The Forgotten BEAUTY of Cable TV

[@jerbjpg]

One thing I miss about cable is how it enhanced holidays. Halloween or Christmas specials/commercials really made it feel like a special time of year

[@James-if3kc]

They still do that on a lot of channels. AMC just had their "31 Days of Halloween" and it actually really enhanced the "spooky season" for me, as I was able to see a lot of good horror movies, and the commercials they had for the movie "In A Violent Nature" on streaming made me want to check that out too. I think a good combination of live tv and streaming would be perfect. And, of course, TBS and TNT had their usual 24 hours of A Christmas Story marathon which was awesome too.

[@ErrythingPhroze]

Well said!

[@kanra2689]

Nothing completes or substitutes those holidays like the tv specials

[@James-if3kc]

@@kanra2689 You just said on a different thread that you're glad you don't have cable and that you were a slave to it.

[@omega3fatass61]

it still does exist. lol at my parents house it's still playing holiday stuff

[@fortynights1513]

1992-2008 is the golden age of cable in my opinion.

[@ZackSilver77]

Same for gaming 😂

[@smorris281]

You got that right. That's when Nick was a good channel.

[@fortynights1513]

@@smorris281Nick was good then. To clarify, not to suggest that there’s no good shows after then, but I will argue that after the 07-08 writer’s guild strike and the financial crisis, it feels like genre specific channels lose their variety. And 92 is the front end because cable feels a bit underdeveloped before then.

[@fortynights1513]

⁠@@ZackSilver77Gaming I’d go maybe half a decade later. I’d agree that gaming isn’t at its best, but I don’t know if they are as bad off as TV now.

[@booyashaka3182]

I agree, but cable was pretty decent still up until 2013 imo. Even stretch it out to 2016-17 even. After that, it was almost impossible not to have or want any streaming services because of the value proposition alone. It's crazy how quick these services started bleeding us as bad if not worse than cable now

[@Jing737]

This thing I miss most about cable was getting 16-20 episodes for a season every year. Now, we wait 2-3 years for just 8 episodes. How did that happen?

[@justjoannak]

Agreed

[@ToonyTalesX]

Streaming, social media , and COVID sorta fucking everything up.

[@Max-nb3po]

Money that’s why and by the way there are very few hit shows than before

[@CorpseCircus]

do not look up the beetlejuice cartoons 4th season (how tf did it get like 40 episodes for 1 season?)

[@mariohourofficial]

Stranger Things shade

[@mariovsluigi9000]

DVDs were also much better than streaming. You didn’t have to worry about a show or movie leaving because you owned it after buying it. They also put a lot of work into the menus.

[@booyashaka3182]

I have been buying DVD/Blu Rays more frequently again in conjunction with using cable. I wouldn't even have any streaming services right now if it weren't for my GF insisting on paying for them haha

[@justjoannak]

Agreed! Hate that DVDs are going out of style

[@booyashaka3182]

@@justjoannak it seems to me that they are becoming in style again. It'll never be #1 ever again haha but many people are getting fed up with streaming service BS and buying DVDs again. Physical sales doubled in the last year (mind you not from a huge number haha but still)

[@ToonyTalesX]

@@booyashaka3182Of course they’ll never be #1. Because Blu-Rays and UHD discs exist now. Dunno why everyone here are talking about DVD’s specifically.

[@miguelpatino3856]

Wdy mean "were?" You can still get a lot of DVDs for a fairly reasonable price. It might even be cheaper than subscription streaming, depending on what and how much you want to watch!

[@crpony]

When I was a kid I remember channel 40 was cartoon Network and 45 was Nickelodeon. All I needed to know.

[@PraveenSrJ01]

It was channel 24 for me in 1998

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Yup, I remember that as well

[@rjscleaneditsandytps]

I remember cartoon network was 296 channel in direct tv

[@sominboy2757]

2 and 13 pbs kids 8- fox on Saturday mornings 62- cartoon network 63- nickelodeon 65- Disney channel 66- ABC family

[@IntrovertSinceBirth]

1 = Nat Geo Wild 3 = Pogo 6 = Nickelodeon 7 = Cartoon Network EDIT: I never found Disney Channel on Cable TV

[@marty1076]

Between 2012 and 2013 when the last season of Breaking Bad was airing, it was so cool to watch the new episodes on Sunday and then talking about it with friends at school the next day. There was something really special about it and I really wish we could all go back.

[@fortynights1513]

Nowadays people who follow a show May not even be on the same page

[@booyashaka3182]

You can still go back. Cable is still here haha. I started watching cable far more than streaming honestly

[@D-Fens_1632]

I got my mom into it just before the last season, so she binged them all on DVD over a week. I couldn't get her the dvds fast enough. If she got too anxious about it I'd tell her "quit complaining, I had to wait 6 months to find out what happened."

[@yrbelite8450]

That and the walking dead. Great mf times😭

[@James-if3kc]

Cable is still alive and well. New season of Mayfair Witches premieres tomorrow on AMC. I'm gonna watch it. We can talk about it the next day if you want.

[@Johnnysinsyt-vb5vd]

Krist Novoselic explaining Cabel TV is something I never knew I needed as some of the last people to grow up using cable I relate to a lot of this

[@tampajay1]

Krist Novoselic?!? 😂 Now I can’t unsee it 😂

[@iamjames8403]

Theirs still cable out there somewhere. Legends say it's still plugged in and fully operational but personally I believe that it is just a fairytale.

[@Luv_Sammy]

Who?

