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Post by gerald424 on Jul 7, 2023 3:00:25 GMT
I ask this because we all talk about the channel constantly. And are afraid it might go away. But, many of us don't even have the channel for a variety of reasons. Myself included. I think this small sample size poll might give us an idea of why TCM is going through so many changes lately. (Its my first poll so it might not line up corectly)
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Post by topbilled on Jul 7, 2023 3:08:48 GMT
I don't have TCM. The main reason? I wanted to get away from the cost of cable television. Plus I had recorded so many classic films from TCM, RetroPlex, Encore and FXM Retro that I didn't see the need to keep paying for stuff to be broadcast that I already had on disc.
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Post by gerald424 on Jul 7, 2023 3:11:42 GMT
The cheapest way for me to get TCM would be to have Sling TV (which I recently cancelled), then pay five dollars more for an extra package. For a total of $55. Which is outrageous. With most streaming channels going for under $15, that business model is not sustainable.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jul 7, 2023 3:50:56 GMT
I don't have TCM. The main reason? I wanted to get away from the cost of cable television. Plus I had recorded so many classic films from TCM, RetroPlex, Encore and FXM Retro that I didn't see the need to keep paying for stuff to be broadcast that I already had on disc.
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Post by sewhite2000 on Jul 7, 2023 4:11:22 GMT
I had TCM for roughly 22 years but haven't had it since, I don't know, about February of this year. Euphemistically, I'm in the process of moving but am in some sort of limbo-hell of extended-stay locations and storage units. The places I've been in generally have satellite or cable but none of them so far actually carry TCM. I believe I recall using Watch TCM requires you providing some proof you have a provider that gives you TCM, so I doubt I qualify for that. I play mental games with myself - I can keep up with the schedule, and some nights I mimic what's being shown on real TCM by watching the same movies on a streaming service instead.
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Post by Broadway on Jul 7, 2023 5:29:29 GMT
I buy cable solely for TCM and it is the only channel I ever watch. Because my cable provider also is my ISP, I get a bundle deal.
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Post by topbilled on Jul 7, 2023 5:31:04 GMT
I don't have TCM. The main reason? I wanted to get away from the cost of cable television. Plus I had recorded so many classic films from TCM, RetroPlex, Encore and FXM Retro that I didn't see the need to keep paying for stuff to be broadcast that I already had on disc.
About ten years ago I had bought a combination VCR and DVD player/recorder. This way I was able to transfer classic films I had on VHS over to DVD. If I didn't have something already on VHS that I wanted, I would just record it on to a DVR from TCM, RetroPlex, Encore and FXM Retro which used to be called the Fox Movie Channel.
Sometimes the cable would pixillate badly depending on the weather or TCM's times would be off by a few minutes so a movie might get cut off. I would watch what I had recorded on the DVR and if the quality was good and I had the whole movie intact and more importantly, it was a movie I wanted to keep and have on disc, then I would copy it from the DVR on to the disc with the DVD recorder. Then I'd erase it from the DVR to free up room on the DVR. When I got rid of cable, obviously I got rid of the DVR.
Originally, I had almost 2000 VHS tapes with movies on them. After transferring my movies from VHS on to DVD, I had no reason to keep the VHS tapes. I gave a lot of those VHS tapes to second hand shops, friends, and what nobody wanted, I threw into the trash. That was a little heartbreaking, LOL, but I wanted to get away from VHS without losing what I had.
After switching from VHS to DVDs, I had about 750 discs with my recordings. When I moved to Phoenix, the UPS company lost one of my boxes which had half the discs in it. But I still have about 400 discs of films I recorded through the years. The discs have anywhere from two to six movies on them, and they are all grouped by theme. Example: 'Mae West & Cary Grant' or 'John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara' or 'Late Career Joan Crawford' or 'Noir from the mid-50s' etc.
Another reason why I don't feel a need to have TCM anymore is because my interest is not solely classic film, but I have an interest in classic television too...so I have been buying a lot of episodes of classic TV from the 1950s to 1990s either on DVD or on streaming platforms. And I need time to watch those things.
I am a very structured person. I only allow myself to watch one classic film per day...usually the one I am going to review for my blog which I put here on the Neglected Films thread. I allow myself to watch one or two classic TV episodes per day and sometimes not all the time I will write reviews on those episodes. I also write outlines for shows I am developing...so that requires a certain fixed amount of time per day to work on and polish those outlines. And if I am in the middle of writing a story, I am usually immersed in what's happening to my characters, so I don't want to be distracted by someone else's characters in a movie or TV show I could watch...that is why I limit what I watch, because I don't want my creativity compromised if I start saturating my brain with too much product devised by other writers.
