The lazy monopoly cable company here in Atlanta is Comcast, and their current pitch involves their “on demand” service:
Forget TV schedules. With ON DEMAND, programs start when you say so. A movie at 12:15. HBO’s hot new show at 7:06. Kids shows that start when you need them to. Do-it-yourself programming at 7:00 am. It”s all up to you.
Yeah, very cool. I have the same thing with my DVR – and I also get to watch the whole Daily Show (not just a 10-minute clip) whenever I want.
Cable “on demand” is TiVo for stupid people. I can see its usefulness for when you just want to throw some movie on as background (I often see what”s running on HBO and just tune to some movie when I”m not devoting full attention to TV), but when you”re talking about programming you”re really interested in, DVR will always beat “on demand”.
And now Comcast is working to milk every dollar possible out of what they bill as a fabulous customer experience by selling ads into on demand programs.
Jesus, how typical is that? Just like how cable companies suck customers in with special 3-month discounts and then constantly jack up prices, Comcast is luring customers with their “on demand” feature and selling them out once they get there.
Will the “several million dollars” New Balance is paying for “on demand” ads help keep cable rates down? Will it be put into advanced technology – maybe more development of Comcast”s horrible DVR technology? Doubtful.