[@Max-nb3po]

Yeah, I missed the old days when I change channels on tv and tune in to my favorite cartoons back then

[@LittleNinjaXYBA_alt]

I watched cable until 2019

[@Kayose]

I miss having to just turn the tv on and have it just automatically play the last channel I was on. No need to wait for the tv to turn on, flip to the app you want, pick a profile, spend 10 minutes finding a show or clicking around to the last show you were on. It’s definitely a pain in the ass. Also I miss tv blocks like adult swim, nick@nite, and HBO’s M3.

[@mynameisreallycool1]

Not to mention, you were kind of forced to watch what was on there, so you were more likely to give original shows a try, even if it doesn't initially appeal to you. There are shows I loved as a kid that when they first came out or I first heard about them, I didn't think I'd be into it, but because it was already playing when I'd stumble upon it, I realized the show was really good.

[@RickyPaquiot284]

*Same.*

[@kootunesscrewy]

My favorite parts about cable TV are the unique screen bugs whenever each show is playing and those awesome bumpers/IDs, as well as the animated shorts during commercial breaks.

[@Some_guy_whos_here]

​@@kootunesscrewy well they kinda recreated those

[@JustEpic_Yt]

Same I hope they could possibly make a comeback I loved the blocks, bumpers, etc

[@clawmachinez26]

I was staying in a hotel room out in Philly earlier this year and I turned on their cable tv every night before bed. Scrolling through the guide for something to watch reminded me of childhood. Bliss.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

I do that everytime I go to a hotel room!

[@WTKB82]

This but once I find something to watch I still pull out my phone and scroll tiktok and KZbin 😂😂😂😂

[@James-if3kc]

Get cable back and you can have that again. Why do people willingly torture themselves?

[@Unowdvalco]

@@James-if3kc Because 99% of cable tv is complete shit nowadays with most channels basically being endless re airings of like 2-3 shows 24/7, case in point, all the current nick channels nowadays (Coming from someone that still has cable) Like I really do think people forgot this was the reason way so many shifted to streaming in the first place

[@James-if3kc]

@ I agree with that. MTV has been showing nothing but "Ridiculousness" for ten years now. Disney Channel only shows "Bluey" and "Big City Greens" for the last two years. There are still some good channels though, especially Adult Swim, which I think is worth having cable for. They still make it a unique and cool viewing experience. Honestly though I think the rise of streaming services is why a lot of channels have given up. If there were no streaming, cable channels would still have to put on a variety of things. Disney's reason for only having two shows is because all of their other shows are on Disney Plus. So I don't think cable being bad caused people to go to streaming, I think the rise of streaming caused cable to go bad.

[@PolskaAnimations]

You know whats nice, for FREE you can get channels over the air with a antenna, its like cabel but for free! Also you need no internet :D

[@sarahnyxx]

This comment should be higher, I was going to say the same thing. For the low price of an antenna or whatever piece of metal you can shove in the antenna jack, you get free news and local programming plus usually several decent enough shows. Used to sit down at 9p every weekday foe the xfiles before I moved.

[@Diecastinator]

Bingo I've been using over-the-air antennas for years. They're getting a lot more sub channels and are really good. I like the atsc 3.0 standards. Those look interesting but we're on atsc 1.0 and it does not require internet. Tyler. The antenna man has some pretty good videos.

[@growingup15]

Its free with no internet right now. But with ATSC 3.0 coming it looks like it may require an Internet Connection just to decrypt the encrypted channels. I love watching OTA TV I get 48 channels free and its like Basic Cable but I am scared ATSC 3.0 will kill all of that.

[@chon.digital]

what the hell i need to look into this

[@CapnRed2000]

It's even better if you have a DVR like a Tivo or something. That's what we do. We have a 3 year old so we record shows he loves on PBS Kids and we can watch them whenever. We also like to watch other stuff too.

[@kidcat3000]

You missed the best part about cable that isn’t the shows- The bumpers and interstitials. They used to put effort into title sequences for even channels nobody saw like G4. Music videos sometimes, shorts on channels like Disney and Nicktoons. Everyone always talks about CN City bumpers despite them only making up 3-4 minutes per hour. Each channel had it’s own identity and vibe. Even the promos, or channel ads were fun to watch. (I still get a kick out of the toonami ones that still air.) Now there’s just souless brand “hubs” on streaming that just show thunbnails. Where’s the effort? The art? Now it’s all “content” they can delist and forget on a whim.

[@fortynights1513]

Station identifications were definitely a nice compliment to the lineups themselves. That’s definitely something we lose when we leave linear television behind. Side note: 1992-2008 is the golden age of cable television in my opinion. Before then it feels a bit underdeveloped, and after the 07-08 writer’s guild strike it feels like genre specific networks played it a bit more safe. What do you think?

[@jaredhicks5655]

*you* didn't watch G4, it was very much watched in the era before youtube

[@booyashaka3182]

Man, I miss the G4 bumpers or whatever you wanna call them haha. In the Canadian version of G4, they would play quick game reviews from the Reviews on the Run guys

[@juswolf22]

Interstitial never heard of that word before wow

[@Matthewwithers33]

Bruh I remember toonami and adult swim bumpers, those were some next level unhinged things sometimes but I know what you mean I especially miss G4 tv and when their shows were about actual games…. My favorite show/bumper was the one where they would show you cheat codes and other stuff like that for different games. I would keep a notebook next to me and take notes if it was a game I had

[@CorpseCircus]

My family TOO sat down for TGIF every friday night, and you make some points I have made such as "when i was a kid, going to school to talk about what i saw with friends who also saw the same show was fucking awesome" and others gripes

[@lildoggi7649]

that's something that I didn't think about until now. we were all watching from the same channel lists, it's not like it is today where everybody watches their own completely different niche. It is definitely cool being able to watch whatever oddly specific content you want, but it's that sense of community we used to have that I'd forgotten.

