The Swamp

I see Spencer Hall and Holly Anderson have a new site...and, man, I think I am in. Because, Spencer and Holly.

https://channel-6.ghost.io/welcome-to-channel-6/

But that has me doing an inventory of what I am currently paying for in support of folks who I used to be able to read for free but who are supporting themselves either directly or through ventures. My current list:

The Athletic (bought in early because two best Bengals beat writers went there and also for the other writers)
The Daily Memphian (local version of the Athletic model but for all Memphis news and sports - a lot of Commercial Appeal writers and best Grizzlies writers went there)
Defector (fuck you Vichy Deadspin)
Craig Calcaterra's daily newsletter (MLB and general life and politics - he was at NBC Sports before getting the ziggy --- editor's note --- HIGHLY recommend this one
Matt Miller's Draft Website (he started it after losing his job at Bleacher Report - but then got the ESPN job --)
Patreon: Tom Ziller (NBA) and Matt Hrdlicka (very specific Grizzlies writer - he's good if you are Grizzlies obsessive)

I think that's the list. So, eye-balling it, about $250 a year for content. I don't subscribe to magazines anymore, of course, or newspapers. I would guess what I am paying now for internet access to my preferred writers is a little more than I used to pay for newspapers and mags, but not appreciably so.

But, I am also pretty full. So probably need to start dropping bigger ticket items to add a bigger ticket item. Guessing Spenser/Holly come in and I stop Miller's site - especially since he immediately landed on his feet and not sure I am getting enough value from him for a year round dealie.

Current:
The Athletic
Defector
NJ.com

Former:
NYT



(Does a monthly donation to KEXP count if I sometimes listen through the website?)

Defector
Athletic
Random months of various newspapers

About 20 different indie crossword patreons

I don't think I even want to know my total.

Spencer and Holly definitely got my money though.

I used to pay for the NYT and Washington Post, but there is so much free content everywhere, and I didn't regularly read either of them, so I opted out. I don't pay for any other online journalism. I'm feeling so nickel and dimed having to pay piecemeal for all of my TV/movie content, I'm sick of it. I need to cut out the cable bill and view it as choosing where my money goes rather than paying $10/month to FoxNews without a choice.

Oh yeah. The Wash Post. Forgot about that one - yup, pay for that one.

Defector
Athletic
Football Outsiders

Defector
Athletic
Washington Post
ESPN Insider

New York Times
Washington Post
Wired
Current Affairs
LawFare (I donate $50 annually)
Talking Points Memo
The Athletic

^Most of those I get significant discounts on as a graduate student

streaming content:

Hulu package that also includes ESPN+ and Disney+
Netflix
Peacock
Amazon Prime
Apple+
MLB.tv
Apple Music
YouTube TV (this is on mothballs until September, where I might extend our hiatus)…

my dream startup is a company that basically is cable 2.0 for internet subscriptions and allows you to bundle written content subscriptons for one fee and one subscription

it would take cooperation from competitors in the media industry (lol) but I think it would go a long way to helping media sustainability, even if companies were discounting their typical rates to be part of the bundle

No online content

Streaming:

Amazon
Apple+
Netflix
HBO(Max)
YouTube TV

Used to have Hulu, Starz and Disney+ and enough things have piled up that we're considering re-upping them for a couple of months each and then canceling.

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:02 am my dream startup is a company that basically is cable 2.0 for internet subscriptions and allows you to bundle written content subscriptons for one fee and one subscription

it would take cooperation from competitors in the media industry (lol) but I think it would go a long way to helping media sustainability, even if companies were discounting their typical rates to be part of the bundle

You’re basically talking about monetizing an RSS reader.

Tampa Bay Times
Orlando Sentinel
NYT
WaPo

Split Zone Duo
Puck Soup
Spanish Football Podcast
Big Interview with Graham Hunter
Moon Crew
Bolts Prospects

HBOMax
YouTube TV
Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+

The Atlantic
NY Times
Washington Post

DAZN
Netflix
Crave (Canadian streamer includes Showtime and HBO)

Am I the only one here who still has cable?

Athletic
Pateron subs for Omnibus!, Puck Soup, and JomezPro (disc golf filming)
2 Twitch Subs per month for gamers I like.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:44 am Am I the only one here who still has cable?

Unfortunately no. I do and they kill me every month.

I still have cable just because it seems like too much effort to figure out what we'd need to backfill and how much it would end up running. For some reason, maybe falsely, I'm convinced its tough to get the local sports teams without cable.

BSF21 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:50 am

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:44 am Am I the only one here who still has cable?

Unfortunately no. I do and they kill me every month.

Are you thinking of cutting it? I keep it for sports (Flames and Blue Jays mostly) and news.

The Athletic
KenPom

I'm pretty sure that's it (not counting TV/video stuff that I mostly watch on my TV)

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:16 am Tampa Bay Times
Orlando Sentinel
NYT
WaPo

Split Zone Duo
Puck Soup
Spanish Football Podcast
Big Interview with Graham Hunter
Moon Crew
Bolts Prospects

HBOMax
YouTube TV
Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+

Forgot about
The Athletic
The Atlantic
Netflix
Axios Tampa Bay

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:44 am Am I the only one here who still has cable?

We have it - but my wife is in sales at Rogers, so she needs it for work. (And we get a hefty deal)

Still have DirecTV - Sunday ticket has me held in place.

