Thursday, August 19, 2021

I Don't Know About Y'All, But I'm "Non-Plused" With The "Plus" Channels Racket








So here's the deal - they find a show that fans like, then switch it to a "plus" channel, so that you now pay an extra $5 or $10 bucks to now watch the same shows you already had to pay for with cable (or streaming, like we do) -  with the same amount of ads - which already brings in big bucks.

Now, their excuse is that "Well, these are more expensive shows to make."

(Translation - somebody or somebodies, somewhere, is/are demanding more money ;)


Oh, okay, but curiously -  with the single exception of Paramount+ (see below) they also happen to be your most popular shows, which you already receive the most ad money for - so I call at least a certain amount of BS.


But fine, whatever - let's say that's 100% true, in every case with every show.


So ... why not find corporate sponsors or charge corporations more to advertise during the show, rather than making US pay more than we already do, especially after/during COVID, hmm?!?



Now, you may say, "Oh, it's just $5 or $10 bucks a month." 

Well, that's what they're hoping you'll say - but wait until you add them all up all of the "pluses" PLUS your TV bill already (see below).   

Plus, remember you have to keep track of all of your different subscriptions and when they come out of your account each month.  

(I personally have a spreadsheet for my budget that includes any extra subscriptions with dates.)

Now, we cut the cord a few years ago to streaming (YouTube TV) because cable had gone up to $120 a month for basic cable that had few channels we even cared about, and we were told we couldn't get satellite because of the direction our apartment faces.  

At the time, YouTube TV  was $40 a month, and it had all the channels we liked, plus it had the best sports package.  Now it's $75 a month.  

If we had the premium channels - i.e. HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax - which we don't, those cost an extra $15 per channel per month.

Now, all of the channels decided that to put their best shows (again, exception being Paramount Plus, see below) on their "plus" channels -  i.e., Discovery+, AMC+, Disney+, Hulu+, HBO MAX, ESPN+ and the list goes on and on and on. 

So for an HBO package, not only do you have to pay the $70 for having the basic carrier, but add on $15 for regular HBO, then another $15 for HBO Max.  

No, thank you.  

If HBO has an exclusive contract for a movie that I can't rent through Amazon or Vudu, or an HBO special is on, I might pay for one month, because it's still cheaper than the $30 they are now charging to watch new movie releases streaming at home!  


Each of these + channels are $5 to $10 bucks each, meaning that on top of what you regularly pay, which is $70 to $200 bucks, you could pay up to $100 "plus" more bucks to get shows that used to be included on the main channel - plus tack on $10 for Netflix, $15 for Amazon Prime, $8 for Disney, $8 for Hulu -  and now, so you're spending well between $200 to $500 a month for TV alone!

You know, as much as I like Chip and Joanna ...





Nope, I'm not doing it (dammit lol).  

As much as I love them both, I'm not sure it's worth $5 to tune in maybe once a week to watch Joanna make a souffle or watch Chip's crazy antics while redecorating someone's house, sorry.

This has become an unnecessarily greedy racket, considering these channels also get beaucoup bucks in ad money.

How about this instead? 

In addition to ad money, you could have actual corporate sponsors - "plus" - Joanna could use Le Creuset cookware to make that souffle, or mention on the show that she orders most of her furniture from Wayfair (which she does already, she just doesn't talk about it on the show), or Etsy, if she wants to use hand-crafted stuff?

Boom, we're done here - it's not that hard - lots of options for these supposedly "more expensive" shows rather than charging us more as consumers for content we watch maybe once a week. 



However, having said that, kudos to Josh Gates for keeping it real and keeping both of his shows on the regular Discovery Channel. 





Thank you, Joshie - we love you! :)



Now, look - I get that everyone is trying to recoup their losses for COVID, but the bait-and-switch BS is too much for Americans recovering economically from COVID, and in general, and is thus just plain greedy, when they already receive ad money, and if they're that expensive to make, then charge your corporations more with ads, not us.

Thus,  I hope not too many fall for this this bait-and-switch scam and surprise themselves with 12 hits to their checking account, each month, for a combined TV bill  $200 to $500 bucks that could better be spent on other things, and that this new business strategy fails tremendously.

Seriously - the only "plus" channel I'm doing is Paramount Plus, because unlike the others, they don't "bait and switch" their most popular shows - instead, CBS moves shows to Paramount Plus that were critically acclaimed and had loyal followings, but still had  overall ratings trouble - i.e. Picard, Evil, and Mark likes Seal Team.

Paramount Plus also lets you watch some new release movies that are still in theaters as part of your package, like A Quiet Place II - which is yet another reason Paramount+ is the only "plus" that I do AND you can get the subscription through Amazon Prime and they just add it to your Amazon Prime bill rather than a separate bill.

Otherwise, don't do it, people lol - let them charge corporations more for advertising for these supposedly "more expensive" shows - not us ;)










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