[@gregoryblack8109]

Same. I get a bit emotional thinking about how ecstatic I got on Fridays waiting for cartoon cartoon fridays back in the 2000s and of course toonami on Saturday evenings

[@James-if3kc]

We could bring that back. They could all bring that back but they don't want to. I guarantee you, even if they showed an OLD TGIF on ABC some Friday night, especially with the original commercials, tons of people would watch it! Here we all are, constantly longing for the past and talking endlessly about nostalgia, but we continue to punish ourselves and support the "new" things we claim to hate, like streaming. Do you want to suffer???

[@growingup15]

the 90s to the 2000s was the peak golden era of Cable TV. I miss the mono culture of it all. Everyone watched this show at the same time and talked about it for the entire week until the next episode comes out next week. Having that 1 week to wait for the next episode gave you time to appreciate the episode and digest it a bit before getting excited for the next. unlike today where everyone would binge an entire season "season" aka 8 to 10 1 hour episodes in a day or 2 and then forget about it a month later. Not to mention like you said I like coming home and just looking forward to something coming on TV or just channel surfing and finding something new instead of doom scrolling trying to find something to put on only to default to just watching the same thing I already watched. It was perfect when Cable TV Had Live Linear TV and On Demand. That perfect mix. I think a lot of streaming services are starting to realize that and its why you are starting to see services like Hulu+ Live TV and Pluto TV hit the top streaming because its like old cable TV but with the on demand option also.

[@arthurgamerpro6585]

2010s: im a joke you?

[@growingup15]

@arthurgamerpro6585 by the 2010s it already started to be less homogenized. The Internet really started taking off. Maybe 2010-2013 there was still a bit of mono culture left. But after that it all started going bad

[@arthurgamerpro6585]

@@growingup15 Not necessarily true, for you being an adult at that time yes, but Cable TV started to decline in 2017, because before 2017, the channel at least made an effort to bring high quality programs (like CN)

[@kanra2689]

I wish I learned how to use the dvr back then

[@Dexter649]

I prefer physical media over cable TV. I prefer laserdiscs, DVDs and Blu rays over streaming and cable.

[@PraveenSrJ01]

Same here

[@Anonymous.Throne]

@@Dexter649 balance of both. physical media is best for owning what you love/prefer.

[@Gamefreak924]

Laserdisc? Nah bro, you gotta get film reels

[@Dexter649]

@Gamefreak924 i do both laserdisc and film reels lol

[@fortynights1513]

@@Dexter649Would you take cable over streaming? Even if it’s below the other things?

[@halimmellick]

The magic of “curation” It wasn’t until watching a recent interview with Rick Rubin who said he thought streaming would be the best thing to ever happen to him, being able to choose any song at any moment, but he realised that there was magic to curation and having things served to you, even if you don’t love them all. The same goes for television. I love to click thru the channels every now and then, I often find content I wouldn’t have otherwise found

[@James-if3kc]

Absolutely. I've found some of my favorite things ever by randomly flipping across them on tv. Streaming will never have the same magic. Having endless options to choose from just gives me even more stress and anxiety, and I don't need that.

[@tysonjedwards]

Completely agree! You look at something like Adult Swim as a network versus the Adult Swim section on Max and it's like 90% of the personality was lost.

[@James-if3kc]

Adult Swim on cable is still the only channel left that has its own personality. They still have the unique bumps, the weird shows, and everything else.

[@ilan_profile]

Cable was so good until it became endless marathons :(

[@Solarkatana252]

This is what killed cable

[@richborn6700]

The TV producers saw people binging on streaming and thought they could replicate it on cable. But they picked terrible reality shows and Big Bang Theory

[@ilan_profile]

@richborn6700 The worst part is that cable shows the episodes out of order, sped up and full of ads, makes no sense to bingewatch a show on Cable when Streaming is a better experience However, Cable having a set schedule to watch multiple shows in the span of a few hours is exactly why I used to watch it, there was a huge amount of variety, and knowing everybody had to tune in at the same time for a huge premiere was what made it so special, but nah, better try to copy streaming and do endless marathons all day

[@KMaserati]

Yep lazy

[@James-if3kc]

And that can be blamed on streaming. Most channels have just given up because they figure everyone is streaming when literally tens of millions of people still watch cable and don't want to see the same show over and over for ten years (looking at you, MTV).

[@libertyprime2186]

Streaming shows I always felt alone, watching live tv, even by myself, makes me feel like i’m with other people. Especially sports

[@Noah-m1hh]

I tuned in to boxing for the first time ever with Paul vs Tyson for this reason lol

[@James-if3kc]

I TOTALLY understand this feeling and I never thought I'd see someone else vocalize it. Yes, watching something on streaming, hell, even watching something on youtube makes me feel more alone and isolated, but watching live tv, even if it's a rerun of Three's Company at 4 am, makes me feel more comforted, like maybe at least SOMEONE else is watching this right now.

[@supermariof0521]

Another thing about Cable TV? It didn't require internet to do basic functions.

[@alexkuhn5078]

no, it just required cable

[@supermariof0521]

@@alexkuhn5078 Exactly. Like back in the day of Direct TV, if the internet was out, I could still watch Cartoon Network without hassle.

