Streaming versus Broadcast TV

[monkey44]

We've never done much streaming, except we are Prime Amazon and view some selected movies or series. No commercials.

We'd like to know the benefit of streaming networks over regular TV as far as content - maybe - but more interested in how the entertainment presents to the audience.

For example: We watched a few Olympic contests, but quickly tired of the constant interruptions and split screen commercials. Similar to how sports - football and baseball - do now during games. We gave up quickly on the Olympics - which we've always enjoyed in the past. It was truly horrible - both content and commentary. We felt really bad for the athletes that train so hard, and got *%^$_ ed.

Do we gain anything with streaming? Does streaming present the same interruptions, more, less?? We think of paying for network streaming entertainment as a seperate issue. If we pay, no commercials, if free - well then we have to put up with it. An exchange sorta ...

We did not buy a 'big screen' so that commercials could use half to show ADs and half to show the entertainment as is what happened in Olympics and pro sports.

Is this the same in streaming, when the content is the same?

Hope I'm asking this properly. We expect no commercials if we buy an HBO movie, for example. And if we buy a TV channel over and above what we receive on our Comcast package, we're paying extra to delete the interruptions.

Can someone explain the difference in these venues? Thanks M44 & Genie ... 🙂 🙂

[1492]

As particularly interested documentaries, I do pay for Netflix and HBO Max. With HBO Max extending their 50% off pricing.

Can recommend 'Downfall: The Case Against Boeing' on Netflix if interested in the B737-Max investigation, and the engaging yet to be scheduled on CNN 'Navalny', which won two recent awards.

Watched the premieres of both of these docs in January with 'Downfall' leaving me disturbed if not infuriated, and the 'Navalny' premiere screening a mystery. It wasn't announced in advance, and screened literally at the last minute. This is usually due to licensing issues. Though have to wonder if this was done on purpose due to a fear of possible cyber attacks to prevent this virtual premiere being seen worldwide. :E

[LouLawrence]

CA Traveler wrote:
We use DTV and record shows. Watch later and skip the commercials. I timed ABC World News once and in 30 minutes there were 14 minutes of commercials.

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[NamMedevac_70]

Streaming all the way bro. I use so many different ones and most are free or cheap with a few requiring you to watch short commercials. I cut the cord on overpriced cable long time ago with no regrets and do not miss live TV garbage. If I want, I can watch some live TV and news via streaming. Too many services to name. Have not watched low ratings TV networks for many years such as CNN, MSNBC, etc. NBC Olympics viewership was a flop so I read on Google news.Everything is good

[1492]

I've found TUBI, which is owned by FOX, quite good for a free streaming service. Have not seen any commercials yet.

A co-worker of mine wanted to see some movies we had talked about, and they were all free on TUBI; 'FURY', 'Midway', 'The Founder', 'Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story', 'Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl', 'Lilies of the Field', 'The Phenomenon'.... all of these available on other streaming services, but not free. So don't know how TUBI is offering these at no charge as I'm not seeing any commercials.

I watch CNN on free 'pluto TV' from my browser, as on my Smart TV navigating pluto TV menu responds very slowly.

[way2roll]

The main advantages of streaming are portability and the ability to pick your content and not pay for content you don't want. "most" shows - especially network ones, are simply re-broadcast, commercials and all. Heck network shows have commercial slots built in. You can binge watch some old shows commercial free, and as you found out, a 30 minute show is about 17 minutes long.

We have a lot of streaming networks, sling, Hulu, Netflix, HBO max, Apple plus, and all those together don't add up to what we were paying through Comcast. Like another poster said, I DVR shows and scan through the commercials when I watch them back. Some streaming services have caught on to this and disable fast forward controls during playback. Subscribers only pay a portion of a network's revenue. Most comes from advertisers. And if you want to get rid of commercials, you will pay through the nose to offset that revenue.

[thomasmnile]

Monkey, ONLY streaming services I know of out of the box that are commercial free are HBO Max and Netflix. The other streamers are at additional cost, Tubi is free unless you desire commercial free. Netflix, BTW is going to $19.99/mo for 4K service starting today

Prime Video for movies are commercial free, can't say I've watched their series to know. Max is my go to for original programming, other than House of Cards, not much Netflix stuff has captivating to me.

[Gdetrailer]

Very few if any streaming services will have "ad free" or commercial break free streams at the BASIC price tier level.

Some streaming service do offer a much higher price level tier that limits or eliminates ads or commercial breaks.

As far as "sports" and streaming goes, you better break out your wallet, that IS gonna hurt.

HERE is just one example of Baseball streaming service which has limited teams and coverage and may or may not have ALL games covered and for that you get to pay $65-$90 per month?? Does not say anything about commercial free so I figure it will be loaded with commercials on top..

Football, basketball, hockey, racing, yeah, if you love to watch all of that you may have to signup for multiple services and even then some just may not be available at all streaming..

Most sports have exclusive contracts with very specific terms and agreements to anyone that wants to rebroadcast them and it is very lucrative to be exclusive..

In streaming, unlike cable and satellite services, there is no "one stop shopping" to get all content with preset content tiers and basically you are getting your streaming services "ala cart" which is the most costly way to get your content if you love variety.

[NMDriver2]

"block buster type of mega movies or newer current TV shows) Have not found any of those I want to watch. My grandsons watch "blockbuster" movies but not me. Evan they admit it is more rewarding if they read the comics first for the movies.