I allow myself a certain amount of time to write posts on this message board.
I work six days a week and have zoom meetings to attend, since I am on three different teams at work. That takes up time.
So long story short, it doesn't fit into my lifestyle and my personal interests to spend many hours a day watching TCM anymore. But I still wish TCM continued success, as I think it's a good way to introduce films from specific eras to new and young viewers...whether that stays on cable TV or transitions fully to streaming platforms.
I definitely do not care for TCM's politics, I find the channel's politics way too left, and I am a moderate. So I don't miss a lot of the agenda-driven commentaries from some of the hosts. I don't miss wine club ads. But I carry with me the general good feeling and respect that someone like Robert Osborne had for classic film. This feeling and sense of history is something that underscores my passion as a viewer, and it informs my reviews and supports my ongoing interactions with other classic film, TV and radio fans. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jul 7, 2023 5:55:54 GMT
When you say "recorded," is it to a DVR you own or just to a hard drive. Asked another way, how do you record these movies? The reason I ask is that every DVR I've ever had was/is rented from the cable company and now Tivo (which I don't like, but it solved a wiring issue, long story), so I've never really owned my recorded movies. Thank you.
About ten years ago I had bought a combination VCR and DVD player/recorder. This way I was able to transfer classic films I had on VHS over to DVD. If I didn't have something already on VHS that I wanted, I would just record it on to a DVR from TCM, RetroPlex, Encore and FXM Retro which used to be called the Fox Movie Channel.
Sometimes the cable would pixillate badly depending on the weather or TCM's times would be off by a few minutes so a movie might get cut off. I would watch what I had recorded on the DVR and if the quality was good and I had the whole movie intact and more importantly, it was a movie I wanted to keep and have on disc, then I would copy it from the DVR on to the disc with the DVD recorder. Then I'd erase it from the DVR to free up room on the DVR. When I got rid of cable, obviously I got rid of the DVR.
Originally, I had almost 2000 VHS tapes with movies on them. After transferring my movies from VHS on to DVD, I had no reason to keep the VHS tapes. I gave a lot of those VHS tapes to second hand shops, friends, and what nobody wanted, I threw into the trash. That was a little heartbreaking, LOL, but I wanted to get away from VHS without losing what I had.
After switching from VHS to DVDs, I had about 750 discs with my recordings. When I moved to Phoenix, the UPS company lost one of my boxes which had half the discs in it. But I still have about 400 discs of films I recorded through the years. The discs have anywhere from two to six movies on them, and they are all grouped by theme. Example: 'Mae West & Cary Grant' or 'John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara' or 'Late Career Joan Crawford' or 'Noir from the mid-50s' etc.
Another reason why I don't feel a need to have TCM anymore is because my interest is not solely classic film, but I have an interest in classic television too...so I have been buying a lot of episodes of classic TV from the 1950s to 1990s either on DVD or on streaming platforms. And I need time to watch those things.
I am a very structured person. I only allow myself to watch one classic film per day...usually the one I am going to review for my blog which I put here on the Neglected Films thread. I allow myself to watch one or two classic TV episodes per day and sometimes not all the time I will write reviews on those episodes. I also write outlines for shows I am developing...so that requires a certain fixed amount of time per day to work on and polish those outlines. And if I am in the middle of writing a story, I am usually immersed in what's happening to my characters, so I don't want to be distracted by someone else's characters in a movie or TV show I could watch...that is why I limit what I watch, because I don't want my creativity compromised if I start saturating my brain with too much product devised by other writers.
I allow myself a certain amount of time to write posts on this message board.
I work six days a week and have zoom meetings to attend, since I am on three different teams at work. That takes up time.
So long story short, it doesn't fit into my lifestyle and my personal interests to spend many hours a day watching TCM anymore. But I still wish TCM continued success, as I think it's a good way to introduce films from specific eras to new and young viewers...whether that stays on cable TV or transitions fully to streaming platforms.
