 (49108)
• United States
12 Mar 16
We still receive free television . We get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, Me TV, Antenna TV, Bounce TV, a food channel, home improvement channel to name a few. These all come in with no streaming. We do stream too.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40063)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Mar 16
@Tampa_girl7 - One of our daughters used an antennae and free television for a long time. She just recently started getting basic cable because she got a package deal with her WiFi.
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace Reminds me of the Dr Seuss story, The Lorax...
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace It has been lauded as a "polemic against pollution", so why not?
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@pgntwo Perhaps we need to send a copy to members of Congress and regulatory agencies?
1 person likes this
@troyburns (1405)
• New Zealand
13 Mar 16
Whoever it was that decided to sell bottled water is an entrepreneurial genius in my book. We haven't had TV of any sort for the past five years and we don't miss it all all. News, sport and John Oliver highlights are all online and if we want to watch a show, we just buy the DVD. That way we're only paying for what we want.
2 people like this
@troyburns (1405)
• New Zealand
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace - That's true in most cases, I suppose, but I doubt it would apply to me. You guys still have plenty of free TV though, don't you? I imagine that most of it won't be much good but maybe that doesn't matter if all you need is the company.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
14 Mar 16
@troyburns There is no free TV where I live. To get reception, you need either cable or dish.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I think people who use the pronoun "we" are able to get away with not watching TV. But for single people, it provides company sometimes.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29257)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Mar 16
I buy enough on Amazon to make being a Prime customer worthwhile with the free shipping and other credits they give. We watched the first season of Bosch and it was one of the best of that type of show I have seen. The new season is now available and we watched two episodes last night. It was great. Other than that we watch some movies on Amazon and pay for Netflix and watch a lot of PBS. It is unusual for us to watch any of the network shows at all.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
So how much does all of this cost each month, if you don't mind my asking? I pay $68/month for the basic DTV package.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29257)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace I pay about $100 per year as an Amazon Prime customer. I have their credit card and order quite a bit online with free shipping, things (like vitamins, some music) that are cheaper than locally. Included in Prime are many movies, series (like Bosch) and they give me rebates based on my ordering. It seems like a good deal to me. We just use basic cable then subscribe to NetFlix and Prime.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@JamesHxstatic I don't buy enough to subscribe to Amazon. I buy my vitamins at the local store when they are two for the price of one. Glad this works for you.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40063)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Mar 16
@DianneN - Because basic cable is covered by our HOA dues where we live, our costs are negligible. However, my friends in Newport Beach all pay $225+ a month for cable plus WiFi. I think that is insane!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247191)
• United States
15 Mar 16
@DeborahDiane We pay more than that in CT, and in FL, with our HOA, we pay just under $200. Why? Because my hubby likes his sports stations, wired phones, and the fastest internet speeds. We also have Roku and Netflix. This does not include cell phones or iPads. Go figure.
@paigea (35717)
• Canada
13 Mar 16
I hate how much we pay for TV. The CRTC (Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission) has mandated that cable companies have to offer "skinny" packages for $25 per month and beyond that customers have to have access to pick and pay for the channels they want. I am skeptical that it will end up costing less to get what one wants. My husband enjoys his big sports package so he is not interested in changing anything.
We have watched shows from the library (via internet) and all we needed was a particular cord from the laptop to the TV. I am guessing Netflix would work that simply. But to do more of that we would then have to get a much bigger internet package; so that is not a good solution for us.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
Our skinny packages cost $65 per month. Way too much for too little.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@paigea Sounds good to me. Better than what we pay down here.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35717)
• Canada
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace This is a fairly new law. And it sounds like the skinny package is very skinny. But it would be enough for me.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
12 Mar 16
Very well put. We also used to get to watch sports for free on antenna TV and now sports channels are the most outrageously priced on the cable bill. I would like to see Bosch also but won't pay Amazon. My only advice to you is to see if your library ever gets it. I get DVDs for free at the library all the time and they get House of Cards and all the hot shows. You just have to wait a year or so.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
Why didn't I think of that? I'm there at least twice a month. Great idea.@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
@JohnRoberts All of this from the library? Good to know. Thanks.
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Mar 16
@ElizabethWallace I see tons of movies and TV shows for free. Lots of stuff you never heard of before also that are worth seeing.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157652)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I can think of rainwater, for sure. And we had best not block someone from the sun, or the view. In some places you cannot use the sun's energy to dry your clothes. I think a lot of things that used to be easy to do and understand are now complicated..
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
In many neighborhoods there are rules against hanging clothing where it can be seen by your neighbors.
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
12 Mar 16
I have Amazon and I am going to watch the second season of Bosch on there and I love technology and Netflix and Hulu. I don't need cable or satellite. I do not find it time consuming or mean or expensive maybe you need to find someone to hook it up for you so you could enjoy it also.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40063)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Mar 16
@Marcyaz - Bosch sounds like something I would enjoy. I'm going to have to see if I can watch it on Hulu.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130077)
• India
12 Mar 16
As long as there is demand and people are willing to pay anything sells.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Mar 16
I don't mind paying for something extra, but I do mind paying through the nose for very little. The true cost is far less than what we are charged. I don't mind companies making a profit. I mind greed and gouging.
@DeborahDiane (40063)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Mar 16
@jstory07 - Yes, some of these companies are making a fortune off people.
