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Blogger’s Path to Cheap Media

Alas, another notch in the media’s ever growing belt, but this time the growth spurt was logged by consumers, not conglomerates. In an effort to save cash on annual media expenses and rid his household of the 80 or so channels he never views, ZDNet blogger Alan Graham bid cable television farewell and turned to iTunes and Netflix to satisfy all his media thirsts. By allocating $300 annually to the purchase of programs and films from the two companies, Graham found he was able to cut his previous annual cable bill in half and force readers to rethink the availability of media a la carte.

When will mass media outlets reform their platforms and offer tailored selective service? Well, not long. Premium cable channels and internet start-ups like Joost (read more) are well on their way.

Here’s what blogosphere is saying about cable alternatives:

“I love The History Channel and ESPN. You can’t download stuff like that.” 70ny, digg.com

“Alan comes to the same conclusion that I did some time ago, cable television lacks bang for the buck.” Randy, ditchingcable.com

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for me. I will miss a lot of content.” cyclotron, cyclotron.livejournal.com

“I was thinking the same thing myself the other day. We use cable and DVR to watch a handful of shows, but for $2 a pop we could buy them on iTunes. The only remaining piece is a program that burns those shows to DVD effortlessly.” Robbie, consumerist.com

“I don’t know about this, what about breaking news? TV seems fit to deliver that much better.” Joashh, laternerdz.com

“I don’t know about this for me. While I don’t watch the majority of channels being pushed into my home, I like having the ability to watch stuff. I watched a really interesting documentary on the History Channel last night, but I certainly wouldn’t pay to download it.” Ken Posan, consumerist.com

Talk: Abandon conventional TV for interactive and selective viewing? Will you take the step? COMMENT

On the Web
blogs.zdnet.com

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