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Author Topic: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods  (Read 11414 times)

Offline gt1racerlHDl

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New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« on: June 19, 2014, 06:13:09 PM »
i don't even want to say the name of this show it's that bad

An actual show name?

Offline TWCmatthew

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2014, 06:29:15 PM »
Oh dear. I hope TWC is just pulling our legs. I can't fathom their stupidity if this is actually going to be a show...  :wall:

But hey, on the bright side, at least there's jazz-type music in the promo! lol
« Last Edit: June 19, 2014, 06:31:29 PM by TWCmatthew »

Offline jrhtwc

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2014, 07:26:16 PM »
You know,  I heard Chris Warren  promo that show this winter and it was supposed to debut in march.  I couldn't believe my ears when I herd it! I think it's time to get longform OFF OF TWC!!!!!!!

Offline jrhtwc

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2014, 07:33:33 PM »
I wonder if this will factor in TWC'S contract renewal with DISH. It better not TWC!!! I think I saw in The DTV thread that DISH's contract is up in July. 

Offline WeatherSTARIII

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2014, 08:04:15 PM »
I'm still upset that DirecTV brought back TWC in the first place. Dish better pull the plug next month and hopefully end up being a permanent dispute like what happened with DirecTV and G4. I'm also hoping this will create a "domino effect" with other providers dropping TWC. Dang it DirecTV, you were that close to toppling The "Weather" Channel Monopoly.  :hammer:
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Offline TWCmatthew

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2014, 08:05:14 PM »
I actually hope a major cable or satellite provider would drop TWC. Dish Network did for a short time I believe in 2010, and DirecTV dropped them for a while earlier this year. Hopefully the third time would be the charm in terms of getting rid unnecessary longform programming.

Offline WeatherSTARIII

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2014, 08:19:47 PM »
I actually hope a major cable or satellite provider would drop TWC. Dish Network did for a short time I believe in 2010, and DirecTV dropped them for a while earlier this year. Hopefully the third time would be the charm in terms of getting rid unnecessary longform programming.
I agree. NBC/Comcrap just doesn't seem to care about improving TWC.
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Offline jrhtwc

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2014, 08:40:09 PM »
I'm still upset that DirecTV brought back TWC in the first place. Dish better pull the plug next month and hopefully end up being a permanent dispute like what happened with DirecTV and G4. I'm also hoping this will create a "domino effect" with other providers dropping TWC. Dang it DirecTV, you were that close to toppling The "Weather" Channel Monopoly.  :hammer:

I'm glad DTV got TWC back.  I'm not sold on WN's technical team yet. In the recent weeks, it's been off the air and a day behind on the local forecast and the LDL. And that's the local channel here in Milwaukee WI, it scares me to think what's happening on DTV's WN feed! Plus they don't have experts on there like they do on TWC. When TWC doesn't show longform, I don't see a problem with them. I'm hoping DISH ends up with both!

Offline WeatherWitness

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2014, 09:18:08 PM »
No matter how much we all beg and plead and get mad at TWC, these things are going to keep happening.  I'm not crazy about the name, but hey, at least it looks like it will have something to do with weather. :P

Plus, I don't think it would serve a major cable or satellite company well if they drop TWC permanently.  I think DirecTV probably threw in the towel and came to a compromise.  While some would disagree, I feel the ratio of people who wanted TWC on DirecTV and who didn't was 1 to 1.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2014, 09:19:48 PM by WeatherWitness »

Offline WeatherSTARIII

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2014, 09:30:07 PM »
No matter how much we all beg and plead and get mad at TWC, these things are going to keep happening.  I'm not crazy about the name, but hey, at least it looks like it will have something to do with weather. :P

Plus, I don't think it would serve a major cable or satellite company well if they drop TWC permanently.  I think DirecTV probably threw in the towel and came to a compromise.  While some would disagree, I feel the ratio of people who wanted TWC on DirecTV and who didn't was 1 to 1.
But the reason why DirecTV did this was because of rising retransmission fees and even declining ratings. That's also what Dish did previously in 2010.
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Offline Eric

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2014, 10:39:34 PM »
I agree. NBC/Comcrap just doesn't seem to care about improving TWC.

