I guess cable would allow people to stay home and watch movies rather than going out to the theater. So naturally the theater would want people to think "pay TV" is evil.
"Leave free tv alone" is the most recent ad put out by The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters". It's serious. Cell phone companies and the U.S. government want to steal 100mg of "spectrum" to make more profits and to raise billions, respectively. This is just after the transition from analog to digital and converter boxes. We and over the air broadcasters are going to wind up paying for local news, weather, and sports. The telecoms want all tv spectrum for cell phones and ipads,
The announcer sounds like Hank Simms, who opened TV shows like "The Streets of San Francisco", "Cannon", "Barnaby Jones" and most famously the comedy "Police Squad!".
Lmfao I can't stop cracking up at this. Monsters do have their place... in the zoo... in your nightmares... in the deep... in your favorite horror movies... but not in your living room, on your TV! hahahaha
I have a feeling this ad was made in 1964. In California, Proposition 15 was put on the ballot. A YES vote would abolish Pay TV and keep Free TV alive. The measure passed by a 2 to 1 margin. These ads worked for a while. The measure was overturned later on, though, and Subscription TV (now Cable and Premium TV) would be here to stay.
OTA isn't so bad nowadays. At least if you like classic sitcoms and Saturday morning cartoons.
I really don't miss cable. And people talk enough about Jersey Shore and The Kardashians as well as what shows up on the newsstands about them so I know more than I care to know about what's going on there.
I guess the movie theaters showing this were just disinterested observers, huh?
Still, cool ad. And who knew, broadcast tv actually has made a modest comeback, due to the crap economy forcing to people to actually think a little about what they pay for things, and due to digital broadcasting.
@securetravis Right? And how much per month are you paying of your internet connection? Or how much is it on your phone? Your LAP TOP? Hmmm? Not so FREE when you break it down now is it?
Cable is partly responsible for the dumbing down of America. The 24hr news cycle pumping mindless propaganda was born from this medium. YTF do people mention ESPN? WTF does that channel contribute to society? Yeah, ESPN. Where you get to watch overpaid prima donnas play WITH BALLS! Meanwhile the economy is in shambles, and we're fighting two wars. Over What?? Most Americans dont know where the hell Afghanistan is, but they can probably tell you everyone on the Yankees roster. Its pretty sad
@im1asshole Two wars? Ahem....Never mind...Your point is taken, and understood. TV/RADIO/PRINT MEDIA/ and now the internet has turned average world citizens into Pavlovian Dogs. Mindless, compassionless, apathetic, self-involved, automatons who cannot see their programming long enough to break free, and use their intelligence and basic logic skills. So they walk along, oblivious to the shit being sprayed right above their heads, arguing over inane drivel, chasing after broken dreams!
Thats right, don't use cable!! Go back to connecting all your coat hangers together and have your brother stand on the roof with one leg out , one arm tied around his back holding them all and wait for the wind to be just right, and be sure all the planets are alined just in the proper order so as your reception will be simi-viewable at best!!!
THINK ABOUT IT! We are paying for television that we used to get free. You can't even get OTA tv anymore because you have to buy a $40 HD converter box. Also I can see the movie theatre's railing against it as yjey realized that more people would stay home and watch HBO, Showtime, etc. That is one of the reason's going out to a movie is so damned expensive anymore. By the way this month my familly is having to decide on whether to pay our cable bill or pay our health insurance for the month.
The movie theaters wanted that money instead of you giving it to the cable companies. Back then cable companies were trying to work deals to show 1st run movies.
Man you guys are a bunch of haters. First of all, ESPN wouldn't exist without cable. That is my view on that.
Second of all, if there weren't commercials, cable would be even MORE expensive. Ads keep things free/cheap. Companies do NOTHING out of the goodness of their hearts.
Man you guys are a bunch of haters. First of all, ESPN wouldn't exist without cable. That is my view on that.
Second of all, if there weren't commercials, cable would be even MORE expensive. Ads keep things free/cheap. Companies do NOTHING out of the goodness of their hearts.
When I see a new commercial, I watch it..... O.o Some aren't bad. But for those 2 minute long ones, like fucking life insurance or people trying to sell you their crap, PVRing is epic. XD
Yep. Cable (satellite) is a joke 300 channels and barely anything worth watching, and when there is you get 40% program and 60% ads. I dropped all pay tv last year.
Remember when cable was telling us how once we were paying for cable there would be commercial free TV? How ironic that now there are tv channels with commercials only - that's right, we are paying for commercial only TV,
@Adventurestud Yup, that's correct. One of the big selling points of cable/satellite programming was "no commercials!" And that's great. Unfortunately that never really came to fruition.
@smcgamer1 I don't think the issue here was choice, it was cost. I love the fact that I can watch my Packers when I'm living on the east coast, but geez... $350 per year to do so? It's getting a bit ridiculous. And of those 400 channels (which I get, just like you), I watch maybe 10 of them. I say require all the cable/satellite companies to offer the channels on an a la carte basis.
