COMPLAINT! screwing over people without option for SVOD

AN VOD
21

rebecca1/2 wrote:

[quote]
And the really big question for me is - why in the hell is this a complete surprise I’m finding out the end of September/beginning of October, buried in the general VOD thread until a member here made a seperate thread about it? No one at TAN could bother to make an announcement, to say “sorry TWC users but our parent company has decided you can all go pound sand on our TV-MA shows” ?.[/quote]

This thread was actually made because Rai did post a statement in the announcement section…
http://www.theanimenetwork.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,65/catid,3/func,view/id,95104/limit,10/limitstart,20/#95579
and you even participated in that thread too.

Though it doesn’t surprise me that you didn’t notice, since you’re not here that often.

However, the seperation isn’t just for TWC users, it’s for all Free VOD users.

22

The Coffee God wrote:

[quote]rebecca1/2 wrote:

[quote]
And the really big question for me is - why in the hell is this a complete surprise I’m finding out the end of September/beginning of October, buried in the general VOD thread until a member here made a seperate thread about it? No one at TAN could bother to make an announcement, to say “sorry TWC users but our parent company has decided you can all go pound sand on our TV-MA shows” ?.[/quote]

This thread was actually made because Rai did post a statement in the announcement section…
http://www.theanimenetwork.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,65/catid,3/func,view/id,95104/limit,10/limitstart,20/#95579
and you even participated in that thread too.

Though it doesn’t surprise me that you didn’t notice, since you’re not here that often.

However, the seperation isn’t just for TWC users, it’s for all Free VOD users.[/quote]

…except for DirecTV user. AFAIK, there’s no paid VOD channels in DirecTV’s VOD setup, especially no “catch-all” sections like “Outrageous” that TWC has. We just get, as the thread title says, “screwed”.

23

No I got screwed. Your just getting hit in the knee with a wiffle ball bat by a 4 year old.

24

psychopuppet wrote:

Not my fault you stick with Comcra…, er, Comcast. You are able to switch to DirecTV or Dish and you may even be in a FiOS or U-verse service area. There’s plenty of ways to get TAN back. There’s not much we Free VOD’ers can do about Free 30 becoming “Rerun City”. That’s what I feared-we’re getting 11 rerun series and NO NEW SERIES while the sub 30 crowd gets three new series (Heaven’s Memo Pad, Himawari! and Ray.) Free 30 users have just been given the shaft. This is disgusting!

25

Newshawk wrote:

[quote]psychopuppet wrote:

Not my fault you stick with Comcra…, er, Comcast. You are able to switch to DirecTV or Dish and you may even be in a FiOS or U-verse service area. There’s plenty of ways to get TAN back. There’s not much we Free VOD’ers can do about Free 30 becoming “Rerun City”. That’s what I feared-we’re getting 11 rerun series and NO NEW SERIES while the sub 30 crowd gets three new series (Heaven’s Memo Pad, Himawari! and Ray.) Free 30 users have just been given the shaft. This is disgusting![/quote]

It’s not anyone’s fault you’re choosing to stick with DirecTV who doesn’t offer subscription VOD services. As you said, there are other services out there you can opt for.

And don’t forget that a lot of people don’t have the option of satelite service. Most major cities, and many other neighborhoods have laws banning them. Not to mention many people have natural obstructions that block the dishes.

26

My point is there is no obvious thread discussing this saying “Attention TWC, Bright House, ET. all” or “Attention Free VOD Viewers” … the only place I see this is buried deep in a thread on the lost episodes from September, and in this thread a member made. And I looked before I made the comment.

Now I guess if they feel the need to charge for this content, they feel the need to charge for it, but I expect one hell of a lot better service if I’m going to pay for it - meaning I shouldn’t have to be the one to have to tell when updates don’t come through on schedule, I shouldn’t have to guess what’s going to be on the schedule for the next month, and I probably should be getting more content than I previously did. If you expect me to buy crap, then I’ll just go back to buying and watching DVDs - and make a point to try to buy S23 stuff used someplace.

