An Irate Viewer Speaks

Although I believe TV to be one of the greatest time-wasting inventions in history, I still enjoy partaking of the entertainment it provides (much to my chagrin). However, when I watch TV, I want to watch what I want to watch.

That's the beauty of satellite programming. If I decide to waste my afternoon watching TV, I'm no longer constrained to the mostly inane daytime programming network television offers. Instead of watching General Hospital or Maury Povich, I can watch a Cary Grant movie on TCM or a cooking program on Style, or, if I'm really bored, Senate Committee hearings on C-Span2.

Yesterday, my programming choices were cut in half when Dish Network (my satellite provider) decided to not renew its contract with Viacom due to "unreasonable demands". I knew something was up last week when Viacom kept flashing warning signals during programming on its channels such as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1 and MTV. These warnings urged viewers to contact Dish Network and demand the programming we had paid for. As soon as the message would appear, a black bar would cover the text so the viewer was unable to read it. The war was already underway, in full public view.

Granted, I am very irritated that Dish Network is charging me the same amount of money when I've lost many of the channels I enjoy watching. (And their measly $1 credit until the dispute is resolved is inconsequential.) However, Viacom has lost so much respect in my eyes since the SuperBowl fiasco that I'm tentatively siding with Dish Network.

Now, if I'm forced to live without SpongeBob and The Daily Show very long, I may buckle and switch to a new satellite provider. But in the meantime, I'm supporting Dish Network in the fight. I certainly hope this game of chicken is resolved soon -- and without raising Dish Network's fees. Maybe it's wishful thinking but if TV's taught me anything, it's taught me that the world's biggest problems can all be resolved in one hour, minus the 15 minutes for commercials. ;-)