Editorial: DirecTV, CBS blackouts make TV too hard
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Hey, let’s watch some TV.
That should be simple enough. Pick up your remote, press a button, pick a channel. It’s not rocket science. Collapsing on the couch and zoning out to the television is the very definition of rest for many people.
So why are entertainment companies making it so hard?
DirecTV and its parent company, AT&T, are in the middle of their latest battle — a hard-core negotiation with CBS that has just resulted in a blackout of Pittsburgh affiliate KDKA. No “NCIS,” no “60 Minutes,” no “CBS This Morning.” Viewers won’t get anything until the two come to an agreement.
If it sounds familiar, that probably means you have been a satellite subscriber. This is nothing new.
DirecTV isn’t alone. Dish Network just narrowly averted a blackout of FX and National Geographic channels amid negotiations with Disney, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
And both services have had the same kind of showdowns in the past. If you think the zombie apocalypse sounds bad, you should try standing between “Walking Dead” fans and the show’s season premiere, like Dish did in 2012.
Or you could try to keep Steelers fans from seeing their team take on San Francisco on Sept. 22, a game that is set for CBS. Those zombies are going to start looking pretty good, right? Sure, that’s two months away. Nothing to worry about. It will never happen.
Don’t be so sure. KDKA’s website says the blackout could be lengthy and urges subscribers to contact AT&T to take action.
But this is what both sides do in all of these made-for-TV epic dramas. Each uses their leverage to turn the customers against the other. It’s CBS’s fault! No, it’s DirecTV’s!
No, it’s both. In an effort to maximize profits from the same pool of people, AT&T and CBS are willing to make those customers their army and their weapons.
And this is all happening at a time when more and more people are ditching regular television providers entirely to stream service on smart TVs and other devices. Is showing us all that we can live without “The Young and the Restless” the way to go?
DirecTV has already seen a downturn in subscribers, with 1.2 million lost in 2018 as it struggles to adapt to a rapidly changing industry in a streaming age where cable companies and satellite providers are becoming middlemen. While AT&T Entertainment Group’s numbers have dropped, they haven’t tanked — no, they brought in $12 billion in revenue just in the last quarter of 2018, according to Variety.
CBS is still raking in cash, with a $14 billion 2018 revenues, but it, too, is adapting with its own streaming service that includes content you have to pay to watch, just like with Netflix or Hulu or AT&T’s own HBO.
The two multibillion-dollar companies should realize that no one wants to fight their battles for them. Especially when they’re getting a monthly bill for the privilege.
They just want to sit on the couch and watch TV. Make it hard, and they’ll find an easier way to do it.