I’ll admit it: I love television. As much as I read, I love TV and am indescriminate when it comes to watching it, though “reality” shows are absolutely off the table, as are game shows. Other than that, I’ll watch almost anything.
Oddly, one of the things I enjoy doing is looking forward to that which is being broadcast in the future. We have Cox Cable here and until a few months ago, I used to be able to check a week in advance. Then it was reduced to five days, then to three. To be quite specific, I’m a fellow who enjoys old movies and therefore Turner Classics is probably my favorite channel; the one I generally program several days in advance.
Now, Cox in it remarkable marketing wisdom, has implement a new and “more functional” guide. Arguably, it is a bit more functional and is apparently driven by TV Guide. The new guide was available to us (without notice of any sort) last night.
I went to check TCM for what’s coming over the next few days and there was no function to check future programming.
I called Cox to ask if I was missing something on the new screen. The response was “No.” I responded with a question: “Why did you remove the forward looking function?” The response: “Well, they thought no one used it.” “Did they do a survey or focus group?” “No,” the agent answered. Then she added, “I have a form we’ve been given to complete because most of the calls we’re getting now relate to the loss of advance programming.”
Managers are paid well to make good decisions based generally on what their company’s public wants. Who are these people who arbitrarily decide to effect change without checking their constituencies.
No wonder American’s general abhor big business – and, by the way, has your cable bill come down over the past few years? That is, after all, the reason Reagan deregulated cable.
Well, it’s certainly not an issue of the magnitude of some, just another one of these “gnats or fleas” about which Winston Churchill spoke: They’re the ones that kill you, not the lions and the tigers.
Refugee from Reason 