[@bobthebrick1988]

It requires internet now. I have cable tv and have all my life. Starting in 2022, ours required internet for some ungodly reason

[@supermariof0521]

@@bobthebrick1988 Because the internet has taken over our lives, to the point where it has to make EVERYTHING inconvenient.

[@jamesfunnhouse9244]

@@bobthebrick1988 Some still don't.

[@NeoKokoro20]

Streaming is becoming worse now. Shows are inexplicably being removed (Max is going to be removing many Cartoon Network shows later this month), and prices keep increasing. If this keeps up, maybe cable will see at least a slight resurgence?

[@chon.digital]

max removing 50% of impractical jokers will be in my manifesto

[@Warp2090]

Streaming is almost triple the price of cable in my area now.

[@NeoKokoro20]

@@Warp2090 You see, that's the the problem. The more people use something, the more prices increase. That's why you see many price increases in streaming services. Originally, streaming was a cheaper alternative to cable, and now, it's the other way around. If you subscribe to several streaming services just to get all the shows you want, it all adds up quickly.

[@itsaslimeo]

The streaming bubble has popped

[@9cross]

When I stay at a hotel one of things I enjoy the most is the cable channels.

[@justjoannak]

As a kid, I loved this too

[@Warp2090]

Same

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

😂 Dude, same!

[@johnindigo5477]

Same 😂

[@kanra2689]

First thing I do Is make sure it’s got my essentials or my whole family is screwed

[@silverknight532]

I miss like watching obscure shows in the middle of the night when I was a kid like '60s Batman The Brady bunch or just discovering like weird channels that like a lot of people don't know about

[@Jamessmith-xk3fh]

Like if I grew up as a kid now I probably wouldn't know a lot of older shows

[@chon.digital]

watched a lot of boomerang as a kid before we had actual cable. polluted my mind with references no one near my age understands lmao

[@gianni2003]

I still remember when I stayed up late and on this antenna channel in my country aired Chop Socky Chooks. It happened to everyone at least once over here to watch this show instead of going to bed. It was so fun

[@PraveenSrJ01]

I watched Brady bunch in the late nineties as a teenager

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

There was actually a channel recently created called MeTv Toons that plays a bunch of classic cartoons all day long. It's awesome. I've been really enjoying watching it. Popey the sailor man is definitely my favorite.

[@procrastinator547]

Can’t believe that the matrix accurately predicted that the 90s-2000s era was the height of society.

[@arthurgamerpro6585]

and 2010s too

[@justanotherinternetwiseguy8018]

Cable was and still is pretty great. People hated it so much because it eventually became too expensive and they had to pay for alot of channels they didnt need/watch. Streaming is good but its not great when shows and movies are randomly removed/canceled and you end up paying for alot of streaming services. To me it makes more sense to keep cable around. i dont hate streaming but its just easier to have everything in one place rather than pay for every streaming service thats out there.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

True, and also you still run into the same problem with streaming of paying for a bunch of content you won't watch.

[@TerrorSyxke]

I tell you, cartoon channels air ONE THING most of the day now, NOTHING ELSE

[@bobthebrick1988]

Yup. I used to watch cartoons constantly on cable and that marathon of bull is why i got into sitcoms. Roseanne may be corny but i love it

[@motherurck7542]

What, you don't want to watch an episode of Teen Titans Go? Here's 47 more episodes!

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

There's a cartoon channel that was recently created called MeTV Toons, and it airs a bunch of classic cartoons. It's sort of like Boomerang used to be.

[@sedi2066]

Teen Titans Go took over Regular Show imo. Now thats all on CN all day

[@James-if3kc]

CN has corrected this recently. For years it was nothing but Gumball and Teen Titans all day. But in the last year or so they have made it much more of a variety of shows. CN/Adult Swim is maybe the only cable channel left that actually cares about giving you a unique viewing experience.

[@AllieRX]

TV in general was better back then, not just cable. Regular antenna TV was awesome in the 80s, 90s and 2000s as well. I especially miss Saturday morning and weekday afternoon blocks on the six major networks.

[@PraveenSrJ01]

The world has gone downhill since 2008 and the pandemic 😷 was a nail in the coffin ⚰️

[@PraveenSrJ01]

The world has gone downhill since 2008 and the pandemic 😷 was a nail in the coffin ⚰️

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

There was actually a new channel recently created called MeTV Toons which plays classic cartoons all day. It's pretty cool to tune into!

[@arthurgamerpro6585]

@@PraveenSrJ01 no, is 2017

[@jgueroz71]

Streaming went from being the solution to cable to becoming the problem. Very counterintuitive

[@chrislail3824]

Grew up through the height of cable, and as a teen it was awesome to get the tv to myself late at night and just watch whatever I wanted. Also having to look at the tv schedule to know what was going on, it was published in the daily paper. It was spectacular.

[@stan_meow3778]

Being a kid in the 90s my favorite memories were sitting down to watch The Simpsons with my family every night at 6PM then again at 7:30 PM. Then eagerly anticipating the new episodes every Sunday at 8! Picking up that TV Guide to see what’s going to be playing and when and being upset if you missed just a few minutes of it on tv. Too bad, you can’t just rewind and watch from the beginning. Yes cable had flaws but it was how we watched tv. I miss it.

[@lynnkayee1015]

Yes! I remember my dad letting me watch with him (against my moms wishes) and it felt special. One time, I had a loose tooth that just wouldn't come out and my dad threatened me by saying if I didn't pull it out that I couldn't watch the Simpson's that night. Such a weird memory but it's somehow a core one 😂

[@MattReibs]

There is a palpable fatigue I feel with streaming, for television and music. Having virtually all media available whenever you want is actually awful.