Tubi for movies, youtube for current content, cartoonsonline for humor and Al-Jazera for news.

[monkey44]

We are connected to Comcast at home thru our community. We have access to all the channels, and know what is what - HBO, Stars, etc. We are trying to find out if the streaming channels pollute the entertainment with commercials as much as do the Cable Channnels. It's not about the cost as much as about the interruptions.

I'd pay extra to lose commercials if that's what streaming can accomplish. We know we can buy the HBO, etc, and lose the commercials that way and watch only their content.

We were trying to figure out if any paid streaming offerings delete the commercial breaks - especially during sports - because the breaks have overwhelmed the content and takes the entertainment out of entertainment. IF I turn on a baseball game, I want to watch the game, not the ADs.

BTW: We also have unlimited data on our hotspots. So, data is not an issue - it's the content breaks that get too annoying.

Apparently, that is not the focus of Streaming. Streaming appears to be another way to receive the same ADs and same loss of entertainment time for mostly similar content and programming. And, also offers the same PPV type programming as well.

We have Comcast and HS Internet at home, and can get anything we want (and pay for it, of course). We were hoping to test out a few Streaming versions to see if it would be different than cable - and if so, would select one or two that would come online when we travel ... but it seems 'something different' does not exist in our world today.

Thanks for the info guys -- B & G ...

[pianotuna]

Gdetrailer wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi monkey44,

I'm currently using Tubi It is free streaming with some commercials, but not many.

https://tubitv.com/

I took a quick look at Tubi and all I could find was many "B" grade movies and programs (not much in "block buster type of mega movies or newer current TV shows) so you get what you paid for.. If "B" grade and old reruns of TV shows type of stuff is your thing then Tubi might be OK for a while.. But how many times can one watch reruns of John Wayne movies? And yes, I like John Wayne movies but you get get them OTA all the time with ATSC subchannels for free also..

If you want quality content from Tubi, then browse the classics.

[thomasmnile]

Streaming is an activity performed primarily by "cord cutters" looking to save money vs cable or satellite. Guess what? The streaming content providers have figured this out as well. Select a service like YouTube TV or Hulu, which provide similar content to a little more than basic cable or satellite. Add to that Disney, Netflix,HBO Max or other streaming content, you have blown past cable or satellite prices with ease.

We stripped down our Spectrum package on TV to 125 channels, many are duplicated, HBO MAX, Netflix, & Prime Video. Still $$$, but works for us.

Spectrum is our provider for cable & Internet,no real alternative except Century Link, a major joke for Internet. At least with Spectrum if the Internet takes a dump, we still have cable or vice versa. Rarely do we lose both.

OTA for local networks is not an option. Too distant from transmitters, no outdoor antennae in apartment complex, and indoor antennae produce a pixel fest image, not a viewable display.

[Gdetrailer]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi monkey44,

I'm currently using Tubi It is free streaming with some commercials, but not many.

https://tubitv.com/

Be aware, the "free" services do not have "current" or "live" programing nor any programming library that is exclusively held by the paid streamers..

May or may not be a "bad thing" but if there is something that is owned by Disney, HBO, ABC, NBC, CBS, Paramount and so on, it will not be on any free streaming services..

I took a quick look at Tubi and all I could find was many "B" grade movies and programs (not much in "block buster type of mega movies or newer current TV shows) so you get what you paid for.. If "B" grade and old reruns of TV shows type of stuff is your thing then Tubi might be OK for a while.. But how many times can one watch reruns of John Wayne movies? And yes, I like John Wayne movies but you get get them OTA all the time with ATSC subchannels for free also..

If you are looking for big selection of up to date current TV shows and movies, paid streaming is where you will end up at. But as I mentioned before, you will find yourself faced with subscribing to multiple streaming services in order to access the exclusive content that is not licensed to other services (and there is a lot of that content).

[CA_Traveler]

We use DTV and record shows. Watch later and skip the commercials. I timed ABC World News once and in 30 minutes there were 14 minutes of commercials.

[way2roll]

Try not to confuse alacarte' TV streaming with commercial free content. The main purpose of streaming is to pay less for only the channels or shows you want to see vs spending a lot of money on hundreds of channels you don't (cable and Sat)

Most streaming services have channel lineups the same as cable or Sat. It's the same content, meaning the same show with the same commercials.

That's not to say however that streaming services don't have commercial free shows. Service specific shows like Netflix's OZARK, or HBO's Succession are only found on that service and are included on that network commercial free.

But Large networks own sports channels - like NBC carries NFL etc. And if you find a service that carries that network/show, it's the same content with the same commercials. In other words - there is no HULU version of the Olympics that is commercial free. It's the same broadcast as Sling's or netflix etc. Exact same content but you have greater control over the channel lineup.

On edit: another huge advantage to streaming is that your account goes with you on any device anywhere you have a signal. You don't need a SAT dish or a cable box (direct cable). All you need is an internet signal. I can take my firestick anywhere and plug into any TV (RV, hotel, friend's house etc) Or I can watch on my phone or tablet. As others have said, it's best to have an unlimited data plan. We have a hotspot with unlimited data and I can work or watch whatever content I want, anywhere I want.

[pianotuna]

Hi monkey44,

I'm currently using Tubi It is free streaming with some commercials, but not many.

https://tubitv.com/