And to top that off, I see the schedule is up and frankly it’s crap. Angel Beats? Seen it. Clannad? Seen it and a big hole in the run. Coffee Samurai? Seen it. Gintama? Seen it. Abenobashi? Seen it many times. You’re Under Arrest season 2? Seen it. Special A gets a THIRD run? Really? I’ll be watching like 4 or 5 shows a week, the rest are reruns or likely paid - or in the one case, Clannad picks up with a hole in the series that there is never going to be any good explanation for except “we didn’t feel like trying” … It’s still not clear there which will be pay other than it’s probably safe to assume two of the shows I was watching, will be…

FWIW, I’m definately not going to pay to watch things I’ve already seen for free. Or, in the case of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, not only saw for free on regular cable about a million years ago, but own outright.

Is TAN trying to go out of the VOD business entirely? This reminds me of every time a cable network has decided to get rid of anime and purposely jerks around the fan base to make people go away so they have an excuse for low enough numbers to pull the plug. And you certainly don’t expect me to go buy your DVDs without even a couple episode preview on here, do you? … I can cetainly find other things to watch when I have time to watch TV during the week - or go do other things around the house.

27

I think part of the issue is that free VOD 30 viewers have been receiving virtually the same content as those who have the SVOD 30 package for quite a while now. That’s great for those of us that have Anime Network as part of our VOD packages and don’t pay an extra monthly fee, but it’s sort of a rip off for the subscribers of the 30 hour package on other providers. I think they may be trying to differentiate the free and subscription packages since there has often been almost no difference between between the free and paid packages (unless you’re talking about the 45 hour package.)

Unless it is different on providers other than DirecTV, Anime Network doesn’t appear to be running any commercials, so they majority of their revenue comes from their paid subscribers. It makes sense that they would focus more on those services. It sucks for those of us that have the free 30 hour package, but money talks.

As I’ve said before, I’m more angry at DirecTV for not offering any subscription VOD services, as there are others I’m interested such as here! TV. Not to mention a lot of the VOD offerings DirecTV has are very lacking, often have missing updates and have to be downloaded online, which is going to cause issues once Comcast actually starts inforcing the cap on my account.

28

Hey, if they are going broke and need to charge money to give me the same service they give others, that I can understand.

When they jerk me around for no reason and show me the same things that have already run, well in the one case the one show was on real commercial TV something like 10 years ago - I’m not going to pay for that because it’s crap.

In a lousy economy like this if you expect me to pay anything for any show, you need to be giving me a good reason to spend that money. Repeating the same things over and over and giving me little to no new content means I’m not even going to watch a lot of what’s free, let alone pay. I mean, if I find that to see Night Raid 1931 and Shin Kohime Muso each week I have to pay for two or three things I’ve already seen in a package… I’m not going to bother.

You guys who run this board might want to pass that on up the corporate chain - I feel like they’re going out of their way, frankly, to piss me (and people like me) off for the sake of a few bucks. Surely even a corporate manager understands these things always backfire and result in the opposite of what they desire?

29

dragonrider_cody wrote:

I have DirecTV for a lot of reasons. ANOD is not one of them. If it came down to changing providers or letting go of ANOD, I’d let go of ANOD.

dragonrider_cody also wrote:

FCC regulations (the Over the Air Television Antenna and Reception Device regulation, or OTARD) prohibit the blanket prohibition of ANY satellite dish under one meter in diameter as well as any TV aerial antenna. Certain restrictions may be established in historic areas where the character of the neighborhood would be ruined by such devices (think some of the more historic areas of cities such as Philadelphia, Charleston, New Orleans, etc.) and so as to not intrude on neighbors property or common areas of rental properties. Not to mention I also included Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse, which have no such line of sight limitations.

Besides, Cody, I was just responding to PP, who has been whining about Comcra… er, Comcast switching to the Funimation Channel for a long time now. If he hates it that much, I just offered some suggestions as to viable alternatives he might have in his area.

Are you trying to say, Cody, that I should just quit whining and accept whatever Valkyrie Media Partners dishes out to me? That I’m not allowed to make my feelings and opinions known on this subject? C’mon, Cody, I’d expect better of you. Besides, if we just get into lockstep like a good little bunch of lemmings, what’s to say a few months down the road they start increasing the price of the Sub 30 or even Sub 45 packages?

30

I understand what you’re saying, but no one is asking you to pay for reruns. In fact, I thought you had Time Warner which has no option for SVOD? The older shows that are re-running are free. It’s newer TV-M shows that will be Pay Per View. If you don’t want to pay for them, simply don’t order them. No one is forcing you to spend more money.