They don't.  Media companies today aren't that interested in very narrow topics for their channels.  They want as broad a base as possible to attract many different people, not only those who are interested in, in this case, weather forecasts.  More people = more advertising money.

Perhaps sports remain the only major exception.  Just think... TLC used to show educational programming, and now it's Honey Boo Boo and pregnant teenagers.  A&E used to be literally Arts and Entertainment.  Bravo - same thing.

Offline WeatherSTARIII

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2014, 11:27:22 PM »
They don't.  Media companies today aren't that interested in very narrow topics for their channels.  They want as broad a base as possible to attract many different people, not only those who are interested in, in this case, weather forecasts.  More people = more advertising money.

Perhaps sports remain the only major exception.  Just think... TLC used to show educational programming, and now it's Honey Boo Boo and pregnant teenagers.  A&E used to be literally Arts and Entertainment.  Bravo - same thing.
But look what happened with G4 for example: when it first went on the air in 2002, it was originally a video game and technology-themed channel. After when G4 bought out TechTV in 2004, Comcast (the owners of G4) wanted to reformat as a reality-themed channel. Obviously, that concept flopped. Same thing happened with Fox Reality Channel, it too also failed in the ratings. It seems like every cable network wants to show reality television these days.
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Offline Eric

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2014, 09:21:50 AM »
They don't.  Media companies today aren't that interested in very narrow topics for their channels.  They want as broad a base as possible to attract many different people, not only those who are interested in, in this case, weather forecasts.  More people = more advertising money.

Perhaps sports remain the only major exception.  Just think... TLC used to show educational programming, and now it's Honey Boo Boo and pregnant teenagers.  A&E used to be literally Arts and Entertainment.  Bravo - same thing.
But look what happened with G4 for example: when it first went on the air in 2002, it was originally a video game and technology-themed channel. After when G4 bought out TechTV in 2004, Comcast (the owners of G4) wanted to reformat as a reality-themed channel. Obviously, that concept flopped. Same thing happened with Fox Reality Channel, it too also failed in the ratings. It seems like every cable network wants to show reality television these days.

But of course.  So-called "reality TV" is usually among the cheapest programming that can be made, and, since it's still the "hot thing" out there, it generally attracts the most viewers from the widest possible audiences.  There's no question that a large amount of programming has little to offer in terms of culture, but it does entertain - by its very nature there's suspense built right into the program from start to finish, whether it's a competition or a big rig driver trying to cross a snow-covered highway.  And did I mention it's cheap?  No script writers, the "stars" are paid less than big Hollywood union actors, and so on.

In the case of The Weather Channel, it could continue to attract a small but loyal following of viewers who tune in periodically for weather information, plus an even smaller but very loyal following who watch the channel religiously, but that would still alienate the majority of the viewing population who would tune to the channel either very briefly and irregularly or not at all.  Or... it could fill the schedule with reality TV to attract a much wider audience that isn't interested in weather forecasts, but wants to watch reality programming... as if they don't watch already.

NBC, like the rest of the commercial media in the United States, isn't in business to "educate, inform, and entertain."  It's in business to make money, and it makes money by selling advertising time.  When you think about it, the commercials are the real reason for television, and any programming around it, which just might be "educational, informational, and entertaining," is just filler to make sure people watch the commercials.  That's why there's always so much uproar whenever some new piece of technology comes out to allow a viewer to bypass commercials.  First VCRs, then recordable DVDs, then DVRs... the more ways people have to not watch commercials, the less value advertisers think they get for their money, and the more worried the broadcasters get that they're not going to earn as much money as they have been previously.  (Many already aren't.)

I already mentioned how TLC used to be The Learning Channel.  There isn't a chance in heck they'd go back to showing educational documentaries and classroom-type programming.  Honey Boo Boo, pregnant teens, and couples rushing all over the place to get married make the network a heck of a lot more money than ad-free Cable in the Classroom programming and documentaries about the various kinds of rocks one finds underground, for example.  TLC has abandoned its roots so thoroughly I doubt too many people younger than I am even know what TLC originally stood for.  The Weather Channel seems to be veering ever closer to that same edge.  The day will come when it either just stops showing weather programming altogether and either changes its name to TWC, or The Weather Channel becomes a channel showing weather-themed reality shows, but no forecasts.  And then TWC will find its own Honey Boo Boo and be like every other network out there.