I definitely do not care for TCM's politics, I find the channel's politics way too left, and I am a moderate. So I don't miss a lot of the agenda-driven commentaries from some of the hosts. I don't miss wine club ads. But I carry with me the general good feeling and respect that someone like Robert Osborne had for classic film. This feeling and sense of history is something that underscores my passion as a viewer, and it informs my reviews and supports my ongoing interactions with other classic film, TV and radio fans.
This, "...I would watch what I had recorded on the DVR and if the quality was good and I had the whole movie intact and more importantly, it was a movie I wanted to keep and have on disc, then I would copy it from the DVR on to the disc with the DVD recorder. Then I'd erase it from the DVR to free up room on the DVR. When I got rid of cable, obviously I got rid of the DVR," explains a lot as it solves for the "I don't really own" the DVR issue.
I love how you've thought through your day. Funny, I've kinda moved the other way as the modern politics of movies has so turned me off to them (it's not that I alway disagree with the politics, as I don't, I just don't enjoy the heavy handed way the "message" ruins the movie) that I watch a lot fewer new movies and new TV shows* than I used to.
I also decided I really wanted to see and learn more about older movies, so I've also moved away from older TV shows (which I do enjoy).
Now, my focus is on "classic movies," whatever that means. I've also tried to improve the writing quality of my reviews of the old movies.
*A great example of political messaging ruining a TV show is the "reboot" of "How I Met Your Mother," as "How I Met Your Father." The original is a funny stupid sitcom with a minimum of political messaging and a focus on comedy. It's enjoyable fluff.
The new show is unwatchable as, of course, they used a scorecard to pick the race, sex and sexual orientation of the characters, which is a kind of a whatever, but you can see the "checking the box" mentality at work. I live in NYC, a very diverse city, but have never seen such a perfectly diverse set of friends in my life.
That would be a nonevent if the show was good, but every character is so politically correct that they don't feel real in any sense - the men are not even recognizable as any men I've ever known. The stories, too, are mainly far-left fantasy. What the show isn't, is funny. |
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Post by I Love Melvin on Jul 7, 2023 10:59:58 GMT
I still subscribe, mainly because newer and better prints of films keep emerging and TCM will generally show the best available. I'm used to bad TV reception and iffy prints of movies from all my early years of TV watching, but I love that the experience now can be almost like watching a film in the theater in terms of quality. Like TopBilled I have a DVD recorder and have created a library of my favorites, in anticipation of someday cutting the cord (or of the source drying up, which seems to be what's in danger of happening with TCM). It's basically my only form of entertainment and I don't travel or dine out, so I'm still willing to endure the expense for the thing which gives me the most pleasure.
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Post by dianedebuda on Jul 7, 2023 13:18:31 GMT
TCM is included on our cable package, but I seldom watch it anymore even though I do check the schedule. Like TB, have recorded most of what I'm interested in already. Started out burning to DVDs, but when the HD era began, switched to loading hard drives with offline backup copies.
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Jul 7, 2023 14:31:29 GMT
I buy cable solely for TCM and it is the only channel I ever watch. Because my cable provider also is my ISP, I get a bundle deal. Same here. Now TCM isn't the only channel I watch. I watch live sports, Food Network and stations that have 50s\60s westerns or crime shows. |
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Post by cineclassics on Jul 7, 2023 14:35:30 GMT
I have TCM through SlingTV. I pay an extra $5 for the package to include TCM.
It's clear to me that so many people no longer have TCM due to not wanting to pay exorbitant price of cable. TCM should just launch a stand-alone streaming option for a reasonable price (I think $4.99), so long as it includes the linear cable channel with it so that we get the curation and intros/outros. Otherwise, it's just another streaming service with no personality.
Most of you all have followed TCM and been a fan of classic cinema much longer than I. I began my journey about 3-4 years ago. Since that time, that is all I have watched. I felt so compelled to support TCM, even though, like TopBilled, I have a disdain for how the channel has incorporated politics into its content, that I went on the TCM Cruise last November. I also hope to attend the TCM Film Festival in 2024, as it will be the network's 30th anniversary.
Speaking of politics, I work in politics for a living, and the primary reason why we are so divided is because corporations decided to become activists. Leave the politics to the politicians. Most people don't want to be inundated with political commentary during their leisure time.
