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KMOV and Charter Communications

There is a battle going on in St. Louis between the local CBS affiliate, KMOV, and a cable television provider Charter Communications. Normally, wherever there is Charter-bashing I am there. This time, I have to agree with Charter.

Here is the situation. KMOV has been in negotiations for 2 years on making Charter pay to carry its signal. Now their contract is up and Charter is going to stop carrying them on January 1st. KMOV tries to make their argument on their website. One of their main arguments, what they say isn’t right is this:

What they don’t tell you is they have been taking local programming for free and then charging you. Charter pays practically all cable networks for their signals, networks that are far less popular. But they don’t want to pay for local channels. That’s not right, it’s not fair and Charter knows it.

Here is the thing, and they said it right in that passage, Charter pays for cable networks. Those cable networks were created to fill a niche, and if you wanted to watch them, you had to pay for them. They pay for TBS, TNT, AMC, but not local affiliates, nor should they. The airwaves were given to the networks and in exchange they have certain duties to fulfill (airing local programming, public interest pieces, covering politics). Why should Charter have to pay for something that is available freely over the air with a pair of rabbit ears? People aren’t paying for Charter to watch local programming (well, some people who aren’t in signal range do, but that’s the very, very slim minority and they still receive more channels than the local channels). People pay Charter for those other channels. I think it’s ridiculous for KMOV to make Charter pay for programming that is supposed to be free to the people. KMOV is supposed to be acting in the interest of the public. How is making people pay (which is essentially what they are doing) in the interest of the public? Congress should have never given the airwaves to money-grubbing corporations. They belong to the people.

KMOV also states how Charter is paying for local affiliates in other cities, which I still don’t agree with, but if that’s the only reason they have, then I feel no reason to take their side. I don’t like defending Charter, especially since this will no doubt be a reason for them to increase cable fees, but they are right in this one. While I will be mad that the couple CBS shows I watch on KMOV won’t be available until it’s worked out, I think they have to do what they have to do. No one should have to pay for local affiliates. No matter what.

No matter if you agree or disagree with me, I do encourage you to make your voice heard to both Charter and KMOV.

Charter Communications offices: 314-965-0555
Charter Customer Service: 1-888-GET CHARTER (1-888-438-2427)
Charter E-mail:[email protected]

KMOV Contact Form

The World Does Not Revolve Around Your 6 Year Old

It’s time for a rant about 6 year olds and their mothers. What really bugs me is how much mothers coddle their young kids. What set off this rant is I was driving through my neighborhood and all the moms are standing at the corner with their kids and putting them on the bus. No, they weren’t just watching them get on the bus, they were walking them on the bus, making sure they were seated, and then talked to the bus driver for literally 5 minutes. Excuse me lady, there are 10 cars behind this bus. The world doesn’t revolve around you and your kid. We all have things to do and you are holding us up. The bus driver does not need to know about what “cute” thing your kid did last night or where you are going for the holidays. In fact, I’m betting the bus driver doesn’t care in the least. The bus driver has a job to do, and when you stop and talk to them for 5 minutes, you are impeding their job. Just because you have nothing better to do doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t.

Since these are young kids, there is a bus stop on every single corner of my street. Add up all those 5 minute conversations and you waste way too much of my life. Be considerate of the long line of cars lining up because you can’t shut your mouth. You also don’t need to wave to your kid until the bus is out of sight. Congratulations, your kid is now going to be teased and beat up the rest of his life because you don’t know when to loosen the slack on his leash. Now, go back in your house, stare at the clock until it’s time for the bus to drop off your precious kid, then go outside and talk to the bus driver again and waste more of my time.