[@James-if3kc]

Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that this is contributing to mental health issues. They did a study a long time ago and found that people are actually happier when they have LESS choices. Because when you have endless choices, you never know what to choose, and when you do choose something, you're constantly wondering if something else would have been better. I know this myself from being a huge music fan and never knowing what music to listen to.

[@talonmccauley5445]

I absolutely love the Tatsuro Yamashita album on the shelf behind you, such a fantastic album

[@Dgamer-kq5kt]

Before streaming, I remember putting a ✅ on a show so that my TV can immediately go to that channel/show when it was time.

[@Naturenerd1000]

There are so many ads on youtube, Rumble and streaming services now that Cable and radio is officially a better experience.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Yup

[@MysteriousMusician33]

Literally no. At least on KZbin a 30 second ad every five minutes is better than 2-4 straight minutes of ads every five minutes.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

@MysteriousMusician33 Nah, but the ads for TV and radio are strategically placed. Whereas KZbin ads are so random that they interrupt out of nowhere,and it's just annoying.

[@James-if3kc]

Radio is actually more popular than it's been in years. Tons of people prefer it over streaming music or podcasts.

[@Matucks]

I started watching tv in 1984, during commercial breaks we got our line up for upcoming shows, then the TV Guide book and the Sunday papers gave us a tv lineup, then the tv guide channel. We had to plan ahead to see shows, it was like an event and word of mouth was always another source of information. It really is lame today we watch so much and it all feels meaningless. Time spent back then with friends or family made tv more enjoyable. We all had to sit an watch in one room.

[@thefellowshipoeccentricfor3669]

The “forced variety” of 90s and 00s cable was honestly amazing, really enjoyable to see different perspectives, projects, visions. Instead of just The SpongeBob Channel and the Teen Titans Go Channel.

[@eatatjoe]

The print ads for new TV shows are great.

[@James-if3kc]

Don't forget about the RIdiculousness channel, aka MTV.

[@realScottThomas]

The favorite part about the hotels being the cable TV hit deep lol.

[@Rangernewb5550]

I miss Spike tv and G4. Core parts of my childhood.

[@booyashaka3182]

Spike TV game awards!!!!! My friend and I would treat that day like it was the Stanley Cup finals or Super Bowl haha

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

Hated Spike TV, but LOVED G4.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Same! Loved watching those 2

[@James-if3kc]

We desperately need Spike TV to come back, or at least some channel for MEN!

[@kanra2689]

Haven’t heard of G4 in years

[@andrewglw12345]

I really hope we hold on to some form of broadcast tv in the future. Not only to mention it’s a very efficient way to send information to people who want to see the same thing at the same time and keeping internet bandwidth for other things, recording and holding things locally for as long as you want is good. As is resilience in the event of an internet outage. There is a social aspect to watching an event, a sport, broadcast movie or broadcast show at the same time as many other people. And finally, sometimes we want our viewing to be a passive experience. Don’t make us work too hard by paging and searching through endless apps. Just tap in a number of a favourite channel and go. I think we are placing too much power in the hands of the streaming services, and we may regret losing something once it’s gone.

[@James-if3kc]

Exactly! Tons of people just want to "turn on and tune out" or whatever the old saying is. TV helps relax and comfort a lot of people, and having to choose from an endless list of shows just adds to your stress and anxiety!

[@JoeContext]

I feel like streaming was better when it was essentially just an alternative form of home video rather than a rival to TV and cinemas, like you'd have the original release on either the big screen or the small screen and then you could get it on streaming and/or DVD with streaming being kinda like a digital library where you could try shows and movies out and then you can buy the DVD if you want to keep it

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Yup, agreed

[@eatatjoe]

We had the perfect balance and we killed it.

[@castoroilcastles]

Covid ruined Cinema releases, the reason why streaming is so ridiculous now is mostly because of Covid, even though we were already going in that direction.

[@SEGACD32XMODEL1]

Sonic 3 and Sim City 4? A man of great taste in music.

[@TheGlowingManYT]

You should’ve mentioned the bumpers, especially Adult Swim’s. It’s such a special thing that streaming services don’t have. It makes you feel less isolated. Like your username by the way, i’ve seen Chon live multiple times

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

There's a channel that was recently created called MeTV Toons that's very similar to Boomerang and plays lots of classic cartoons all day. It has the bumpers and even some trivia. I love tuning into it.

[@James-if3kc]

I still record the Adult Swim bumps every night on a VCR. Yes that's right, a VCR! I refuse to move on!!! But yeah, the bumps are my favorite thing on tv, and you're right about them making you feel less isolated.

[@mikejanacone8328]

Former ESPN president, John Skipper said the cable TV package was the greatest deal. No one ever appreciated. He might be correct.

[@mikebarnes2294]

Yet ESPN (along with regional sports networks) is a large reason why the Cable TV package no longer works for nearly as many people as it used to.

[@D-is4-DAWG]

I think the only entities keeping cable tv afloat are gyms, hospitals, airports, bars, barbershop, etc. There's no way most residential households are still paying for cable tv in almost 2025 when phones, tablets, and pc's have ENDLESS entertainment options. Cable had a good run though. I personally stopped paying for it 10 years ago, and have no reason to come back to it.

[@raptorfromthe6ix833]

theres gonna be comeback of cable

[@Ashclayton1994]

"Endless " until they decide to pull your favorite movie/series leaving you with no way to watch it without pirating it

[@D-is4-DAWG]

@Ashclayton1994 You're second point is what I was mostly referencing to 😉. My media is permanent with that method.

