Will you watch free TV for prize money?

AT&T acquired 9 TV channels when it bought TimeWarner. Wasting no time, it prepared a package of channels including those 9 channels, combined with 22 other channels owned by four smaller media companies and is now providing all these channels inclusive with unlimited data cell service for $70 a month. For $80 you get to include a premiun service like HBO as well as hotspot data and higher resolution video.

The channels include 15 of the 30 most viewed cable channels, plus an additional 16 channels.

Basic Cable Rankings 2017 (by Total Viewers)
1 Fox News Channel
2 ESPN
3 MSNBC<=============NBC Universal
4 USA Network<=============NBC Universal
5 HGTV -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
6 TBS -----------------------------------------------------------------------AT&T
7 Nickelodeon
8 Discovery -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
9 History -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
10 TNT -----------------------------------------------------------------------AT&T
11 Hallmark Channel -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
12 Investigation Discovery -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
13 CNN -----------------------------------------------------------------------AT&T
14 AMC -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
15 FX
16 A&E Network -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
17 Food Network -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
18 TLC -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
19 Bravo<=============NBC Universal
20 Lifetime -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
21 Adult Swim --- night time Cartoon Network----AT&T
22 Freeform
23 TV Land
24 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service
25 Nick at Nite
26 VH1
27 Nick Jr.
27 Syfy<=============NBC Universal
29 MTV
30 Animal Planet -----------------------------------------------------------------------channel from another corporation offered on AT&T's free service

Additional free channels on AT&T that are lower ratings
HLN -----AT&T
TCM----AT&T
truTV----AT&T
Audience----AT&T
Boomerang----AT&T
FYI
Lifetime Movie Network
Viceland
BBC America
BBC World News
IFC
Sundance TV
WE TV
OWN
Velocity

Amazon is obviously offering TV series and movies as an inducement to join Amazon Prime. T-Mobile is giving away Netflix. NBC Universal may be the first streaming service to offer points which can be redeemed for prizes for people who watch their service. Presumably they will give more points to people who can do online quizes asking questions about the products advertised on their network.

Will that work? Do you think people can be induced into watching TV by the offer of prizes?

Quote: Pacomartin

Will that work? Do you think people can be induced into watching TV by the offer of prizes?

Heck, people watched tv when all it offered was ads about silly women singing about 'ring around the collar'.

Its not will people watch tv but which channel will they watch? And now 'which channel' means 'which bundled package' which translates to 'cheap, easy and reliable without being nickel and dimed to death with increases and sales calls and upgrade attempts thinly disguised as customer survey calls.

on edit: Oh yeah.... further down the list of decision making factors is actual channel content. People seem to care less about the actual content than about the ease of obtaining it.

Quote: Fleastiff

And now 'which channel' means 'which bundled package' which translates to 'cheap, easy and reliable without being nickel and dimed to death with increases and sales calls and upgrade attempts thinly disguised as customer survey calls.

https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/10/nbc-universal-watch-back-report/

It looks like the channel will be a marketing tool meant to drum up interest in NBCU's shows. The service won't have any originals its its show roster and will mostly feature series premieres and news clips, which will serve as samplers for NBCU's offerings.