@ycdtotv True, we only use the DVR to record about ten shows or so, we don't really like most of it. It's kind of a mixed bag, though, old-time TV had few channels, but less advertising, new TV has a ton of channels but less overall quality programming (and more advertising).
@smcgamer1 I love DVR and football in HD can't be beat! And the NatGeo channel is awesome. But $100 a month for Snooki and Toddlers in Tiaras? What a rip off. Let me buy the channels I want to watch and the cable company can keep the rest.
@ffejgib Your right I know! Thats what used to be good about IFC. When I started watching Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks they cut out the network commercials.
Had 3 networks in the 70's and it was tough figuring out what to watch. Now we got 500 channels of shit where half the shows are commercials interrupted by more commercials and the same crap runs over and over again. A real improvement.
Can't believe now I pay for cable but don't have it hooked up. Hate tv. Bit gotta pay for it cause it comes with telephone and internet package!! They get u no matter what. Ps- I agree gorillas and octopi aren't monsters!! Haha
Satellite TV was designed to be ad-supported, just like radio television, but the wrong people got a hold on it and it is more expensive and less reliable than cable!
Why would I need a television when I have a fast internet connection and 2 30" monitors? I haven't owned a television in over 10 years, and I haven't missed it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm watching "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" on my other monitor.
We lost that fight, as Time Warner shuts off NBC, and other networks because greedy lawyers and their contracts. Time Warner almost lost FOX too. I blame Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama.
I don't pay for cable. WAY too many commercials and 98% crap.
I just use Netflix. Much better selection and NO commercials.
For news, the internet is WAY better than crappy propaganda network news. How can people watch that swill? How can people just sit and let themselves be spoon fed poo-poo?
Think about it. You pay $60 a month for cable? You get 20 minutes of commercials on the hour. 1/3 of your bill ($20) is for commercials. Ain't that some shit?
@knight508 Amen. What happened to all the promises that, once one starts to pay for tv, that there'd be no more commercials? Huh? What about that? (sarcasm directed to cable tv providers, not to you)
I remember the first time I ever even saw cable tv. Early 1992. At a classmate's apartment in graduate school. Being a new experience for me, I thought: "WOWEEE! This is the greatest use of my time EVER!"
@knight508 exactly why i cancelled Comcast. one night i'm flipping through channels and about 70% of them were airing infomercials! And I thought, ok, wait a minute, how did they get me to pay to watch commercials?
I had it cancelled the next day and I haven't missed it one bit. They show the same movies over and over again anyway. I must've watched the star wars series a hundred times. If they would just get some variety in there, some cult faves, less commercials, it would be worth paying for.
@knight508 Cable was supposed to be commercial-free. That was the deal. That was the selling point. It was at first, but greed set in and people got used to the few, then many commercials. People are suckers. Cable was regulated to prevent that, but low and behold, lawmakers were paid off to deregulate cable and here we are. It's BS we pay so much to be advertised to.
@knight508, and here's the kicker. Most at this site are too young to remember this, but the idea behind cable when it first came out was that there would be NO commercials. That was one of its selling points and something that differentiated it from regular TV. But like tolls on bridges (they were only supposed to exist until the construction costs were paid off), the entities in question realized that they had found a very good way to make more money.
@EternalAnachronism I remember that. We had an "HBO box" on our tv. No commercials. Just movies. Kinda like how the internet started out. Gosh, didn't hulu used to say, "free". Don't they still say that? Yeah, no shortage of weak minded suckers to keep this kind of thing going.
@EternalAnachronism yeah, huh. ya know, i've always wished for a variation on ppv tv where you'd sign onto cable and only be charged for the time the tv was on; like, a certain per min./sec. ammount for 'basic', a little more for 'premium'
Believe it or not, until a few years ago, you could see people with antennas on their roofs here and there. Nowadays, though, you never see a rooftop antenna except in rural areas, so the idea of "free TV" wasn't as much of a failure as some of you think.
Wow, I don't know what's worse: this horribly animated commercial or the fact that people had the option to pay for other tv channels or get them all for free...and they chose to pay.
Commercials almost always existed, however they have piled them on more.
But at the time, there were only a handful of channels. When TV became popular, there were only three. So while the fewer commercials were nice, you only had a few channels at the time.
@Draknfyre Being from Chicago we had about 12 or 13 channels but there was great shows being shown that worked w/the publics needs. From the 6 am news reports to the scarey movies on weekend late nights. We never complained. Cable has gone crazy in their prices & takes advantage of people. Just to show stupid infomercials on practically every channel? Charging over $100.00 per household. ridiculous. Better off having DVDs, video games & hear the news on the radio. Be cheaper off doing that!