[@PraveenSrJ01]

It would be nice if cable and Nickelodeon came back

[@D-is4-DAWG]

@PraveenSrJ01 Cable and Nickelodeon does still exists. The problem is the content quality. I grew up on Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, Wild Thrownberries, Doug, Cousin Skeeter, All That, Double Dare 2000, etc., etc. The new era of Nickelodeon is a shell of what it once was. And that's being generous. This applies to most cable networks.

[@gaelthehuman1290]

4:18 for referencing a specific video made by chills that I unironically used to have on repeat everyday back when I was in Highschool, I’m subscribing, thank you for humoring me with this niche callback to an actual relic of my past

[@backloggamereviews]

Turning on the tv at night when you can’t sleep and watching whatever random show was on was kinda nice. Watched George Lopez a lot

[@pokemaniacdavid]

Dude I used to use my parents vhs player to record dbz.. totally forgot about that until this dug it out of the deep end of my subconscious. Cell saga was sickkkk

[@nathanielschwartz425]

The ad breaks with cable TV when I was little were at least half the length of the ad breaks today! And that was only a couple decades ago! That was not a long time ago at all! And yet the amount of ads and the time length of ad breaks have more than doubled in only a couple decades! That’s insane when you think about it!

[@megapeebs2631]

I vividly remember from my childhood that when I was around 8-11 that every day on the weekend I would wake up around 7am-10am and either watch spongebob square pants or play my Wii it feels like a lifetime ago even though it was maybe 10 years ago

[@Hoofler]

Loving your content bro. Keep it up. You're really good at it! Your video on the "Edgy Era" was my favorite thing in a long time!

[@K3nn3th]

Great vid brah, keep it up

[@James-if3kc]

There is no doubt in my mind that streaming is contributing to mental health issues. They did a study a long time ago and found that people are actually happier when they have LESS choices. Because when you have endless choices, you never know what to choose, and when you do choose something, you're constantly wondering if something else would have been better. I know this myself from being a huge music fan and never knowing what music to listen to.

[@natskar]

I remember when local TV was free too, all you needed was a TV box reciever and antannae, then BAM, you got all the stations you wanted to watch, the news, sports, disscovery channel, history channel (when it didn’t suck), cartoon network, etc. This was like the mid to late 2000’s

[@brat_pookie]

no but why is the ad version paid for, you should only ever see ads on a free version, when ur paying for something there shouldnt be ads

[@metalgrinch]

ALL these years later and cable is still a far more reliable constant signal than a CONSTANTLY freezing and buffering internet connection, regardless of your service. This is why I'm a passionate physical media person. Bluray, 4k, and some dvds... I never get a disrupted signal or commercials.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Same here. Been collecting as many of my favorite shows as I can find on DVD/Blu ray.

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

When you're old enough to remember your parents paying for Cablevision cable service and getting to watch all 7 seasons of TALES FROM THE CRYPT during its original run on HBO!❤

[@brandonlee7382]

KZbin is incredible. We are so spoilt. Anyways traditional tv was great thing we got to experience without the need of the Internet. The thing I miss most is that it brings everyone together to watch a show at the same time. Nowadays we are surrounded with tech that feeds our youtube addiction.

[@L4N1TIK]

4:47 Thank you for saying this, KZbin on TV is fucking abysmal. I kid you not I watched a video on there via Roku and the amount of ads it had was just too much to handle. Even just fast forwarding the video triggers an unskippable ad

[@D-Fens_1632]

They still haven't learned that commercial breaks used to be strategic. It set up something you didn't want to miss. Now they just do it in the middle of a sentence.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

​​@@D-Fens_1632yes, now it's just an annoying interruption than strategic. That's why I still prefer cable

[@omarguerrero6417]

Cable tv is slowly making a comeback

[@robertgaines-tulsa]

Cable was at it's best when it was 480i. Around 2004, it just became too expensive. They're like, you want digital, you'll have to pay out the nose for it, and we're ending analog. My mom installed cabled back in 1978 just before I was born. Cable was so new that we had these lap-sized wired remotes which physical buttons on them. I actually do miss that. Some of my earliest memories of it was watching Fraggle Rock on HBO in the early 80s. It was less than 24 channels, but they were all good. Plus, you got most of your local channels. It wasn't long before local stations wanted their rebroadcast fees which made the price of cable creep up over the years. The last big innovation of analog cable was the push into the UHF spectrum with the expansion. In the late 90s, we had a cable renascence of sorts with digital satellite television. More channels and superior quality. You had to use an outdoor antenna for local stations but without those rebroadcasting fees, satellite was SO much more cheaper. The outdoor antenna generally provided you with superior reception quality for local stations, anyway. Cable was using garbage coax to wire up a house so the channels were grainy. Originally, cable was crystal clear because they brought the good, direct buriable stuff straight through your wall into your living room. The downside was that your TV could blow up during an electrical storm. We only experienced that on an external antenna, though, but it did happen to others.

