Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler So what are you watching tonight?

We watched "paint dry".
The power was out for a bit.

I watched The Avengers in 3D at home last night. Was a little slow for the first 2/3 of the movie, I thought. Last 1/3 was good.

I'm pretty sure Sons of Anarchy is the best show on network TV at the moment.

Technically, Sons of Anarchy is on FX, which is cable.

I've not started this new season yet. Probably watch the first episode of it tonight.

Yeah, I guess I'm not sure what a "network" is, any more. Somewhere in time, I drew the line at premium channels, so I have DVD-delay on all the HBO and Showtime content.

The network channels are those that can be pulled in over the air (provided you don't live in the middle of nowhere like I do). They are ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW (which came about after the merging of UPN, and The WB). Since these channels are broadcast over the air their content is under regulation of the FCC.

All other channels are delivered via cable. There are the basic cable channels, expanded, and premium (this is where HBO, Showtime, etc. reside). The content of cable channels is not regulated by the FCC, but usually by the sponsors (traditionally people wouldn't pay for ad spots during shows with language, violence, nudity--times have changed*). That's why the premium channels were known for more "adult" programming, because they didn't have sponsors to which they had to answer.


*Comedy Central made a big deal about an episode of South Park that would feature the word "sh-t", a first for non-premium cable, and asked who wanted to run ads during this break-through in entertainment. The advertisers couldn't get in line fast enough.

Oh, and FX was created because Fox was seeing what was happening on cable, and felt the FCC guidelines were keeping them from making competitive, edgy shows.

Yeah, that makes sense. I hadn't thought of the structure in that way for a while. We've been on DirecTV for so long that I stopped analyzing the regulatory and native transmission perspectives.

I guess PBS would fit into Network/Broadcast in some/most markets, too?

I think some of the shows on FX are really very good (Justified, SOA, The League, Louie).

Not sure how to feel about digital broadcast, really. I live in the Seattle metro market, but I am 30+ miles from the transmitters, which makes the idea of capturing content over-the-air not so trivial. When I get particularly fed up by my many information services utility bills, I sometimes fantasize about an antenna and a Silicon Dust HD tuner.

Then, I remember that solution doesn't solve my need for Root Sports, FX, TBS, TNT, etc.

I have an outdoor antenna in a corner of my bedroom that I use exclusively for TV.

You have an outdoor antenna in your bedroom?

This explains a lot.