Craig Birkmaier wrote: > Could this be an indication that the way people > consume television programming is changing? > > I don't need TV guide because I have an EPG built > into my cable STB, as do more than half of the > homes in the United States (i.e. the total of > digital cable and DBS subscribers). Yes, I thought of that. It's possible, although I would think that if half the TV Guide subscribers still used the specific channel info, that will be a lot of subscribers as annoyed (and incredulous) as I was. We'll have to see how fast the cancellation requests come pouring in. > Local TV listings can be obtained in MANY ways > today. I can say without reservation that TV Guide, the old format, was the easiest source of programming data to use. I've used the other options over the years as well, when for some reason I didn't have TV Guide. And that certainly includes the on-line sites. They're never quite as clear or useful or convenient. > Could it be that we are in the midst of a > transition in TV from surfing to REAL searching, We are at the start of a transition, which hopefully will make these other sources unnecessary. That has nothing to do with the here and now, however. I'd say there still is at least as much demand for complete broadcaster program listings as there is for another fluff-only magazine. Time will tell. Yes, hopefully in the near future, recording devices will incoporate PSIP or other EPGs in a way to make all external sources obsolete. And without having to commit to just one proprietary source unless you really want to. Bert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.