Now I am being charged ever more and they charge me for the same programs showed at the same time on different channels. TIME WARNER CABLE IS MY ENEMY! But on broadcast now there is nothing left but a kooky local riligious channel and a Spanish lingo shopping channel. Waaaa!
This ad was obviously a plug by the movie theaters as full, unedited, uninterrupted movies at home posed a direct threat to their business. I am guessing this was before VCRs and video rentals became commonplace as well. Amazingly, a couple of brand-spankin' new theaters with "Luxe" seating and service have opened within 5 miles of me during the past decade. In retrospect, the theater biz is doing just fine.
wow this is funny, theaters knew that if people payed for tv it would be um...better. and people wouldn't go to theaters as much. those sneaky bastards....well now noone goes to theaters or watches tv. lol
Sad thing: Now, free TV is full of "Reality TV" bullshit.
I don't want to see celebrities dancing.
I don't want to see some shmucks on American Idol.
I don't want to see yet ANOTHER season of Survivor or Amazing Race.
It's reasons like this that I watch goddamn cable TV. Because History Channel, Discovery Channel, and A&E all provide interesting programming... or at least actual reality, as opposed to this fake reality.
Oh, and PBS is good too. And the only free one worth a damn still.
@DarkPuIse Of course cable TV has gone downhill too. History channel once had REAL history documentaries that were actually interesting. But then they became more ratings conscious and started running mostly crap about UFOs and ghost and cryptozoology. Can't watch any sort of science documentary on the Discovery channel unless it has something exploding. For "educational" programming, the history networks and the discovery networks fail on an intellectual level. Moral of the Story ? Fuck TV.
@sarcasmagasm I remember when the History Channel was nothing but Hitler and the Civil War. Now it's Confederate Ghost Stories and UFOs of the Third Reich!
The theaters allied with broadcast TV because they knew the broadcast networks sucked and that cable TV would constitute a real threat. And they were correct about that, but too bad for them, THEY LOST!
Really? Then how do you explain 6 months after the DTV switch...hundreds...HUNDREDS of local over the air TV stations across the country asked for rate hikes from the major cable and satellite providers?
What's really funny is that the early promise of cable tv was that, because you were paying for it, it would be commercial free. And it was. For about five minutes. Now every channel is riddled with ads for everything including programs/movies on *other* channels. And they've been trying to do it to the radio for a number of years now. "As we celebrate mediocrity all the boys upstairs want to see
How much you'll pay for what you used to get for free" -- Tom Petty "The Last DJ"
@ThePhantomSafetyPin This was pretty early in cable technology, cable was invented so that rural areas could get network channels from long distances.
Why were the 70's so damn creepy?!
CheatsythePimp2 1 day ago
nice, i didnt listen, and now i have dvrs
123stephenno 1 week ago
"Sign the petition in the lobby of this theater..."
And that, boys and girls, should tell you who was behind this ridiculous display. They sure have suffered in the years since then...
camprunamok 2 weeks ago
What a great ad. Who won though? Pay TV won for sure!!!
voltaman33 2 weeks ago
now we have youtube,which is free to show paid and free tv shows XD
louietheduke 2 weeks ago
We didn't listen! *armflail*
NeuroManson 3 weeks ago
I very much like my HD tellivision which I pay for thank you.
TheBlackParade1293 3 weeks ago
I guess cable would allow people to stay home and watch movies rather than going out to the theater. So naturally the theater would want people to think "pay TV" is evil.
8bitvelociraptor 3 weeks ago
I guess not enough people signed the petition
silvermist1216 3 weeks ago 2
Could you imagine what the world would be like today if there was no cable? Jesus people were stupid back then.
marknazzy 1 month ago
There should be an "Occupy Cable TV" protest against the greedy cable companies for forcing us to pay extra.
ffejgib 1 month ago in playlist Favorite videos
screw tv I get my news on you tube
gmann1695 1 month ago
I'm signing that petition!
standinstann 1 month ago
we should of listened.
madball2600 1 month ago
Fart on that, man. I want my Fios.
TheRealThreeP 2 months ago
Gee, I'm sorry we didn't listen to them. Having only ABC, CBS and NBC to choose from was so awesome.
jake44514 2 months ago
"Leave free tv alone" is the most recent ad put out by The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters". It's serious. Cell phone companies and the U.S. government want to steal 100mg of "spectrum" to make more profits and to raise billions, respectively. This is just after the transition from analog to digital and converter boxes. We and over the air broadcasters are going to wind up paying for local news, weather, and sports. The telecoms want all tv spectrum for cell phones and ipads,
grgeliz 2 months ago
Why didn't we listen!? XD
TheMacabreMilkman 2 months ago 6
The announcer sounds like Hank Simms, who opened TV shows like "The Streets of San Francisco", "Cannon", "Barnaby Jones" and most famously the comedy "Police Squad!".
hormelinc 2 months ago
Lmfao I can't stop cracking up at this. Monsters do have their place... in the zoo... in your nightmares... in the deep... in your favorite horror movies... but not in your living room, on your TV! hahahaha
dfminky 2 months ago
I have a feeling this ad was made in 1964. In California, Proposition 15 was put on the ballot. A YES vote would abolish Pay TV and keep Free TV alive. The measure passed by a 2 to 1 margin. These ads worked for a while. The measure was overturned later on, though, and Subscription TV (now Cable and Premium TV) would be here to stay.
cdelano81 3 months ago
OTA isn't so bad nowadays. At least if you like classic sitcoms and Saturday morning cartoons.
