Pay-Per-View TV Shows - if we had the appropriate tech and billing systems to do this and you didn't have to commit to a subscription, please select the top amounts you'd be likely to pay per episode to see new episodes of certain television series:

I just don't watch any tv, so I wouldn't pay for it I suppose :)

The only added value I could see in such a service is if I could get the episodes on demand

Assuming that I watched TV, I'd only pay if there were no commercials or other interruptions.

I would pay a lot more if there were no commercials and I could get it whenever I wanted and it was digital than if it was the same commercial-ridden, lousy-picture, could-get- pre-empted-by-some-trash stuff we have now. These factors really effect my answer.

I pay for cable, but that is more for variety and reception. There isn't a single show that I would pay to see. I don't pay for pay-per-view movies or sporting events.

I don't watch much tv, and wouldn't be willing to pay anything for most shows, especially new episodes that might not be any good. If I could see old episodes of the good version of Northern Exposure, I'd pay for that.

I don't watch TV in a serious way. Sometimes I expend little time periods thinking, in the sofa, in front of the TV, but I don't watch for nothing specific...

milktree: good point. I did mean commercial-less. I forgot about that. The basic idea came up a few weeks ago when I was wondering if Millenium would be renewed. I was thinking about cost per-episode and the viewer base and thought, if each viewer paid $1/episode, that would probably easily float the series. There'd be no need for advertising in that case, the per-episode fee is an idea for an alternative way to finance show production. *** Mark: Okay, suppose B5 is only available via this kind of service, commercial-free. Do you watch it? What's your price cap?

Not like they don't make you watch enough gosh darn commercials just to get to watch the mediocrity plastered all over the glass teat in your living room. Yeesh. If everything went PPV, I'd probably just shrug and hook something else up to the TV (which I don't watch more than an hour a week anyway).

I'd pay only if it meant there were NO commercial interruptions. I wouldn't mind paying a fairly high amount per show that I watch (say $5), because I watch TV about as often as I go to the movies. I keep trying to remember to watch more TV, but I'm really lame about it.

on-demand would be keen (get rid of any tv watching in a day), but mostly i don't watch enuff for this to matter. most of the stuff is garbage and not worth it anyway (PBS still free under this system?)

I probably wouldn't bother to order any pay-per-view TV shows. I have basic cable, mainly so I can get Comedy Central, and Babylon 5, but I don't subscribe to any pay stations and I have never "bought" any pay-per-view shows. Most of what is on TV is such dreck that I wouldn't watch it at all, if it cost any (more) money to do so. Now, if I could order a movie at my convenience, like renting a video w/o having to leave the house, I might pay as much as $5 per movie, or maybe more, depending on the movie. *** romkey: I might just decide to get on with my life, and do without B5. As it is, I haven't bothered to watch all of the new episodes this season, anyway.

While I don't own a TV many of my friends do, so I do occasionally find myself watching and have a few shows that I'll watch if they're on and I'm around. Once in a great while someone will recommend a particular episode and I'll actually go out of my way to watch it. In these cases I'd pay a small amount of money to avoid the hassle of finding someone who has a tape, and being sure to return it in a timely manner, and so forth.

I just corrected a comma splice -- Bill, do you have to use a font with , and . so similar?

I'd pay more for commercial free. Also, I think new shows should be free until they can get an audience. Also, I think Video on Demand is a great idea for series. Instead of the hassle of VCRs, one can just request the show, even older episodes. Also, I think future TVs should have a way to request such things, download them overnight, then the next day have them for viewing at the user's leisure (similar to a VCR)...

Font... hmm... well, changing the font will probably upset everything. Someday I'll do a completely new look+feel (with frames perhaps), then perhaps I will also change the font as well.

circulate the tapes

I really dig movies, but not so much television. I like the big screen, and the big sound, and the event of watching a movie at the exclusion of doing other things. I do watch or tape certain programs, usually because someone whose taste I respect has recommended the show. I rarely (but not never) go out of my way to watch a show, but if a few friends are planning to watch something specific, I may join them. I would pay some fraction of what I'm willing to pay to see a movie, maybe pitch in a buck or two.

romkey- that's a cool thought, I assumed you ment w/o commercials, too. But, the system you describe is incredibly risky to the producers- I believe they can sell some amount advertising time far in advance, and have that money to spend on production, while with the system you describe, if I understand you correctly, puts a much higher demand that every episode have whatever factors the marketing people say is selling the show. Maybe they could do like magazines- you can get a slight discount if you pay for a year in advance, which gives them some operating capital, and then a slightly higher price per episode.

bill, I think the font is a very good one- it's casual enough that I feel comfortable writing in a very personal tone.

I'd pay only if the time of the show was convenientfor me. Otherwise, I wouldn't watch.

I rarely watch tv beyond prerecorded media. I'm becoming less and less of a media junky.

if i could get them whenever i wanted, and if there were NO commercials, sure, i'd pay a buck an episode for my favorites. i'd be a lot less likely to xhexk out new stuff though

Since I wouldn't pay those prices for a show that's not a favorite, I'd be unlikely to have any favorites after a short while.

Do I have to suffer through ads? If I have to pay, I should be able to watch ad-free.

I don't care enough about TV to pay to watch any specific show. I wouldn't even bother with cable or satellite or whatnot if it were just me. I'd rather read a book.

I don't watch any series regularly. I will sometimes get movies on pay per view. Mostly, I read or watch the Anime that I buy.

50 cents if that, and even that would curtail my watching significantly... I'd rather rent a movie at that point, or buy a book. But it would depend on how the billing worked... if I could just turn the TV on as I do now and get a bill at the end of the month, I'd probably watch whatever and pay the bill at the end of the month and not worry about it, even if it was expensive. Dumb, but true.