31

Newshawk wrote:

[quote]dragonrider_cody wrote:

I have DirecTV for a lot of reasons. ANOD is not one of them. If it came down to changing providers or letting go of ANOD, I’d let go of ANOD.

dragonrider_cody also wrote:

FCC regulations (the Over the Air Television Antenna and Reception Device regulation, or OTARD) prohibit the blanket prohibition of ANY satellite dish under one meter in diameter as well as any TV aerial antenna. Certain restrictions may be established in historic areas where the character of the neighborhood would be ruined by such devices (think some of the more historic areas of cities such as Philadelphia, Charleston, New Orleans, etc.) and so as to not intrude on neighbors property or common areas of rental properties. Not to mention I also included Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse, which have no such line of sight limitations.

Besides, Cody, I was just responding to PP, who has been whining about Comcra… er, Comcast switching to the Funimation Channel for a long time now. If he hates it that much, I just offered some suggestions as to viable alternatives he might have in his area.

Are you trying to say, Cody, that I should just quit whining and accept whatever Valkyrie Media Partners dishes out to me? That I’m not allowed to make my feelings and opinions known on this subject? C’mon, Cody, I’d expect better of you. Besides, if we just get into lockstep like a good little bunch of lemmings, what’s to say a few months down the road they start increasing the price of the Sub 30 or even Sub 45 packages?[/quote]

I was simply responding to that individual post and pointing out that the advice you gave Pup can also apply to you. I also pointed out you made blanket assumptions without knowing the individual reasons why he still has Comcast. And regardless of FCC regulations, many neighborhoods still have laws barring satellite TV services. Most people don’t spend the money fighting them in a federal court. There are several planned communities near me that force you to sign an ownership agreement that includes many things, from what type of grass you can grow to the barring of satellite dishes. Pup may not even legally have the option of satellite TV, or he might live in an apartment where he has no place to mount a dish.

Plus, I also pointed out that physical barriers can also prevent the installation of a satellite dish because they block the satellite. I live near the edge of a heavily wooded area. My neighbors two houses down can’t get satellite because the trees block their signal. They are stuck with Comcast and also happen to live just outside of the area where digital lines are run, so they are stuck with basic cable.

32

BTW, I also have to say I find it funny you mentioned the Funimatin channel, because they operate identically to how TAN is going. Most TV-MA content is pay per view, and most series are only free for a few episodes.

33

dragonrider_cody wrote:

No, TWC is the one that has been cited as having the TV-MA content in three different locations-Outrageous, International and Movies On Demand.

dragonrider_cody also wrote:

As it can to you:

dragonrider_cody previously wrote:

As for your constant harping on the disadvantages of satellite, I once again remind you that I also mentioned non-satellite options such as FiOS (which I would imagine is available in the Pittsburgh area) and U-verse.

dragonrider_cody finally wrote:

I mentioned Funi only to cite the situation PP finds himself in, not to champion the channel in any way whatsoever.

34

This is off topic but, as far as HOA restrictions, it doesn’t matter what you sign: the only restriction sans historical is that they can force you to paint the dish to match the surrounding building. Of course, you have to own the area you want to mount or stand the dish (can’t be common). You can go over to the dbstalk forums to get a download of a form letter for the HOA that will cover the legal issues. No money or lawyer required.

jdg

35

JohnDG wrote:

[quote]

This is off topic but, as far as HOA restrictions, it doesn’t matter what you sign: the only restriction sans historical is that they can force you to paint the dish to match the surrounding building. Of course, you have to own the area you want to mount or stand the dish (can’t be common). You can go over to the dbstalk forums to get a download of a form letter for the HOA that will cover the legal issues. No money or lawyer required.

jdg[/quote]

True, but not everyone realizes this when they sign restrictive HOA agreements. Plus communities can also fight the placement of satellite dishes if they have a valid safety concern, though they must be able to prove the safety issue to the FCC. Not to mention the law only covers privately owned land. If you live in an apartment or condo with shared property you may not be allowed to put a dish up. I’ve been looking for an apartment and EVERYONE I’ve looked at does not allow you to mount a satellite dish on their property.

36

Newshawk wrote:

[quote]
dragonrider_cody previously wrote:

As for your constant harping on the disadvantages of satellite, I once again remind you that I also mentioned non-satellite options [/quote]

Fios is only available in a few wealthier neighborhoods around Pittsburgh. They’ve intentionally been avoiding rural and middle income areas when expanding their service here. The only options in my area, as I’ve said before, are Comcast (which has a virtual monopoly in Western PA since acquiring all the other cable systems) and satellite. As far as I know U-Verse is not available, as ATT has no phone or DSL lines in the area. In fact, checking their website it appears that ATT doesn’t offer U-Verse anywhere in the entire state.