Offline WeatherSTARIII

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2014, 11:30:05 PM »
But of course.  So-called "reality TV" is usually among the cheapest programming that can be made, and, since it's still the "hot thing" out there, it generally attracts the most viewers from the widest possible audiences.  There's no question that a large amount of programming has little to offer in terms of culture, but it does entertain - by its very nature there's suspense built right into the program from start to finish, whether it's a competition or a big rig driver trying to cross a snow-covered highway.  And did I mention it's cheap?  No script writers, the "stars" are paid less than big Hollywood union actors, and so on.

In the case of The Weather Channel, it could continue to attract a small but loyal following of viewers who tune in periodically for weather information, plus an even smaller but very loyal following who watch the channel religiously, but that would still alienate the majority of the viewing population who would tune to the channel either very briefly and irregularly or not at all.  Or... it could fill the schedule with reality TV to attract a much wider audience that isn't interested in weather forecasts, but wants to watch reality programming... as if they don't watch already.

NBC, like the rest of the commercial media in the United States, isn't in business to "educate, inform, and entertain."  It's in business to make money, and it makes money by selling advertising time.  When you think about it, the commercials are the real reason for television, and any programming around it, which just might be "educational, informational, and entertaining," is just filler to make sure people watch the commercials.  That's why there's always so much uproar whenever some new piece of technology comes out to allow a viewer to bypass commercials.  First VCRs, then recordable DVDs, then DVRs... the more ways people have to not watch commercials, the less value advertisers think they get for their money, and the more worried the broadcasters get that they're not going to earn as much money as they have been previously.  (Many already aren't.)

I already mentioned how TLC used to be The Learning Channel.  There isn't a chance in heck they'd go back to showing educational documentaries and classroom-type programming.  Honey Boo Boo, pregnant teens, and couples rushing all over the place to get married make the network a heck of a lot more money than ad-free Cable in the Classroom programming and documentaries about the various kinds of rocks one finds underground, for example.  TLC has abandoned its roots so thoroughly I doubt too many people younger than I am even know what TLC originally stood for.  The Weather Channel seems to be veering ever closer to that same edge.  The day will come when it either just stops showing weather programming altogether and either changes its name to TWC, or The Weather Channel becomes a channel showing weather-themed reality shows, but no forecasts.  And then TWC will find its own Honey Boo Boo and be like every other network out there.
But what about live severe weather coverage? Remember what happened with "Flick and a Forecast" in 2009? Even Jim Cantore Tweeted an apology to all of their followers of his official Twitter account telling viewers that TWC didn't interrupted the movie for live severe weather coverage like what they should have.

I still think TWC should just stick with only weather-related longform and at least air it in primetime only (unless if there is severe weather). Then lead it off with two hours of live late night forecasts, and then repeat the same episodes from last night's episode of whichever long-form show they are showing during the early morning hours for the west coast viewers (unless if there is severe weather expected overnight). Anyone remember back when Storm Stories first aired in 2003? TWC had fewer longform programing back then. They even still did severe weather preemptions back then too.

As long as TWC regularly preempts their non-weather-related reality show garbage whenever when there's severe weather (especially with both DirecTV/Dish subscribers), I'm cool with that. Sure most reality shows are cheaper to produce, but as for the ad revenue part, there's also a reason why the cable/satellite industry is declining because our cable/satellite bills are rising (especially sports). Even weather.com is becoming more and more useless because of the excessive ad overkill and non-weather-related stories and biases. If TWC permanently discontinues their live coverage, most cable/satellite companies will drop TWC like crazy and NBC would of likely shut down the channel for good. I would still hate to see Weatherscan morph into another entertainment channel.
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Offline Eric

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Re: New TWC show: Fat Guys in the Woods
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2014, 01:23:14 AM »
This is as weather-related as that series about building skyscrapers in New York City was.  If it rains, the people get wet.  If the temperature's high, the people get hot.  That's about where it ends.