Why I canceled cable TV

Last Updated 1/1/02

It's fairly simple, a combination of three things worked to render the value of cable TV down to zero.

First, obnoxicons, corner logos, bugs, whatever you call them, they have infested TV and I cannot tolerate them now for any length of time for any reason. I object to being called an idiot all day, and that is what those logos are doing. You can read more on my opinion of these things here.

Second, with the advent of DVD, I don't have to put up with those horrible cropped Pan & Scan (full frame is the current euphemism) pictures on the premium (pay) channels where they cut the edges off the picture so that they can fill the screen top-to-bottom for those who don't realize that you lose material that way. What little original programming the premium stations have is not worth the kind of money they charge.

Third, credit mutilation. Almost all channels, even the premiums, have taken to not only voicing over the credits, which I never approved of, but they squeeze them so that they can fit in scenes from next week, which belong , full-screen, in their own slice of time, or news announcements about which I don't give a fig.

I have been attempting to convince my local cable companies to go to an absolute subscription model, where you only get the stations you want, paid for on a one for one basis. This would, of course, result in a number of stations going out of business, but that's business. Right now, the stations only have to convince cable operators they are worth it. The picture might be very different if they have to sell to individual customers the way the premium stations have to. In any case, even if the subscription costs were very high, I would still probably spend less money, as I regard the bulk of channels as a waste of electrons and would not subscribe to them.

As far as I am concerned, there is no such thing as broadcast (air, cable, or satellite) television anymore, I deal strictly with video. When an absolute subscription model becomes available on cable/satellite, then I'll pay attention, provided any stations are willing to behave in a civilized manner.

For the benefit of any TV station types that happen on this page, I'll list my non-negotiable requirements for considering your station. These are just what you have to do to be evaluated, there is no guarantee that meeting them will make your service usable. Failing to meet one or more, however, is an absolute guarantee that you should not talk to me.

The conditions are:

• No Logos - under any circumstances - ever.
• No credit mutilation - no squeezing, cutoffs, voice-overs, nothing.
• No edits - if you are not willing to show it all, don't show it at all.

Update 12/13/99: I have talked to a cable company with a local presence. It seems that I am not the only person complaining about things and requesting new subscription models. What is even more entertaining is that enough people are quoting obnoxicons as a reason for the request that the customer service representatives can remember this fact without having to look it up.

Update 1/1/02: Well, I've been cable-free for 3 years now, and the major irritant now are the people who cannot grasp that I don't have access to all the current shows, commercials and whatnot. The only cable in my house is for the internet service. I just keep watching the DVDs when I run out of other things to do with my time. At this point, I might not even notice if TV were to clean up its act.

End of rant.