[@dougmorris9317]

You really had me laughing with the youtube on tv segment, its torture! I admit I have 3 streaming subs with no ads but I'm 60 and been sitting thru commercials since 1970, I did my time. Good luck with your channel, you're a talented guy. 😅

[@chon.digital]

you've served your sentence, enjoy the ad free life! i've got years' worth of commercials for cars i can't afford and products i'll never use to catch up on.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Maybe it's just me, but I've never minded commercials. We'll at least not on Cable. On KZbin or streaming it's so repetitive that it's just annoying

[@gianni2003]

The sad thing about all of this is that they're trying to make Cable look as unappealing as possible (although this is actually antenna TV I'm talking about, but the point doesn't change. When I was a kid, there was this cartoon channel in my country that had (almost) everything, like the Pokémon anime (from Battle Dimension up until Ultimate Journeys), the first 5 seasons of the Fairly Oddparents, Total Drama, the Mr. Bean animated series and so on. Now it's pretty much barren. You're lucky if they air something that isn't Alvinn and the chipmunks or Total Dramarama. The only thing that was relevant about this channel lately is that they got the global premiere to the Total Drama Reboot and even then, since this channel is owned by Warner Bros Discovery, they would be on Discovery + either all at once for season 1 or one week before it aired on TV for season 2. And speaking of the community part you mentioned: I still remember, back in elementary school, when me and my classmates tuned in to this channel to watch Total Drama and comment on the elimination that happened or simply the episode in general. It was so much fun

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

That is on purpose. They want you to sign up for streaming.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

There was actually a new channel recently created that's a public channel called MeTV Toons that plays classic cartoons all day. It can be viewed with an antenna.

[@gianni2003]

@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp Oh it's cool, but uhm...I'm not American and english isn't even my native language, so I don't think it would do anything for me sadly

[@westonkenyonmusic]

Ah... good memories of flipping channels through South Park, an ungodly amount of news and sports, and tons of adult crime films only to settle on an endless SpongeBob marathon because there's nothing to watch while staying in a motel that was demolished years ago for one night during a roadtrip.

[@Matthewwithers33]

At least on tv we expected commercial breaks…. Streaming promised no ads and now ALL streaming platforms are mostly ads, makes me think of the movie “demolition man” where commercials were the actual entertainment…

[@iMonsta23]

I think cable makes a comebacc when one of two things happen: 1. Streaming Services are predatory in the sense of data stealing/ad pushing 2. Landscape becomes stale and too frustrating to withstand keeping 3-5+ services Now I’m just yapping ofc but also I want to say the last time I felt a sense of community watching cable TV was between two FX shows, Atlanta & Snowfall

[@blueshattrick]

Just turning the TV on and switching channels, vs. spending 20 minutes in the menu (over)thinking what to watch next! and then finding random things you would never have actually searched for

[@James-if3kc]

Streaming is adding to stress and anxiety.

[@shiruotakuno28]

I'm gonna really miss cable TV. It had a certain charm to it. You never knew what was on, which led to you finding out what was on and rescheduling things around it, and sometimes you found a new show you like because you started watching it out of boredom. It was challenging and fun to try to be there at a certain time. It was an event. Streaming can't get everyone to watch a show together like the old days. For me, I grew up without cable, so I had to keep watching to find out the patterns in the schedule blocks. I still remember Qubo's weekday evening schedule back in 2014. I distinctly recall watching Jane and the Dragon, Zula Patrol, and a wildlife show every day during dinnertime. If I stayed up late enough, I could watch Archie's Weird Mysteries and Masters of the Universe (The Original). And on weekend mornings, my brother and I would always try to catch My Friend Rabbit, Artzooka, Gofrette, and Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego. God, those were the days.

[@gregoryblack8109]

I honestly miss the blocks and having a fun ritual of watching shows the same time every week, so I've made my own toonami. Every friday night at exactly 9 I start my anime block and I watch one (except for one piece) episode a week. So far I've been enjoying this a lot.

[@James-if3kc]

I love this idea!

[@kailutz4901]

Crazy, I realized the video was ending, went to subscribe because I enjoyed the video, and then I realized that YOU ARE CHON?!? IM LITERALLY SHOOK. AND THEN, YOU PULL OUT A GUITAR, HEAD EXPLODES. thanks for making some of my favorite music ever written, thanks for making a really well made video essay. They are two of my favorite things. Thanks for being alive! Every day! Yeah!

[@kailutz4901]

Okay sorry I realized what I said about being the musical artist in question was a misunderstanding on my part lmao, but irregardless, I mean everything I said, swag, your great, swear swear

[@James-if3kc]

@@kailutz4901 You can just delete your comment, lol.

[@Blackdiamondprod.]

Seinfeld wasn’t a cable show. It was on NBC.

[@PolskaAnimations]

Finally someone who knows the difference between cable and antenna channels!

[@jayteethepuppetguy]

I'm autistic and my special interest is television, so I agree

[@booyashaka3182]

A lot of people watched it on cable though. Over the air and cable went hand in hand honestly

[@Blackdiamondprod.]

@ nope. Syndication was a thing that happened generally a decade or more after a show had ended. In the case of Seinfeld particularly, the show ended in 1998 and TBS would not begin syndicating it for another 8 years, which was significantly earlier than most syndications and specific to TBS, which was primarily just a channel showing reruns of older shows.

[@chambeet]

That was my immediate thought when I saw the thumbnail. Seinfeld was 100% a network show. I didn’t have cable growing up, but watched Seinfeld CONSTANTLY. It was always on FOX reruns, along with Simpsons.

