NBC Network TV

I suppose broadcast should be replaced with a system whereby you download video files. On your computer, tablet, phone, tv you have a software lock that will let you choose between one of two options (1) watch for a fee that varies with the show and how long it has been available, (2) commercial interruptions. Then there will be incentives like free downloads to fill out a demographic form: age, sex, race, income, etc. Then there will be accurate demographic information to sell to advertisers, and advertisers can buy exactly what they want: 100,000 views by black women between age 20 and 45. The commercial mix would be downloaded according to the viewer, not the show. The advertising buy would be met by multiple shows. That way the advertiser doesn't have to guess what the demographic of his viewer is for any particular show.


The whole idea of a broadcast channel that the cable companies pays 10 cents a month fee to add to his line up, and the consumer pays a fixed monthly fee will be lost. The consumer can choose how much pay television he wants to watch. If he is rich enough he can pay $250/month and watch anything he wants commercial fre0e.

I am not sure how to handle sports. If some users opt to watch it for free with commercials, then most people won't opt to pay to watch without commercials, if the camera lingers on periods when nothing is happening (and the other people are watching a commercial) then you wouldn't get much value for your money.

Essentially there are 60 minutes in an NFL game, but they usually last 3 hours. So that is 2 hours combined time outs, clock stops, halftime and commercials. Under the assumption that 1 hours is commercials, a DVR users can essentially set a game to record, and then begin watching it a 60 minutes after the kickoff. Then they can fast forward through the commercials and finish watching the game fairly close to real time. If they reach real time before the end of the game, they can opt to make a sandwich, or sit through commercials. It beats recording a game to watch in the future, and then hearing the final score and having it ruined for you.

But I don't think you will find people to pay for a game, if they have the option of watching it free with commercials.

If the commentators did a better job of analyzing the plays, rather than talking through their hats about some pre-supposed 'story', it'd help to fill the commercial dead-air. Football is ideally suited to show a replay, and look at interesting facets of the game, rather than showing another ad for some watery-beer I already know about. After all, the radio announcers seem to have 1/3rd less commercials than TV.

I would pay-per-view games, if I ONLY had to pay per game, rather than pay for cable TV, the channels I don't watch and then the football package with games and shows I don't watch. $10-15 would be my price to pick up any game I want. Possibly less if I could buy a voucher for say 5-10 games of my choice.

NFL games have five breaks per quarter of four or five commercials each. This is up from 3-4 pet quarter in the 70s. Even at four per (and I think it is 5) that is 10 minutes per 15 minute quarter. 40 minutes per game you would have to fill. I don't see if happening and I can say I would not pay for dead air. Back in the day I saw a "raw" satellite feed game once. It just went dead air and ki d of boring.

As to more analysis no thanks their either. If I watch a game I either Amon my laptop looking up my own stuff or with a group not paying attention.

Congress will never let your local nfl game or the shifts go ppv in this lifetime. But the economics of sports broadcasting will so show change. I can see charging $10 for one nfl game so you can watch your favorite team. But ppv will sell to the hardcore only and the casual fan will tune out.

Not to worry as the movement to van football will gain more and more traction so in 20 years the nfl will be a borderline touch game like the pro-bowl.

Cable's very different outside the US.

Here in Mexico you need cable if you want to watch unmutilated US network shows, at least for the most part. That means in English, rather than horribly dubbed and ruined. Also you need it to be able to see NFL games at all. The local networks broadcast one game on Sunday, a voice-over of NFL's Red Zone, and maybe the MNF game. In cable you get 2 or 3 games, plus the Sunday night game and MNF. And naturally Thursday Night games on NFL Network.

I'd love to download shows rather than pay for cable, but I can't download squat from US sites, and the Mexican/Latinamerican sites that exist have poor offerings, mostly mutilated by dubbing. So cable it is. It would be even better if they had English audio for all channels, too.

Quote: TheCesspit

I would pay-per-view games, if I ONLY had to pay per game, rather than pay for cable TV, the channels I don't watch and then the football package with games and shows I don't watch. $10-15 would be my price to pick up any game I want. Possibly less if I could buy a voucher for say 5-10 games of my choice.

In my area there seems to have been a change in past patterns. If you pay $40 a month for internet, they will let you add HBO and Cinemax for $18. (Those prices are for the first 12 months). In the past you had to first purchase all of the 50 or so national channels (A&E, SYFY, TNT, TBS, FOXNEWS, etc.) which cost $80 including internet before you were allowed to purchase HBO.

I figure once they let you do it for HBO, they will soon expand to

CINEMAX
MLB Network
NBA Network
NFL Network
NFL RedZone
NHL Channel
Tennis Channel
Individual Sports Pay per View

Quote: Nareed

I'd love to download shows rather than pay for cable, but I can't download squat from US sites, and the Mexican/Latinamerican sites that exist have poor offerings, mostly mutilated by dubbing. So cable it is. It would be even better if they had English audio for all channels, too.

That's interesting, because the Spanish language offerings inside USA are increasingly exponentially. You can listen to almost anything aimed at age 16 or younger in Spanish dubbing, or you can frequently get subtitles on almost every DVD and frequently on television.

The Spanish language network Univision finally passed NBC in rating for sweeps month in February, and is potentially the highest rated network in 10 years. Fox is trying to build a Spanish language network to rival Univision and NBC's Telemundo. Although the percentage is smaller, in absolute numbers Spanish speakers in the USA are now about 50% of those in Mexico.

If I were Univision or Telemundo, I would set up my broadcast agreements to allow me to transmit the English language track on the SAP area of my programming. The programs would appeal to a much wider audience if more than the Spanish dub was available.

Quote: Ayecarumba

If I were Univision or Telemundo, I would set up my broadcast agreements to allow me to transmit the English language track on the SAP area of my programming. The programs would appeal to a much wider audience if more than the Spanish dub was available.

Technically "dub" is short for "double" and refers to the second language recorded onto the video.

I don't know. The biggest hit on Univision is "The fat one and the thin one" which is celebrity news, gossip, banter, and general sexiness. There is so much of that in English that I don't know if anyone would switch.


The biggest ratings are always music shows, which need little translation. Possibly closed captioning might help, and I am not sure if they don't do that already. Telenovelas (soap operas) are produced for such little money that I don't know if it would be worth it to dub them in English.

They broadcast many American action movies with the Spanish dubbing that I would enjoy more if I could watch them with the English track on the SAP. Sports would be great too, especially since they are the only outlet for some broadcasts.

I think I would really enjoy Sabado Gigante, or the zany game shows alot more if I could understand the jokes.

Quote: Ayecarumba

They broadcast many American action movies with the Spanish dubbing that I would enjoy more if I could watch them with the English track on the SAP. Sports would be great too, especially since they are the only outlet for some broadcasts.

I think I would really enjoy Sabado Gigante, or the zany game shows alot more if I could understand the jokes.

Univision took out an advertisement in English about beating NBC in sweeps week.