How many Channels?
- Thread starter RobertScorpio
- Start date
I can't remember exactly how many channels we get, but we've got Sky with all channels except sports and movies.
Out of all those, the only ones I watch on a regular basis are:
Discovery (MythBusters and Deadliest Catch)
BBC One/Two/Three (if there's something I want to watch on like Doctor Who or Top Gear and I can't be bothered to wait for it to show up on iPlayer, or I just happen to be sitting in front of the TV when it's on)
Dave (Top Gear reruns and James May shows)
If I'm bored and channel-surfing, sometimes I'll end up on The Science Channel if there's any good space documentaries on, CBS Action if TOS-R is on, Comedy Central if South Park is on, FX if Babylon 5 is on, one of the Sky channels if Stargate is on (though I've stopped doing that now because I'm watching it on DVD and don't want any more spoilers than I've already got from watching it on TV before), or Virgin 1 if there's some TNG or DS9 on.
That's like 13 channels including ones I frequently hit while channel-surfing and excluding timeshift channels. I don't pay for our Sky subscription though, so I can't really complain.
Out of all those, the only ones I watch on a regular basis are:
Discovery (MythBusters and Deadliest Catch)
BBC One/Two/Three (if there's something I want to watch on like Doctor Who or Top Gear and I can't be bothered to wait for it to show up on iPlayer, or I just happen to be sitting in front of the TV when it's on)
Dave (Top Gear reruns and James May shows)
If I'm bored and channel-surfing, sometimes I'll end up on The Science Channel if there's any good space documentaries on, CBS Action if TOS-R is on, Comedy Central if South Park is on, FX if Babylon 5 is on, one of the Sky channels if Stargate is on (though I've stopped doing that now because I'm watching it on DVD and don't want any more spoilers than I've already got from watching it on TV before), or Virgin 1 if there's some TNG or DS9 on.
That's like 13 channels including ones I frequently hit while channel-surfing and excluding timeshift channels. I don't pay for our Sky subscription though, so I can't really complain.
We have Dish Network instead of cable for our TV service. We used to get the America's Top 200 package or whatever it is that had everything except the premium channels like HBO.
About a year ago, in an effort to save money, we switched to their DishFAMILY package that, when you strip away the things like shopping channels that everyone with Dish gets for free regardless of package, there's probably no more than twenty actual channels in this package. We also add to that our local channels so that we get local programming and the major broadcast networks. So maybe 25 channels total.
And you know what? I can count on one hand the number of times I have missed something that I lost in going from 200+ channels to 25. We regularly watch multiple programs on NBC, PBS, Food Network, TV Land, and FOX News. I watch David Letterman on CBS, we occasionally watch Hallmark Channel, and I watch our local CW affiliate only for the syndicated TNG reruns. And that's about it. The entirety of our TV viewing.
Everything else, we make up for with DVD's and the Internet.
About a year ago, in an effort to save money, we switched to their DishFAMILY package that, when you strip away the things like shopping channels that everyone with Dish gets for free regardless of package, there's probably no more than twenty actual channels in this package. We also add to that our local channels so that we get local programming and the major broadcast networks. So maybe 25 channels total.
And you know what? I can count on one hand the number of times I have missed something that I lost in going from 200+ channels to 25. We regularly watch multiple programs on NBC, PBS, Food Network, TV Land, and FOX News. I watch David Letterman on CBS, we occasionally watch Hallmark Channel, and I watch our local CW affiliate only for the syndicated TNG reruns. And that's about it. The entirety of our TV viewing.
Everything else, we make up for with DVD's and the Internet.
Out of 200 channels:
Local channels (occasionally)
BBC America (Dr. Who, Top Gear)
ESPNEWS
History
History International
Military
NASA (during a shuttle launch/mission)
National Geographic
Science
SyFy (once in a blue moon)
TBS (reruns even though I have a ton of TV DVDs)
TNT (reruns even though I have a ton of TV DVDs)
VH1 Classic (before it started sucking)
Local channels (occasionally)
BBC America (Dr. Who, Top Gear)
ESPNEWS
History
History International
Military
NASA (during a shuttle launch/mission)
National Geographic
Science
SyFy (once in a blue moon)
TBS (reruns even though I have a ton of TV DVDs)
TNT (reruns even though I have a ton of TV DVDs)
VH1 Classic (before it started sucking)
I have Freesat and Freeview, which together have about 180 channels or so.
I watch...
1. BBC One (Several shows)
2. BBC Two (Several shows)
3. BBC Three (Mostly just Being Human)
4. BBC Four (Several shows)
5. ITV 1 (Occasional shows)
6. ITV 4 (Mostly for Sanctuary)
7. Five USA (Breaking Bad & Sons of Anarchy)
8. Channel 4 (Several shows)
9. E4 (Several shows)
10. More 4 (Occasionally)
11. Dave (Occasionally)
12. Virgin 1 (Mostly just Chuck)
13. Quest (Occasionally)
14. Sky Three (Occasionally)
I watch...
