TCM website change

[Milestones]

Anyone with opinions on this?  

TCM pretty much amounts to my favorite channel, but the website changed without warning and now it's awful--or at least I think so.  It is much harder to get to the daily schedule, the layout is not as good at it used to be, and I still can't find info that used to pop right up--reviews by both professional critics and by ordinary viewers.  

I used to check this website all the time; now I dread it.

 

 

[Brad]

I noticed it changed but I’m not having the same reaction that you are. 

[jlhoots]

Nor am I.

[Rooster_Ties]

Maybe a year ago(?) Comcast moved TCM up to some mega-sports package that’s an additional $15 or $20 per month more (and we’ve already got a fairly expansive package as it is) — and now we don’t get it any more.

Annoying as shit. We didn’t watch tons of movies on TCM, but maybe 20-25 per year (so a fair amount).

I’m also famous for DVR-ing lots of things just to sample them, but often watching things in their entirety, that I’d only intended to see a bit of, just for a few minutes of some particular actor/tress years before (or after) their best known years, or in some obscure role.

But not any more, and I’m NOT ponying up $180 more per year just to see channel I’ve always had access too for almost 20 years prior, without paying through the nose for it.

[medjuck]

I think they're trying to drive people to HBOMax. 

[Bill Nelson]

About TCM's programming: they book certain popular movies week after week, perhaps to match the movie titles pasted on their Wine Club bottles.

And 'Noir Alley' host Eddie Muller ran 'Gilda' two shows ago.  In this watered-down trend, 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' might be next.     

[Brad]

9 hours ago, medjuck said:

I think they're trying to drive people to HBOMax. 

HBO Max doesn’t have all of TCM but they do carry a lot of foreign films and other interesting movies. 

[BFrank]

I like TCM, too. Best for discovering some obscure film you never heard of before.

A good companion to TCM (if you want to spend the $$) is the Criterion Channel. They also have a lot of the extras that you might get with their DVD sets.

[jlhoots]

Kanopy has some good films.

[Dave Garrett]

On 10/6/2020 at 8:45 PM, Rooster_Ties said:

Maybe a year ago(?) Comcast moved TCM up to some mega-sports package that’s an additional $15 or $20 per month more (and we’ve already got a fairly expansive package as it is) — and now we don’t get it any more.

Annoying as shit. We didn’t watch tons of movies on TCM, but maybe 20-25 per year (so a fair amount).

I’m also famous for DVR-ing lots of things just to sample them, but often watching things in their entirety, that I’d only intended to see a bit of, just for a few minutes of some particular actor/tress years before (or after) their best known years, or in some obscure role.

But not any more, and I’m NOT ponying up $180 more per year just to see channel I’ve always had access too for almost 20 years prior, without paying through the nose for it.

I likewise refused to pay another $10 a month to keep TCM when Comcast/Xfinity moved it to the premium sports & entertainment package. And it really pissed me off to do without it, as TCM is one of a handful of channels that I watch for at least a little while almost every day.

However, my two-year service agreement (and the associated bundle discounts) expired last month, and after dropping by one of their storefronts to see what deals were available, I wound up bumping up my internet package to gigabit speed, dropping the phone service (which I rarely used anyway, and only had because I was able to get a much bigger package discount with it than without it the last time I renewed my agreement), and adding the sports & entertainment package to get TCM back.  More significantly, those changes cut my bill by almost $50 a month, which is how I was able to justify adding TCM. This time around the agreement term was only for one year instead of two, but the rep claimed the pricing would stay in place for a second year after the one-year agreement term. 

So if you're on a service agreement nearing its expiration, it's worth checking to see if a similar deal's available in your area. I've gotten much better results in general from in-person discussions at their storefronts than trying to deal with their frequently-clueless CSRs over the phone. 

Edited October 9, 2020 by Dave Garrett

[medjuck]

Putting TCM in a sports package really sucks. For those who argue  that socialized medicine is like having it run by the DMV I'd argue that right now the medical system here is being run like your cable  company.   (If that's too political, take it down.) 

[Matthew]

I love the app the TCM has for smart TV's if you have them on your tv package, it's a great way to catch movies that I miss, and TCM keeps most films on the app for at least two weeks after their tv appearance. I hope Direct TV doesn't bump them up to a higher bracket.