I really don't miss cable. And people talk enough about Jersey Shore and The Kardashians as well as what shows up on the newsstands about them so I know more than I care to know about what's going on there.
tsntana 3 months ago
Ain't the free market a bitch?
Diskoboy1974 3 months ago
I guess the movie theaters showing this were just disinterested observers, huh?
Still, cool ad. And who knew, broadcast tv actually has made a modest comeback, due to the crap economy forcing to people to actually think a little about what they pay for things, and due to digital broadcasting.
filmlikesubstance 3 months ago
The Cable companies should pay you to watch all their commercials
oldtilter 3 months ago
WE DIDN'T LISTEN.
MrFukinfantastic 3 months ago
Hooray for communism
1993gandy 3 months ago
Yeah, that worked.
bellier20 3 months ago
Lucky for us, the internet has finally brought us free TV.
securetravis 3 months ago
@securetravis Right? And how much per month are you paying of your internet connection? Or how much is it on your phone? Your LAP TOP? Hmmm? Not so FREE when you break it down now is it?
un4g1v3n1 3 months ago
Cable is partly responsible for the dumbing down of America. The 24hr news cycle pumping mindless propaganda was born from this medium. YTF do people mention ESPN? WTF does that channel contribute to society? Yeah, ESPN. Where you get to watch overpaid prima donnas play WITH BALLS! Meanwhile the economy is in shambles, and we're fighting two wars. Over What?? Most Americans dont know where the hell Afghanistan is, but they can probably tell you everyone on the Yankees roster. Its pretty sad
im1asshole 3 months ago
@im1asshole Two wars? Ahem....Never mind...Your point is taken, and understood. TV/RADIO/PRINT MEDIA/ and now the internet has turned average world citizens into Pavlovian Dogs. Mindless, compassionless, apathetic, self-involved, automatons who cannot see their programming long enough to break free, and use their intelligence and basic logic skills. So they walk along, oblivious to the shit being sprayed right above their heads, arguing over inane drivel, chasing after broken dreams!
un4g1v3n1 3 months ago
Thats right, don't use cable!! Go back to connecting all your coat hangers together and have your brother stand on the roof with one leg out , one arm tied around his back holding them all and wait for the wind to be just right, and be sure all the planets are alined just in the proper order so as your reception will be simi-viewable at best!!!
1983REDROCKSU2 3 months ago
@1983REDROCKSU2 Okay. And what is wrong with that. If it was good enough for my Grandparents it's good enough for me.
bigkdrman1 3 months ago
Comment removed
1983REDROCKSU2 3 months ago
THINK ABOUT IT! We are paying for television that we used to get free. You can't even get OTA tv anymore because you have to buy a $40 HD converter box. Also I can see the movie theatre's railing against it as yjey realized that more people would stay home and watch HBO, Showtime, etc. That is one of the reason's going out to a movie is so damned expensive anymore. By the way this month my familly is having to decide on whether to pay our cable bill or pay our health insurance for the month.
bigkdrman1 3 months ago
@bigkdrman1 I hope you pick healthcare over a material object. Its easy to live without cable.
JXthePhoenixwtf 3 months ago
The movie theaters wanted that money instead of you giving it to the cable companies. Back then cable companies were trying to work deals to show 1st run movies.
orange70383 4 months ago
People should have listened. Most of the shows I see on Cable TV that didn't start on network television are crap.
FlamingBat 4 months ago
wait wait wait... they have monsters at the zoo??! Why am i just finding out about this now?
kakashi76767 4 months ago 34
@kakashi76767 ROFLMAO!!!
NewEnglanddur 2 months ago
@kakashi76767 hilarious comment I seriously laughed out loud when I read it.
voltaman33 2 weeks ago
@voltaman33 Thanks! It's always nice to hear that!
kakashi76767 2 weeks ago
@kakashi76767 The last one died in 1981. :(
davidls11 1 week ago
cable is a total scam. It's too expensive, censored and full of advertisements. Why pay for that? I don't
solwolfpunk 4 months ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
Man you guys are a bunch of haters. First of all, ESPN wouldn't exist without cable. That is my view on that.
Second of all, if there weren't commercials, cable would be even MORE expensive. Ads keep things free/cheap. Companies do NOTHING out of the goodness of their hearts.