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Jul 7, 2023 15:27:42 GMT
I have TCM through SlingTV. I pay an extra $5 for the package to include TCM. It's clear to me that so many people no longer have TCM due to not wanting to pay exorbitant price of cable. TCM should just launch a stand-alone streaming option for a reasonable price (I think $4.99), so long as it includes the linear cable channel with it so that we get the curation and intros/outros. Otherwise, it's just another streaming service with no personality. Most of you all have followed TCM and been a fan of classic cinema much longer than I. I began my journey about 3-4 years ago. Since that time, that is all I have watched. I felt so compelled to support TCM, even though, like TopBilled, I have a disdain for how the channel has incorporated politics into its content, that I went on the TCM Cruise last November. I also hope to attend the TCM Film Festival in 2024, as it will be the network's 30th anniversary. Speaking of politics, I work in politics for a living, and the primary reason why we are so divided is because corporations decided to become activists. Leave the politics to the politicians. Most people don't want to be inundated with political commentary during their leisure time. I would move over to a service like SlingTV if it offered the 7 or so networks I tend to watch at around $5 - $10 a month, per network. E.g. $10 for ESPN\live sports, and $5 for networks with limited new-programming like TCM, which could have NO new programming if host were eliminated), and the Food Network, which only has one or two new-shows per primetime. I.e. a monthly bill < $100 would be welcome over the much more I pay for cable and the hundred networks I never watch! |
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Post by sepiatone on Jul 7, 2023 15:41:30 GMT
Like James and Broadway, TCM is part of my cable server's basic package. I also "bundle" my internet and telephone through them. I also watch other channels on cable. Much like the ones James says he also watches. I really don't mind the politics either. It's a weak mind that lets any talking head on a television screen sway your opinion about any political or social issue. Or keep you from something you might enjoy doing, like watching TCM.
Sepiatone
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Post by BunnyWhit on Jul 7, 2023 15:44:35 GMT
I stopped receiving cable many years ago when satellite came along, and I quit satellite about three years ago. The packages had become so expensive and nonsensical. I don't know who arranges those packages, but they are either evil idiots or evil geniuses. Either those things are designed by drunken house cats riding backwards on a donkey (read: no logical sense at all) or they are designed by masterminds who understand that by arranging the packages in such a way that has no logic necessitates a user buying more packages.....wait a minute, I think I'm on to something.....
But seriously, folks. I was paying for the one package in which I could get TCM from my provider, and I watched precisely nothing else in the package. (And the only reason I kept that provider as long as I did was because I could also get the MLB add-on for a good price.) I don't watch reality shows (reality. what a laugh), and that's mostly what was on all the other channels in the package. Also, I don't care to watch commercials. I feel that when I'm paying a premium to receive programming, I should not have to pay again with my time and irritation to be sold diapers, detergent, dentures, or any other darned thing. I realize this is not the way of the world, but it's my way, and I do have a choice -- I can just turn it off.
So that's what I did.
As has been mentioned here (was that by FadingFast?), WatchTCM requires that you be paying a provider, so I do not have that option. I share Max with a friend, so I have access to the TCM "hub" titles (which they are now calling "brand", which is way too advertisey for my taste), but I am disappointed in that option. It's pretty much the same small group of movies all the time. Even the newer films on Max suffer this issue, I believe, but I digress.
I miss TCM.* I miss having the channel, and I miss so much of what the channel used to offer. It had a feel that it no longer has. Part of the discussion we've all had regarding TCM centers on the fact that things change, and I know that things do and must change, but I personally tend to resist changing things to make them appear to be something they are not. Frankly, that's lying. ("Here. Eat these strained peas. They're DELICIOUS!") What I see happening with TCM is that they are trying to force classic movies to fit into the taste/politics/mores/desires/consciousness -- call it what you like -- of a viewership that has little or no cultural/intellectual/educational/familial -- call it what you like -- connection with the content. Putting some bright colors and modern music up front with pc intros for the films does not change/modernize/equalize/sanitize -- call it what you like -- the films. Instead, it tells an untruth about what the films are, what they represent, what their place is in the cultural/literary/artistic/industrial -- call it what you like -- history of film and by extension the people from whence those films came. To me, it's a teaching opportunity lost, but that doesn't fit the fiscal bill for Warner Bros. Discovery -- call it what it is.
I keep hoping it's a cycle. Perhaps in future TCM will see that the classy/retro/artistic/cool -- call it what you like -- appearance of the channel and presentation of the films that used to be is a better reflection of classic film. Perhaps they will stop apologizing for their own product and celebrate it instead.
* I miss Robert Osborne!!
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