[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Do you really think consumers are getting screwed when it comes to TV and movies?

That is a really vague question that I don't know how to answer. I think that consumers are getting screwed by telecom companies.

Compared to when? When you consider the wealth of content we have available, and how cheap it is, this is the best time ever to be a consumer.

Compared to the past. And I disagree that it is that much cheaper. There is more and overall we get more for cheaper but there is also a lot more crap. Fact of the matter is if I like 5 TV shows and they are each on a different service then I pay a lot more than I did in the 80s when everything was available on basic cable, because that is all that existed.

Would you rather go back to the 80s, when it cost $5 ($10.30 in today's money) to rent a movie from a local videostore, and you had 6 TV channels to choose from (8 if you include community television)? Or the 90s, when it was $4 to rent a movie ($5.75 in today's dollars), and cable cost somewhat less than today but you still only had about 40 channels to choose from (and TV was mostly crap)?

It is still mostly crap and I'm not sure if your prices are accurate. Again, in the 80s and 90s you had one choice for entertainment (cable/sattelite) and 99% of all programming was available on one of the big four networks. Specialty channels like HBO did exist and we sometimes missed out on that stuff but basic cable today provides maybe 5% of all programming. And if we think of the best shows on TV in the 80s or 90s you would be able to watch virtually every single of the "best" shows on basic cable.

Let's compare with today, when for $35 for basic cable and another $9 for Netflix you get an enormous amount of content - easily 20x the content available even 10 years ago. Fill in the gaps with iTunes, with at $6 a movie is no more expensive than Blockbuster was 15 years ago and has a far larger selection. All accessible with the click of a button, in high definition, and without leaving your couch.

I never said we don't have access to more, I said that the programming is becoming more and more spread out. And it isn't becoming cheaper if you want to watch all the best shows, which 20 years ago was relatively easy.

This is the golden age of entertainment, in cost, accessibility, breadth and quality of content, and value. I can't imagine someone unhappy with today's offerings being satisfied with anything less than all TV shows and movies ever filmed accessible instantly for free.

It absolutely is a golden age. But we are paying for it like we are paying for gold.