| Funimation & Bridges TV to be removed Just got this e-mail from Verizon tonight ...
Dear Customer,
On, or after, March 15 2012, Funimation (channel 262) and Bridges TV (channel 278) will be removed from the FiOS TV® lineup and you will no longer be able to view this content.
This programming has been discontinued due to very low viewership and the continued effort of Verizon to offer our customers the most popular channels while keeping our rates reasonable.
We appreciate your loyalty to Verizon FiOS TV and apologize for any inconvenience.
Remember that you can access the most current local TV line-up 24 hours a day/7 days a week at verizon.com/fiostvchannels.
Thank you for choosing Verizon.
Sincerely,
Verizon
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thetick
join:2009-06-22
White Plains, NY
1 edit | I never watched either one (Middle Eastern TV and Japanese animation are not in my interest). Hmm makes me think I should leave my STBs set on to my favorite "specialty" channels so the ratings are higher otherwise Verizon may cancel them if the ratings are too low.
BTW I got the above email around 5PM today. |
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 Zero
join:2009-07-01
Collegeville, PA | reply to PirateJim
This is a declaration of war to any and all anime fans on FiOS...
Funimation channel is the only 24/7 anime channel on FiOS and one that I regularly watch and DVR. This channel was a big plus for me when making the switch from Comcast to FiOS since Comcast didn't carry it (they still don't but they do have it on VOD at least). I'm not the only one in my family that watches it too.
I usually watch Funimation on a CableCARD tuner (same goes with most everything I watch) which may not be getting counted in their "very low viewership" numbers if they are getting those numbers from their STBs. |
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| reply to PirateJim
...but the .tv channels all remain in their useless glory.
I almost want to believe that they're making the way for actually popular channels (in HD, specifically), but I know that is asking FiOS far too much these days. |
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| reply to PirateJim
I can't imagine either channel was watched very much at all. |
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 matcarlPremium
join:2007-03-09
Franklin Square, NY | It also sounded like the providers wanted more money since they said "while keeping the rates reasonable." |
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thetick
join:2009-06-22
White Plains, NY
4 edits | reply to Zero
Funimation does seem it would have a pretty good sized niche. It seems foolish to be removing it for ratings, but adding Mnet (Koren Music Channel) which I'm sure has a much smaller niche and should be a la cart. Funimation must have asked for huge increase and Mnet must have been almost free. |
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| reply to PirateJim
I can honestly say that I've never heard of either one of these channels and since they aren't HD I'm reasonably certain that I've never surfed past them either. |
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Mac973
join:2009-05-18
West Orange, NJ | reply to PirateJim
I have never heard of those either. |
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| reply to blue_trooper
said by blue_trooper:I can honestly say that I've never heard of either one of these channels and since they aren't HD I'm reasonably certain that I've never surfed past them either.
I hadn't heard of them either, so when I saw the complaints about Verizon taking them off I went and took a look at both. It took about 30 seconds on each to figure out that I would never, ever watch either one, and I am pretty sure neither would my wife. Both channels appear to me to just be a waste of bandwidth that could be used for something far more worthwhile.
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Justin
Verizon FiOS TV and Internet
Motorola QIP7232 HD DVR
Motorola QIP 7100-P2
Sony KDL-V40XBR1 |
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| Let's hope we get better channels and something in HD like Cartoon Network HD, BBC HD , Headline news HD , DIY HD, would all be good additions. |
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| reply to PirateJim
Re: Funimation & Bridges TV to be removed Did a little digging. From what I can tell on the forums, FIOS was the only one to carry Funimation. And from their website, to me it seems as though they are really pushing their online subscription (which is $7.95/month).
And BridgesTV has very limited carriage (per their website) with FIOS seeming to the be the only "nationwide" coverage. And they too have an online subscription of $2.99/month.
I'm guessing this may be the wave of the future.