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Local TV Affiliates

One thing I hate about my local CBS affiliate, KMOV, is that about once a month they replace normal prime time programming with their own programming. I can understand doing this during the summer when everything is in reruns, but when they do it when new programming is airing it bugs me. The only time slot I notice the change is on Mondays at 7:00pm. This is the time slot of The Big Bang Theory, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite television shows. Most of the time they replace it with a local cooking show sponsored by one of the big grocery store chains in the St. Louis area. You know what, if I wanted to watch a cooking show, I’d tune into the Food Network. Broadcast the show you are supposed to in that time slot, and don’t move it to 2:30 in the morning. If you want to show that programming so bad, show THAT at 2:30 in the morning. I’ll bet you they’ll have just as many viewers: 3. So please, local affiliates, if the network has new programming on the schedule, air that programming! No one wants to watch crappy local TV specials. We want our regularly scheduled programming.

Bumper Stickers

I hate bumper stickers. I love bumper stickers. What? I’m not making sense? Well, let me explain. I hate bumper stickers because they are ugly, stupid, and tacky. I really don’t care that your kid is an honor roll student. I really don’t care about your political views. Or that Jesus Saves. Stickers that try to be funny or snarky are just as bad. “If you can read this, you’re riding my ass. Back off!” If I can read it, I’m riding your ass because you’re driving like a moron and need to go back to driving school. “I see stupid people.” Oh, so do I. I’m looking at them driving a car with a stupid bumper sticker right now. What might be even worse than bumper stickers are window stickers. Fear this! stickers kill me. The only thing I fear is you procreating. Or how about the ever popular Calvin peeing on . I’ve got an idea. Quick, someone make a Calvin peeing on Calvin peeing on things sticker. I’d buy thousands and carry them around with me and stick them on every car I see with the Calvin sticker. Confederate flags are another pet peeve. Quit lying to yourself. The flag is not a symbol of states rights. In fact, the people who claim that are usually the ones that want the federal government controlling our lives even more (unless it has to do with their guns). The flag is a symbol of the enslaving of an entire race. If you want to symbolize states rights, create a new one.

I love bumper stickers because when I’m driving and see the wonderful pieces of tackiness, I can automatically, with 99.9% accuracy, tell that you are, in fact, a complete moron that I don’t want to waste any part of my life on. It’s basically an early warning system for morons and douche bags. So, in that respect, I am thankful. Every once in a while, bumper stickers are ok. If you’re a high school teenager with a crappy car and you plaster the back of it with your favorite bands, it’s ok. You’re making lemonade out of lemons. I also enjoy seeing an old VW Beetle rocking the “It’s a Jeep thing and you wouldn’t understand” bumper sticker. That’s funny. I might want to hang out with that guy. But probably not. I also sometimes enjoy political stickers. I only enjoy them if they are rocking the sticker of the opponent of my guy and my guy won. When I see people still rocking the McCain/Caribou Barbie sticker I let out a little chuckle. Your guy lost. My guy won.

I guess bumper stickers are a necessary evil. They tell me who the dumb people are without me actually going through the time and pain of talking to them to figure it out myself. I hate bumper stickers, yet I love them.

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Disappointed in the New XM Channel Lineup

The new lineup for the merged SiriusXM satellite radio service came out today. You can view changes here. Two of the stations I listen to, in fact, the two I listen to 90% of the time, have changed. Ethel changed to AltNation. I’m sure the music will be more or less the same. It is still an Alternative station, just with a new name.

The biggest disappointment is with The Rhyme. The Rhyme was an Old School hip hop station. It played classic joints from the 80s and 90s, had great shows with Afrika Bambaataa, and great Progressive hip hop music and discussions. They have done away with it and merged it with Sirius’ Hip Hop Nation, which plays “Some Old Skool Rap.” Which means the rest is going to be new crap, which I can’t stand. If it’s not old school or progressive, I will most likely not listen. The good thing about satellite when it launched was the variety of music that could be featured on the stations. The sad thing is, for at least the rap stations, they sound just like a Clear Channel or Channel One stations across the country. The crap at the top of the charts, over and over and over.

I’ve also noticed that the quality of the online stream seems to be lower than usual and it keeps cutting out. The merger isn’t starting out on a good note, in my opinion. One of my favorite channels is gone and the service is sub-par. XM might have just lost a subscriber.