1. BBC One (Several shows)
2. BBC Two (Several shows)
3. BBC Three (Mostly just Being Human)
4. BBC Four (Several shows)
5. ITV 1 (Occasional shows)
6. ITV 4 (Mostly for Sanctuary)
7. Five USA (Breaking Bad & Sons of Anarchy)
8. Channel 4 (Several shows)
9. E4 (Several shows)
10. More 4 (Occasionally)
11. Dave (Occasionally)
12. Virgin 1 (Mostly just Chuck)
13. Quest (Occasionally)
14. Sky Three (Occasionally)
Last edited:
I recently got cable again after over 10 years of not having it and partially because when we moved it just made sense LOL. Figured that since I spent pretty much every penny I had to my name to buy the house, we wouldn't be getting out to the movies as much or buying TV DVDs as much as I was. So spending $120 including the taxes and surcharges and other bullcrap it was still a better deal than my old plan with AT&T for just phone and 5mbps internet. I now get 7mbps cable, phone with free long distance (since its basically voip), and pretty much every cable channel they offer. I was paying like $80 a month for phone and internet so an extra like 40 some bucks a month and I had enough stuff on tv to keep me happy without spending what little extra I have at the moment on DVDs was well worth it.
As for the channels I'm watching yeah its not everything and I could probably do without a lot of the stations - and its kinda confusing since I'm getting a few stations 2 or 3 times because I've got the digital cable thing plus HD - don't have an HDTV yet but that's coming as soon as I get my home equity line hehe -but there are quite a few that I've been watching. Will it stay that way... dunno
NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, and independents - the local affiliates kinda don't count since well they're free regardless.
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim
Discovery
TLC
Science Channel
Animal Planet
Nat Geo
HGTV
Food Network
DIY
SyFy
SpikeTV
TBS
G4 very rarely
USA from time to time
TNT
Since I bought a house and planning on getting into the home staging business I've been taking a more active interest in the stuff on stations like HGTV and DIY but its getting annoying listening to these people buying their first home and bitching that a house doesn't have the "trifecta" of hardwood floors, granite countertops, and new cabinets. So I check out the other stations. LOL
As for the channels I'm watching yeah its not everything and I could probably do without a lot of the stations - and its kinda confusing since I'm getting a few stations 2 or 3 times because I've got the digital cable thing plus HD - don't have an HDTV yet but that's coming as soon as I get my home equity line hehe -but there are quite a few that I've been watching. Will it stay that way... dunno
NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, and independents - the local affiliates kinda don't count since well they're free regardless.
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim
Discovery
TLC
Science Channel
Animal Planet
Nat Geo
HGTV
Food Network
DIY
SyFy
SpikeTV
TBS
G4 very rarely
USA from time to time
TNT
Since I bought a house and planning on getting into the home staging business I've been taking a more active interest in the stuff on stations like HGTV and DIY but its getting annoying listening to these people buying their first home and bitching that a house doesn't have the "trifecta" of hardwood floors, granite countertops, and new cabinets. So I check out the other stations. LOL
Checkmate
Commodore
0.
I don't even have a single television in the house that's hooked up to cable or even an antenna. I just use them as a monitor for my DVD players and video game consoles. If there's a show I like, I'll simply wait a day or two and watch it online.
More than anything, commercials killed my desire to pay a single penny for American television. I even keep my adblockers active when watching shows online, just out of spite of them. When a one-hour show only has 20-30 minutes of actual showtime (Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show being a prime example), it's fucking ridiculous. Near the end of my cable-paying days I was already barely watching it, and when I did plop down on the couch to see what was on every single time I did I was met with commercials rather than an actual show. Even when flipping randomly.
It's fucking absurd.
I don't even have a single television in the house that's hooked up to cable or even an antenna. I just use them as a monitor for my DVD players and video game consoles. If there's a show I like, I'll simply wait a day or two and watch it online.
More than anything, commercials killed my desire to pay a single penny for American television. I even keep my adblockers active when watching shows online, just out of spite of them. When a one-hour show only has 20-30 minutes of actual showtime (Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show being a prime example), it's fucking ridiculous. Near the end of my cable-paying days I was already barely watching it, and when I did plop down on the couch to see what was on every single time I did I was met with commercials rather than an actual show. Even when flipping randomly.
It's fucking absurd.
^ Shows from the 70' are not too much longer than modern ones. I have many TV DVD's a S1 episode of MASH is about 24 minutes and My Name IS Earl S3 is 20 minutes. I guess that translates into 6+ more commercials.
What gets me is, when TVLand airs their reruns (again, MASH as an example), and it's on for 35-40 minutes, not only have they not added back in all the stuff that got taken out during syndication to make room for more commercials, but they've added more commercials.
What gets me is, when TVLand airs their reruns (again, MASH as an example), and it's on for 35-40 minutes, not only have they not added back in all the stuff that got taken out during syndication to make room for more commercials, but they've added more commercials.
Similar threads