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:11 am

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:02 am my dream startup is a company that basically is cable 2.0 for internet subscriptions and allows you to bundle written content subscriptons for one fee and one subscription

it would take cooperation from competitors in the media industry (lol) but I think it would go a long way to helping media sustainability, even if companies were discounting their typical rates to be part of the bundle

You’re basically talking about monetizing an RSS reader.

eh, not really. I'm talking an integrated program like the "log in with google/facebook/etc" buttons on websites when you get asked to log in/pay for content.

log in with your saved info on your bundle sub, and boom. done.

Earlier this week, TB asked us when we were vacating our houses. Now that he knows when we're going away, I feel like he wants to know what he can access when he breaks into our homes this summer.

(The Athletic.)

Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:55 am
KenPom

I misread that as Ken Porn. Thought maybe you had a kink of men with no genitals or something.

The Sybian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:57 am

Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:55 am
KenPom

I misread that as Ken Porn. Thought maybe you had a kink of men with no genitals or something.

It's actually just Ken Jennings pedantically instructing you how to jerk off in the form of a question.

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:44 am Am I the only one here who still has cable?

I'm quitting DirecTV soon.

SF Chronicle
The Athletic

Netflix
Hulu (via daughter's college)
Will soon pick up YouTubeTV (as I drop DirecTV)

BSF21 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:02 am

The Sybian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:57 am

Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:55 am
KenPom

I misread that as Ken Porn. Thought maybe you had a kink of men with no genitals or something.

It's actually just Ken Jennings pedantically instructing you how to jerk off in the form of a question.

Oh, that's hot. Where do I sign up?

Reaper wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:51 am Earlier this week, TB asked us when we were vacating our houses. Now that he knows when we're going away, I feel like he wants to know what he can access when he breaks into our homes this summer.

(The Athletic.)

I think the Facebook swamp group intro to accessing your facebook pages is an easier way to track you all and eat all your sweet sweet food while you are away...

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:43 am

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:11 am

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:02 am my dream startup is a company that basically is cable 2.0 for internet subscriptions and allows you to bundle written content subscriptons for one fee and one subscription

it would take cooperation from competitors in the media industry (lol) but I think it would go a long way to helping media sustainability, even if companies were discounting their typical rates to be part of the bundle

You’re basically talking about monetizing an RSS reader.

eh, not really. I'm talking an integrated program like the "log in with google/facebook/etc" buttons on websites when you get asked to log in/pay for content.

log in with your saved info on your bundle sub, and boom. done.

You’re describing what many RSS readers do, but with a (convenient) single sign on. I think they’re using API tokens as you never want to pass usernames and passwords through URLs.

correct -- but the idea is trying to broadly appeal to the people who don't use/know what an RSS reader is and who simply use news websites on their computer and the apps on their phone/tablet

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:08 am No online content

Streaming:

Amazon
Apple+
Netflix
HBO(Max)
YouTube TV

Used to have Hulu, Starz, and Disney+ and enough things have piled up that we're considering re-upping them for a couple of months each and then canceling.

ETA - We are still riding my wife's Georgetown grad school WaPo account. I'd pay for that or have my work pay for it otherwise.

Also, I don't really count Amazon Prime as a subscription. I *might* pay for it as a stand-alone, but LONG before this pandemic, my wife was an accomplished online shopping ninja. We'd pay for prime regardless of the video aspect.

Reaper wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:51 am Earlier this week, TB asked us when we were vacating our houses. Now that he knows when we're going away, I feel like he wants to know what he can access when he breaks into our homes this summer.

(The Athletic.)

Good looking out.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:36 pm

Reaper wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:51 am Earlier this week, TB asked us when we were vacating our houses. Now that he knows when we're going away, I feel like he wants to know what he can access when he breaks into our homes this summer.

(The Athletic.)

Good looking out.

Be on the lookout for the "What is your security code system PIN thread?, coming soon."

I guess I need to wait on the "mother's maiden name" thread...

The Athletic
Cleveland Plain Dealer
NY Times

YouTube TV (although this might get dropped soon just to save a little bit of money while I'm mowing fairways for $10 an hour)

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:44 am Am I the only one here who still has cable?

Still have DirecTV on a package that is so old, they think I don't have ESPN, yet gave me the ACC Network for free last year.

I also have ESPN Insider, which gives me ESPN+... for some things (see DirecTV mess above).

This reminded me, anyone with a Samsung TV ever watch TV+? It's basically like cable tv, but free, and with shitty channels. I had no idea what it was or how it got on my TV until a friend mentioned it the other day. There's about 150 channels, including BeIN Sports, and I've never even looked at whats on there. I've only gone on there when I hit the wrong source option. Looking now, I get NewsMax, the Bob Ross channel and a Baywatch Channel! All this time I've wasted not watching it...

The Sybian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 2:57 pm This reminded me, anyone with a Samsung TV ever watch TV+? It's basically like cable tv, but free, and with shitty channels. I had no idea what it was or how it got on my TV until a friend mentioned it the other day. There's about 150 channels, including BeIN Sports, and I've never even looked at whats on there. I've only gone on there when I hit the wrong source option. Looking now, I get NewsMax, the Bob Ross channel and a Baywatch Channel! All this time I've wasted not watching it...

It’s sorta like Pluto that you can download on your streaming devices. Which, frankly is a great way to get your Mystery Science Theater fix.