Regardless of which carrier I go with, I’m getting screwed one way or the other. But at least DirecTV’s VOD service doesn’t stop working for weeks at a time as Comcast’s tends to do, and I’ve never had a DirecTV service rep swear or scream at me when I’m reporting a service issue.

All I was saying is that assuming someone has access to satellite, Fios, or U-Verse is a pretty big assumption.

37

dragonrider_cody wrote:

[quote]
All I was saying is that assuming someone has access to satellite, Fios, or U-Verse is a pretty big assumption.[/quote]

This is very true. Don’t know about other areas but where I am in WV, about 45 minutes away from Pittsburgh, literally the only options are Comcast or satellite and since I live in an apartment satellite actually isn’t an option either.

38

In a situation like this, I can only think two things.

1- From a certain standpoint, I can understand why they’d feel the need to separate the TV-MA shows from the regular.

2- From another standpoint, it’s quite annoying, since some shows are only rated TV-MA for one thing that happens in one episode at the very beginning or very end of the shows run. The rest of the time it’s a TV-14 show.

That being said, the cynical side of me is fairly certain there’s a bunch of parents out there punching the air over their victory over the evils of imported animation that their poor, influential children shouldn’t have access too. Probably while they eat dinner as a family while watching Dexter.

Meanwhile the most insulting aspect of this is how Time Warner is handling it. Have you seen the shows on Outrageous On Demand? Howard Stern Uncut? Jerry Springer Uncut? Girls Gone Wild, equally uncut? Outright porn (possibly soft core, not exactly gonna try and find out)? I’m aware of the limited variety of PPV channels TWC has that they could put anime on, but seriously? Bunching it together with this tripe? For shame, TWC, for shame.

39

dragonrider_cody wrote:

not my D$%& problem.

i pay for the encore channels, HBO, etc and get roughly 30 hours of each viewing per month. i didnt decide for TWC to get free TAN, while others had to pay, that is between TAN and those companies.

being forced into some scam PPV model, rather than saying…SVOD to get the same shows (with mature content) for $10 per month like all the other premium channels; i a total crock of S&%^.

if this was done by TAN’s overlords with all the crap TWC sutomers have to put up with for haivng to be with TWC in the first place, then TAN et all can kiss me where the sun dont shine.

they could have easily given the option to pay $10 per month and cancel the free vod.

PPV is something that p^5535 me off to no end as jsut a money grab trying to nickle and dime the people to death.

there is NO excuse for PPV in this day and age. exoflood is a total crock and the east coast earthquake uin august proved that when cellphones were disrupted because the lack of towers, while the internet got flooded in MANY places within a minute of the first shakes and NO ISP had problems INCLUDING ones that didnt even have DOCSIS3 in place prior.

it is all about nickle and diming BS…and i dont play that game, i am not a fool or a moron.

why do i feel the wicked 8itch Lorraine Williams has taken over TAN and its overlords if this is the case…she already looked down on her customers in one business and lost lots of money, so this seems like her doing all over again and TAN is the next T$R.

:angry:

40

Duneczan wrote:

i cant. in order to have TWC you have to be old enough to view TV-MA programs. a child cannot go an TV services, there is the age of contract that must be there…in some states you can buy porn(age 18) before the age of contract(age 21).

if a parent gets TV services, then they can BLOCK programs based on the rating, so even on free30 or whatever it is called, the show should be blocked.

it is the parents duty to raise their own kids, not TAN, not TWC. not some wig nut spouting “what about the children!?”

my responsibility to raise MY children, not yours. raise your own dumn kids!

technology has been in place for over a decade to prevent this problem.

the problem being created with this issue, is that “anime is porn”, and when it appears in the bible belt on these channels, these religious nuts will see it listed alongside all the porn on Outrageous on demand, and the same thing will happen that always does.

for more info check out the Chick Tracks by JAck Chick on D&D and the kind of mess started there.

does TAN and its overlords REALLY want to cause MORE problems for anime (you know, its brea and butter) and bite the hand that feeds it by giving ammunition to the nutcases out there that will use the placement of these programs in order to attack anime, then “american supremists” will jump in to add help to get rid of external cultures.

this is all just stupid and poorly thought out on MANY levels.