Credit: Lisa Overton/NewsHour Weekend
On NewsHour Weekend Sunday, we explore how some of the biggest players in television are looking beyond cable by offering services that bundle and stream programs for consumers without a cable or satellite hookup.
As we reported the story, we had a number of conversations around the newsroom about this topic, which brought up a variety of questions:
Is it ethical to use a friend’s Netflix password? How long is it reasonable to use your parents’ HBO GO login before you should purchase your own subscription? Are live stream options sufficient or is cable still worth the cost?
Some members of the NewsHour Weekend team share how they consume media. Photo credit William Brangham/ NewsHour Weekend
All of the back and forth got us thinking: How do each of us consume media, and how do our habits that compare to those of our online community?
Here’s a selection of media habits from a few of our newsroom team members.
Hari Sreenivasan, PBS NewsHour Weekend anchor
Cable? Yes.
Favorite shows: Sherlock, Black Mirror, Top Gear and many others that get me through flights when I stay offline.
What does your media diet look like? I have cable, but reluctantly so. I’ve thought seriously of cutting the cord and the obnoxious bill for hundreds of channels I never care to watch, but realize that my provider makes unbundling to just have internet almost as expensive as keeping the cable box. I tried Aereo for a quick minute but the bandwidth was not ready for primetime. I have an Apple TV at home, and use it to access Netflix, PBS and HBO (which I pay for) because the interface, while far from perfect, is infinitely better than the cable box from the company that shall not be named. I’m watching video almost as much on my laptop as on a large screen.
Beth Ponsot, Online News Editor
Cable? No.
Favorite shows: Broad City, Shameless, Top Chef, House of Cards
What does your media diet look like? I have a TV, but I don’t pay for cable. I use an HDMI cord to hook my laptop up to my TV, turning it into a giant computer screen. I share logins for streaming services like Netflix and HBO GO and then watch on my ‘TV’ (or my phone if I’m on the go). If I want to watch a particularly cinematic show and be sure the quality won’t be interrupted — Downton Abbey or Mad Men, for example — I’ll download the season in HD from iTunes. I watch PBS NewsHour on YouTube and Frontline documentaries on pbs.org.
William Brangham, Producer/Correspondent
Cable? Yes.
Favorite Shows: The Walking Dead, Mad Men, Sherlock, Louie
What does your media diet look like? I have an older TV (720p!) and grudgingly pay for a bundled cable service. I’m a family of five, so the variety cable affords with all those channels is helpful. For example, my wife loves Downton Abbey and Modern Family, we all watch 60 Minutes, and my kids range anywhere from The Simpsons and Brooklyn Nine-Nine to Premier League Soccer and Disney’s Jessie. We have an Apple TV through which we watch a lot of Netflix and HBO GO, though we’re increasingly watching more and more on a laptop or tablet.
Andrew Mach, Multimedia Editor
Cable? Notta.
Favorite shows: Portlandia, Sherlock, The Leftovers, Broad City
What does your media diet look like? I rock a Roku and mainly watch movies and series at my leisure on a television, but occasionally I’ll use my iPad or iPhone. Most often, it’s via the Netflix and HBO GO apps (for which I share passwords), and sometimes it’s on YouTube or iTunes. I can’t remember the last time I watched something on cable, and I find it annoying when award shows or other big events aren’t available to stream online.
Hannah Yi, Producer
Cable? Nope.
Favorite shows: Broad City, House of Cards, Last Week Tonight, The Jinx, The Mindy Project
What does your media diet look like? I don’t own a television so I’m watching everything on either my iPad or laptop. I subscribe to Netflix, Hulu Plus and use a friend’s HBO GO password. I’m also able to watch 60 Minutes or PBS shows like NewsHour and Frontline documentaries through their apps. So even without cable, I feel fully connected and able to comfortably watch from my smaller screens.
Zachary Green, Associate Producer:
Cable? Yes.
Favorite shows: The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight, Better Call Saul, New Girl, Kroll Show, Community, The Americans, Justified, Broad City, Archer (the list goes on…)
What does your media diet look like? There’s a weekly line-up of shows that my wife and I watch on cable, like New Girl and Broad City. Cable shows that are on later at night, like The Daily Show, I’ll DVR and watch in the morning before I go to work. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts that we use to watch shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, The Americans or Justified. We use a friend’s HBO GO password to watch shows like Game of Thrones or HBO movies like Behind the Candelabra.
Now we want to know — what does your media diet look like?
Share yours in the comments section below or join the conversation on Facebook.
The post What’s your media diet? See how you compare to the NewsHour team appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
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