DonCasper 4 months ago
Man you guys are a bunch of haters. First of all, ESPN wouldn't exist without cable. That is my view on that.
Second of all, if there weren't commercials, cable would be even MORE expensive. Ads keep things free/cheap. Companies do NOTHING out of the goodness of their hearts.
DonCasper 4 months ago
yea.... i take it the cable companys just forgot bout this eh.
wolfenthegreat 4 months ago
Lawmakers are whores and will do anything for money.
mpjgbx 4 months ago
When I see a new commercial, I watch it..... O.o Some aren't bad. But for those 2 minute long ones, like fucking life insurance or people trying to sell you their crap, PVRing is epic. XD
AnthraxInjections 4 months ago
Yep. Cable (satellite) is a joke 300 channels and barely anything worth watching, and when there is you get 40% program and 60% ads. I dropped all pay tv last year.
watershed44 4 months ago
At that time my city banned pay TV. -Until they found out it could be taxed...
awackocrank 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
free analog broadcasts ended in 2009. now we know the effectiveness of this psa
emperorsenshi 4 months ago
free analog broadcasts ended in 2009. now we know the effectiveness of this psa
emperorsenshi 4 months ago
This commercial ran on my free tv.
TheNapoleonnerd 4 months ago
shit, i guess that petition didnt go through...
diaperkitten4ever 4 months ago
This sure was a successful campaign.
MissAndDie96 4 months ago
Damn. I knew I should have signed that petition.
Remember when cable was telling us how once we were paying for cable there would be commercial free TV? How ironic that now there are tv channels with commercials only - that's right, we are paying for commercial only TV,
Adventurestud 4 months ago
@Adventurestud Yup, that's correct. One of the big selling points of cable/satellite programming was "no commercials!" And that's great. Unfortunately that never really came to fruition.
ycdtotv 4 months ago
It's all my fault, I should have signed that petition!
msjosephine2 4 months ago
Our "evil" pay TV has over 400 channels.
smcgamer1 5 months ago
@smcgamer1 I don't think the issue here was choice, it was cost. I love the fact that I can watch my Packers when I'm living on the east coast, but geez... $350 per year to do so? It's getting a bit ridiculous. And of those 400 channels (which I get, just like you), I watch maybe 10 of them. I say require all the cable/satellite companies to offer the channels on an a la carte basis.
ycdtotv 5 months ago
@ycdtotv True, we only use the DVR to record about ten shows or so, we don't really like most of it. It's kind of a mixed bag, though, old-time TV had few channels, but less advertising, new TV has a ton of channels but less overall quality programming (and more advertising).
smcgamer1 5 months ago
@smcgamer1 I love DVR and football in HD can't be beat! And the NatGeo channel is awesome. But $100 a month for Snooki and Toddlers in Tiaras? What a rip off. Let me buy the channels I want to watch and the cable company can keep the rest.
ycdtotv 5 months ago
@ycdtotv Yeah, I hope they'll do that.
smcgamer1 5 months ago
@smcgamer1
With nothing but quality programming right?
Adventurestud 4 months ago
@Adventurestud I never said they were good channels ;)
smcgamer1 4 months ago
@smcgamer1
Forget 400 channels I got 60 channels and i watch only 15 of them.
6 being the goverment and public free tv and other 6 is a pay tv channels like
History,Discovery,AXN,True Sport 4,BBC,HBO,Cinemax,Star Movies and True X-ZYTE.
Cable TV or Satellite TV doesn't matter I still need to pay $50 monthly.
The new Dish TV packages may have over 200 channels but it's useless.
Here in thailand the best friend is the local cable tv,one time payment!
brainysnaeha 4 months ago
so how many people sined that petition?
stevenrf69 5 months ago
Well that commercial didn,t do much to cable maybe they should of used Mr Yuk.saying watching cable makes you sick,sick,sick MOOOHAAAA
thundermaster41 5 months ago
see how well that shit went...
supaultrapimp 5 months ago
so I take it that the petition was not signed by enough people?
coffebean94 5 months ago 4
well, there's a battle we lost. just remember this when we're all paying for satellite radio and they introduce commercials to that in 2 or 3 years.
Adom 5 months ago 3
fuck commercials
i get 15 minutes of show and 20 minutes of commercial
thepermman 5 months ago 23
@thepermman Even many videos here display commercial ads before showing the video.
mrmoore1970 5 months ago 9
@mrmoore1970 No kiddin'... why should we have to sit through a 30 sec commercial just to watch a simple minute-long vid?
GroverKent 3 months ago
@thepermman
I see exactly what you mean.
Just take a look on what's happening right now on IFC (Independent Film Channel)!
ffejgib 1 month ago
@ffejgib Your right I know! Thats what used to be good about IFC. When I started watching Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks they cut out the network commercials.
thepermman 1 month ago
Had 3 networks in the 70's and it was tough figuring out what to watch. Now we got 500 channels of shit where half the shows are commercials interrupted by more commercials and the same crap runs over and over again. A real improvement.