As we have never heard the business terms of the .tv carriage, I could see them giving it to FIOS for free, hence the reason it is still carried despite (at least in our minds) lack of many viewers. |
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 aaronwtPremium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
 ·Verizon FiOS
| reply to Zero
said by Zero:This is a declaration of war to any and all anime fans on FiOS...
Funimation channel is the only 24/7 anime channel on FiOS and one that I regularly watch and DVR. This channel was a big plus for me when making the switch from Comcast to FiOS since Comcast didn't carry it (they still don't but they do have it on VOD at least). I'm not the only one in my family that watches it too.
I usually watch Funimation on a CableCARD tuner (same goes with most everything I watch) which may not be getting counted in their "very low viewership" numbers if they are getting those numbers from their STBs.
And I was hoping that they would add the HD channel for Funimation, not remove it. As it is they have been taking the HD feed and converting it to SD. So they remove Funimation and keep the .TV channels which I never watch. I hate watching SD but I actually watched the Funimation channel. Or at least watched some shows and realized I liked them so I would get them on BD or watch from HD streaming on Netflix.
If they would have added the HD channel I would have had no problem paying a few dollars extra each month to add it to my Ultimate HD tier.
I certainly watched the Funimation channel, many more times as often as any of the ESPN channels. Now those are the channels I really wish I could drop and save the money. |
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 More FiberPremium,MVM
join:2005-09-26
West Chester, PA
kudos:18 | reply to CrobertGauth
said by CrobertGauth:As we have never heard the business terms of the .tv carriage An article (from multichannelnews, IIRC), which has been linked in this forum multiple times states that VZ pays Byron Allen to carry those channels, which is outrageous considering the lack of HD QAM space.
--
There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.
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ksalper
join:2002-11-15
West Orange, NJ | reply to PirateJim
Note the first comment here, Twitter Jo(k)e saying the HD version is in the queue.
Guess we can expect the same for BBCA-HD and CN-HD. |
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| reply to PirateJim
.TV was basically affirmative action. I wouldn't care if the channels weren't so hideous.
As for Spanish channels, it's not about "ratings" so to speak. It's about the # of packages sold. I live in an area with many immigrants, and they usually all have dishes of some kind, because their Spanish packages are better. Verizon had mostly Spanish language feeds of US channels, but they didn't have the actual Spanish-only networks they are now looking to add to compete. Again, it's all for the bottom line, and in the NY-area, Spanish-only radio stations have huge ratings. Just saying.
I'm sorry to the Funimation viewers out there, but there just aren't that many, and isn't Japanese anime rampantly downloaded via torrents and bootlegs anyway? We are going to see more of this, because as the ESPN's and FOX's up their prices to Verizon, other channels will be sacrificed. |
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 NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX | reply to PirateJim
I had never heard of either. |
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| reply to aaronwt
Re: Funimation & Bridges TV to be removed said by aaronwt:said by Zero:This is a declaration of war to any and all anime fans on FiOS...
Funimation channel is the only 24/7 anime channel on FiOS and one that I regularly watch and DVR. This channel was a big plus for me when making the switch from Comcast to FiOS since Comcast didn't carry it (they still don't but they do have it on VOD at least). I'm not the only one in my family that watches it too.
I usually watch Funimation on a CableCARD tuner (same goes with most everything I watch) which may not be getting counted in their "very low viewership" numbers if they are getting those numbers from their STBs.
And I was hoping that they would add the HD channel for Funimation, not remove it. As it is they have been taking the HD feed and converting it to SD. So they remove Funimation and keep the .TV channels which I never watch. I hate watching SD but I actually watched the Funimation channel. Or at least watched some shows and realized I liked them so I would get them on BD or watch from HD streaming on Netflix. If they would have added the HD channel I would have had no problem paying a few dollars extra each month to add it to my Ultimate HD tier. I certainly watched the Funimation channel, many more times as often as any of the ESPN channels. Now those are the channels I really wish I could drop and save the money. Ditto could not have said it better myself. I can't believe they are dropping this channel. Bastards!
Laters,
Jeff |
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