[@Alanachii]

love your videos, hope youill get alot of growth in the future

[@MegaDoomdoomDoom]

I think the solution is for streaming services to have cable-like channels included in their subscription. Some of the more niche streaming services are trying this, such as Retro Crush. I love using Retro Crush’s to drop in to a random 80s mecha anime with a poor English dub

[@josephwright1519]

That’s what is crazy now. Even the most popular cable networks like USA, TNT and TBS are basically rerun farms for whatever production company owns them. USA for Universal, TNT and TBS for Warner Brothers. That’s why they have paid so much money for sports rights because they have so little new stuff to show

[@michaelguerrieri3486]

We still have premium Hbo

[@meidson12]

It's interesting how we have spent the entirety of 2024 trying to find a way out of "brain rot" and we still can't. this video was another glimpse of hope of what could brint color back to our lives, yet, as you concluded... we still have no solution. cable tv won't save us, retro phones won't save us... let me check the next video to see if someone figured it out! /s seriously though, are our brains completely fucked and tech giants won't tell us about it?

[@garretreed9709]

What I don’t like about streaming, it’s if you see a funny, cinematic ad that catches your eye or you want to save as info and try finding it but can’t find it. That’s a downside.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

I still have cable and i also use DVDs. Never really been interested in streaming. Theres nothing really worth subscribing for.

[@NexXxu]

We are in the same side!

[@James-if3kc]

I'm the same way. I still use a VCR and VHS tapes every single day. I still buy CD's. I also don't own a cell phone. I refuse to give in to getting all this new stuff because society tells me I have to.

[@theallknowingsause8940]

I can't be assed to watch this video but I'll say that I watch TV recordings from early 2000's and even some early - mid 2010's recordings and there was way more effort put into the commercials, especially with the earlier ones it's really tolerable to have them play, and since they didn't last that long you could just have it muted and walk away for a bit, grab some water or something.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Oh yeah, I loved watching the commercials because they were so fun.

[@eatatjoe]

I found out Sex and the City via piracy because I was too young to watch it on cable and too lazy to look it up on streaming.

[@justjoannak]

Same here

[@alexkuhn5078]

the whole point of cable TV was originally that you could pay up front to not have to watch commercials. Then they realized that people are willing to watch ads whether they're already paying or not, and the point became moot

[@motherurck7542]

And now streaming is following suit.

[@BoyToonWonder]

7:30 "Squidward Games"? 😂

[@henrymapleton]

8:42 Still have the holes whenever extended family would drill holes to split cable in other rooms.

[@djalixer]

I like the live element. I like just jumping into something that’s on, or not, you know?

[@chon.digital]

exactly my brotha

[@startlestarfish]

When I was in kindergarten I remember one night The Incredibles was on Disney channel and next day the entire class was repeating the same quote because everyone had seen it the night before.

[@stefanssmellsvictory105]

I should be able to give you a second like for including the Sonic 3 Marble Garden Zone music.

[@thatonekid4359]

The “ain’t it funny” joke makes me laugh harder each time I think of it💀

[@GrapeTeaNews]

I Loved Watching New Episodes Of Degrassi On Friday Nights. 😭

[@DefenDefault4]

Yeah, I kind of miss the thing where you're "forced" to watch a show and end up liking it, adding it to your favorite shows. Binge watching makes me sick to sometimes, and yeah the bumpers and some commercials were a bonus.

[@jasperfox6821]

We could easily achieve this with digital TV, but yet we don't. I remember doctor who being on every Saturday evening here in the UK, and I'd always look forward to that as a kid 😢

[@oreopharaoh3748]

I couldn’t agree more only 1:48 in, i believe the solution is simple a shuffle button after this episode throw on a different show of this nature or maybe u pre select the the different genres so u can have horror than sci-fi, than the funny. Such a simple way to make it so much easier.

[@koartist8598]

The real OG's will know the real Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoonetwork shows. Hannah Montana iCarly. Suite life of Zack and Cody and Suite life on Deck, Wizards of waverly place, Zoey 101 and countless others.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

I was able to get my hands on all 4 seasons of Zoey 101 on DVD, so technically I'm better than Netflix which only has 2 seasons.

[@James-if3kc]

I'm from way back with Pete and Pete and CLarissa. The REAL ogs!

[@m56214]

Can you stop with those shows they were always cringe and badly produced Disney Channel never tried Even Stevens, So Weird and Jett Jackson was their best attempt

[@m56214]

​@@James-if3kcPete and Pete was amazing Nickelodeon in every country should air it not iCarly and Victorious all the time

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

@m56214 nah, those shows were fun. Just casual teen shows

[@aperezvoyages]

Making me miss the 90s man! Just a few days ago was reminiscing Nickelodeon shows.

[@KaliBella]

I love you so so much for the Chills reference

[@lildoggi7649]

I just discovered your channel, most of your vids are something I haven't seen before and that's pretty cool. Keep it up!!

[@chon.digital]

[@humbleskye]

You'd stop watching cable too if you saw CN's schedule in 2017 and what they did to Boomerang

[@Mysterynovus]

This really brings to mind the way royalties work in the streaming space. I know in the pre-streaming cable network world, actors and staff for shows would receive royalties after shows finished airing on a channel. No clue if that's still in place with streaming platforms.

[@justjoannak]

That's part of why the strikes happen in 2023

[@frosty_farms]

U had me at ".....u can chondle urself". Subscribed.

[@Pmp174]

I miss the balance of 2008-2012 where you streamed a movie or show but went back to cable to watch whatever was on

[@ninjapistol14]

Keep up the good work man

[@ImMidnite99]

Man kinda miss the days of cable. If there wasn't anything good on you, either I watched something else or just went and did something completely different. Everything is to instant and convenient nowadays, which is a "good thing," but having such instant access to your favorite shows and music kinda kills it a bit honestly

[@ninjapistol14]

Damn those sound effects are so legendary

[@Jamal-bl7yh]

I Still Remember Tuning Into FX Just To watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer reruns and then watching the 1992 movie the next day good times good times