Mality 5 months ago
Here's the real kicker: reality television is really an infomercial on the dirt cheap. Just watch The Bachelor.
AllRequired 5 months ago
Can't believe now I pay for cable but don't have it hooked up. Hate tv. Bit gotta pay for it cause it comes with telephone and internet package!! They get u no matter what. Ps- I agree gorillas and octopi aren't monsters!! Haha
erinzohrehie 5 months ago
That was um...different.The Wolfman looks like he just got nutpunched and the octopus just seems kinda miffed that he's involved with this
GreenLantern481 5 months ago
GORILLAS AREN'T MONSTERS!
abcxyz91291 5 months ago
Well no one heeded that warning. LMBO.
Deprieshia 5 months ago
Now that a lot of ya are using internet instead of cable TV, the CRTC and Stephen Harper wants to create the per-byte meter billing monster.
steeltownbrown52 5 months ago
2 late
madball2600 5 months ago
Did they record original music for this spot or did they buy it from a supplier?
ignoblius 5 months ago
Well that petition worked like a charm. :D ....Wait a minute.
ninjajoy 5 months ago 3
Am I the only one who thought he was going to say " In your bed! " at 0:05 ? Heh.
MyHeadAsplodes 5 months ago
40 years later Time Warner releases anti-Web TV ad.
theoneknot 5 months ago 4
Satellite TV was designed to be ad-supported, just like radio television, but the wrong people got a hold on it and it is more expensive and less reliable than cable!
EmperorEthan 5 months ago
Tristegotops! :0
Olemguy 5 months ago
This was as succesful as the War On Drugs.
pardyhardly 5 months ago
@pardyhardly Yup. Because the population is generally fucking stupid.
cochranexyz 5 months ago
Hank Simms, greatest announcer ever...
rnigma 5 months ago
Why would I need a television when I have a fast internet connection and 2 30" monitors? I haven't owned a television in over 10 years, and I haven't missed it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm watching "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" on my other monitor.
Hoopermazing 5 months ago
How did you get it?!
iToasterman 5 months ago
People didnt know about the porn though.
Mrcomputergeek1 5 months ago
Thank God we won that battle
wildcelt43 5 months ago
Diplo used this for one of his videos!
karateporkchop 5 months ago
No ESPN? Forget it.
texanhoustonguy 5 months ago
That's good old nightmare fuel!
DuplicatedOnce 5 months ago
I think those signatures might be fake.
razorblade530 5 months ago
@UltraGokin
TV is still free. Outside of the cost for the converter box and the TV, it's still free.
Hell, as long as you have a decent antenna, the new digital broadcast is BETTER than the old signal.
Draknfyre 5 months ago
If free TV is this then maybe paying isn't a bad thing
Wutwut1n1 5 months ago
hmm, seems on the radio I hear now how they are wanting to do away with free TV. Nothing ever really changes does it?
Lesrevesdhiver 6 months ago 2
Pay TV: We've got to have.... MOH NAY!!!!!!! >:)
halorunescaper 6 months ago
Enter your text here. 0:17. LOL!
vozpit 6 months ago
Oh shit, don't let Comcast find out about the revolt!
LordOcelot 6 months ago
Wow. Never thought of it that way...
dekada00 6 months ago
We lost that fight, as Time Warner shuts off NBC, and other networks because greedy lawyers and their contracts. Time Warner almost lost FOX too. I blame Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama.
willdav713 6 months ago
all cable promoters had to say was porn, boom, buyers galore.
187SicknesS 6 months ago
i dont have cable cause it was either cable or internet and im gonna go with internet
muffin466 6 months ago
I don't pay for cable. WAY too many commercials and 98% crap.
I just use Netflix. Much better selection and NO commercials.
For news, the internet is WAY better than crappy propaganda network news. How can people watch that swill? How can people just sit and let themselves be spoon fed poo-poo?
ronpaul2008rocks 6 months ago
14 people didn't sign that petition.
eexot 6 months ago
Think about it. You pay $60 a month for cable? You get 20 minutes of commercials on the hour. 1/3 of your bill ($20) is for commercials. Ain't that some shit?
knight508 6 months ago 36
@knight508 Amen. What happened to all the promises that, once one starts to pay for tv, that there'd be no more commercials? Huh? What about that? (sarcasm directed to cable tv providers, not to you)
I remember the first time I ever even saw cable tv. Early 1992. At a classmate's apartment in graduate school. Being a new experience for me, I thought: "WOWEEE! This is the greatest use of my time EVER!"
Now, replace "use" with "waste".
mphello 6 months ago
@knight508 exactly why i cancelled Comcast. one night i'm flipping through channels and about 70% of them were airing infomercials! And I thought, ok, wait a minute, how did they get me to pay to watch commercials?
I had it cancelled the next day and I haven't missed it one bit. They show the same movies over and over again anyway. I must've watched the star wars series a hundred times. If they would just get some variety in there, some cult faves, less commercials, it would be worth paying for.
jwallbanger 5 months ago
@knight508 Cable was supposed to be commercial-free. That was the deal. That was the selling point. It was at first, but greed set in and people got used to the few, then many commercials. People are suckers. Cable was regulated to prevent that, but low and behold, lawmakers were paid off to deregulate cable and here we are. It's BS we pay so much to be advertised to.
yakfitguy 5 months ago 2
@knight508, and here's the kicker. Most at this site are too young to remember this, but the idea behind cable when it first came out was that there would be NO commercials. That was one of its selling points and something that differentiated it from regular TV. But like tolls on bridges (they were only supposed to exist until the construction costs were paid off), the entities in question realized that they had found a very good way to make more money.
EternalAnachronism 4 months ago
@EternalAnachronism I remember that. We had an "HBO box" on our tv. No commercials. Just movies. Kinda like how the internet started out. Gosh, didn't hulu used to say, "free". Don't they still say that? Yeah, no shortage of weak minded suckers to keep this kind of thing going.
ion010101 4 months ago
@EternalAnachronism yeah, huh. ya know, i've always wished for a variation on ppv tv where you'd sign onto cable and only be charged for the time the tv was on; like, a certain per min./sec. ammount for 'basic', a little more for 'premium'
twobit211 4 months ago
@knight508 Guess they should have saved free television.
SnivillusLupin 4 months ago
late 60s, early 70s!
jacobzeier 6 months ago
They were right. Now I pay 100.00 bucks a month to watch crappy shows on DirectTV. :0
marx686 6 months ago 3
cable really is a scam. The prices are exorbitant and yet they still make you sit through commercial after commercial. And it's STILL censored.
DeimosSaturn 7 months ago 8
Just wait, Cable is going to make one to stop showing stuff online...
uponit57 7 months ago
Believe it or not, until a few years ago, you could see people with antennas on their roofs here and there. Nowadays, though, you never see a rooftop antenna except in rural areas, so the idea of "free TV" wasn't as much of a failure as some of you think.
MVillani1985 7 months ago
@MVillani1985 It pretty much is now though, thanks to what amounts to a de-facto "outlawing" of analog TV
snappy452 7 months ago
@snappy452 What's ironic is that until that point in June 2009, the only way to get HDTV was with an antenna.
MVillani1985 7 months ago
Wow, I don't know what's worse: this horribly animated commercial or the fact that people had the option to pay for other tv channels or get them all for free...and they chose to pay.
Tipiced 7 months ago
What a primative commercial.
Leatherbubba 7 months ago
I guess we lost this vote? (sigh) Tv was better when it was free & a hell of a lot less stupid comercials! :P
Godzie1 7 months ago 2
@Godzie1
Commercials almost always existed, however they have piled them on more.
But at the time, there were only a handful of channels. When TV became popular, there were only three. So while the fewer commercials were nice, you only had a few channels at the time.
Draknfyre 5 months ago
@Draknfyre Being from Chicago we had about 12 or 13 channels but there was great shows being shown that worked w/the publics needs. From the 6 am news reports to the scarey movies on weekend late nights. We never complained. Cable has gone crazy in their prices & takes advantage of people. Just to show stupid infomercials on practically every channel? Charging over $100.00 per household. ridiculous. Better off having DVDs, video games & hear the news on the radio. Be cheaper off doing that!
Godzie1 5 months ago
Fight to save Free You-Tube.
mccarrpo 7 months ago 67
@mccarrpo Imagine that!
WizzoPro9476 5 months ago
@mccarrpo it's still free dipshits
zieben64 5 months ago
@mccarrpo I agree 100%
mrmoore1970 5 months ago 5
@mccarrpo Agreed. I turned down ad $ once the option was given to me.
LostandFoundTravel 4 months ago
Whenever I see this I get annoyed by the fact that they call animals in the zoo 'monsters'. Apes are not monsters!
TheGerkuman 7 months ago 2
Now I am being charged ever more and they charge me for the same programs showed at the same time on different channels. TIME WARNER CABLE IS MY ENEMY! But on broadcast now there is nothing left but a kooky local riligious channel and a Spanish lingo shopping channel. Waaaa!
salinagrrrl69 7 months ago
Lol fail.
Kingcon122195 7 months ago
Im gonna sign that petition right now!
coolsomeXD 8 months ago
Youtube is better than TV anyways.
outlaw2747 8 months ago 2
how is a stegosaurus a monster its clearly a dinosaur
Anotherrnumber 8 months ago
0:24 OM NOM NOM GIMME YER TASTEE COINZ!!11!
Duvmasta 8 months ago
This ad was obviously a plug by the movie theaters as full, unedited, uninterrupted movies at home posed a direct threat to their business. I am guessing this was before VCRs and video rentals became commonplace as well. Amazingly, a couple of brand-spankin' new theaters with "Luxe" seating and service have opened within 5 miles of me during the past decade. In retrospect, the theater biz is doing just fine.
camprunamok 8 months ago
similar to net neutrality overreaction
Pentazoid111 8 months ago
TV used to be free?
LikaLaruku 8 months ago 2
mary doe sounds hot.
A4moondoggy 8 months ago
wow this is funny, theaters knew that if people payed for tv it would be um...better. and people wouldn't go to theaters as much. those sneaky bastards....well now noone goes to theaters or watches tv. lol
A4moondoggy 8 months ago
...fail
donut8907 8 months ago
Well, I did MY part - I'm John Q. Public.
ifutureman 9 months ago
What specific year did this come out?
DavidGoodTimes 9 months ago
Sad thing: Now, free TV is full of "Reality TV" bullshit.
I don't want to see celebrities dancing.
I don't want to see some shmucks on American Idol.
I don't want to see yet ANOTHER season of Survivor or Amazing Race.
It's reasons like this that I watch goddamn cable TV. Because History Channel, Discovery Channel, and A&E all provide interesting programming... or at least actual reality, as opposed to this fake reality.
Oh, and PBS is good too. And the only free one worth a damn still.
DarkPuIse 9 months ago 6
@DarkPuIse Of course cable TV has gone downhill too. History channel once had REAL history documentaries that were actually interesting. But then they became more ratings conscious and started running mostly crap about UFOs and ghost and cryptozoology. Can't watch any sort of science documentary on the Discovery channel unless it has something exploding. For "educational" programming, the history networks and the discovery networks fail on an intellectual level. Moral of the Story ? Fuck TV.
sarcasmagasm 9 months ago 3
@sarcasmagasm I remember when the History Channel was nothing but Hitler and the Civil War. Now it's Confederate Ghost Stories and UFOs of the Third Reich!
madnavigator 8 months ago 7
@DarkPuIse Thank you, at least I know I'm not alone in thinking that TV is like a black hole for intelligence.
pacguy19 8 months ago
I don't pay for TV, I pay for Netflix!
Caleb5617 9 months ago
@Caleb5617
Same, it's soooo much better (and cheaper!). Even not counting the DVDs, the streaming is better than TV.
AnotherSchmoe 9 months ago
WOW that didnt work now we got to pay for xbox live internet home and cell phone in addition to tv. utter bullshit!
JekPorkinsFan 9 months ago
The theaters allied with broadcast TV because they knew the broadcast networks sucked and that cable TV would constitute a real threat. And they were correct about that, but too bad for them, THEY LOST!
videoguy604 9 months ago
And pay tv ended up winning...and moreover...your government now forces you to pay for free tv with the DTV switchover that was intiated 2 years ago.
texasghost 9 months ago
@texasghost Uh, no. Digital TV is free. Analog TV was an inefficient bandwidth hog whose time had passed. The switchover was long past due.
videoguy604 9 months ago
@videoguy604
Really? Then how do you explain 6 months after the DTV switch...hundreds...HUNDREDS of local over the air TV stations across the country asked for rate hikes from the major cable and satellite providers?
Coincidence?? Timing??
texasghost 9 months ago
@texasghost Over the air is free.
videoguy604 9 months ago
@videoguy604
Yeah..for the 15% of all people that don't have cable. The other 85% who have cable or satellite have to pay for over the air tv.
texasghost 9 months ago
@texasghost Who is forcing them to have cable? They can get over the air for free.
videoguy604 9 months ago
The law makers obviously didnt care
jaysippa 9 months ago
What's really funny is that the early promise of cable tv was that, because you were paying for it, it would be commercial free. And it was. For about five minutes. Now every channel is riddled with ads for everything including programs/movies on *other* channels. And they've been trying to do it to the radio for a number of years now. "As we celebrate mediocrity all the boys upstairs want to see
How much you'll pay for what you used to get for free" -- Tom Petty "The Last DJ"
CanItAlready 9 months ago
Boy, that petition really worked. Hey I have a petition against cars because they are the monsters killing the horse and buggy industry.
wmhoad 9 months ago
And now we're all paying for free tv! Most of us, anyway.
pessia61 9 months ago
@pessia61 - It didn't do any good. It was inevitable anyway, it was the sign of the times.
VirgilB01 9 months ago
Oh no! It's... more television channels?
Sheesh, if this is how they responded to Cable TV, then imagine how they'd respond to Dish Network or Comcast.
ThePhantomSafetyPin 10 months ago
@ThePhantomSafetyPin This was pretty early in cable technology, cable was invented so that rural areas could get network channels from long distances.
smcgamer1 9 months ago
Save the piracy! Yeeah.
artrocker65 10 months ago
40 years later: TV? never heard of it.
Exarian 10 months ago