Switching networks

I saw online that the NBC show Manifest is being picked up by Netflix for a fourth and final season. The show ended its first season in the top ten, with over 12 million viewers on average. Manifest has steadily dropped in the rating since then, finishing the most recent season in 54th place, averaging 5.34 million viewers. It was canceled by NBC in June 2021 after the conclusion of season three, but now it has new life.

This is simply the latest of a large number of TV shows that have switched networks over the years. The first one I remember doing this was Get Smart, which began on NBC, but switched to CBS for its fifth and what turned out to be final season.

I don't remember The Joey Bishop Show changing networks in the early 1960s, but it did. I never watched the show, so it didn't register. Leave it to Beaver had switched from CBS to ABC, but I only ever saw the CBS episodes first run. My Three Sons went from ABC to CBS when it went from black and white to color episodes. Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour -- many years before American Idol, America's Got Talent, and other shows like that -- jumped networks several times between 1948 and 1970, airing on Dumont, NBC, ABC, NBC (again), ABC (again), and finally CBS. Wagon Train ran on NBC from 1958-1962, when it jumped to ABC until it ended in 1965.

More recently, Matlock jumped from NBC to ABC over its time on the air. Mystery Science Theater 3000 switched from Comedy Central (formerly The Comedy Channel) to Sci-Fi (now SyFy), before being revived on Netflix. JAG began on NBC, then spent a decade on CBS. Taxi aired on ABC until its final season on NBC.

Many many other shows have switched networks over the years, some successfully, some not. Manifest is simply one of the latest. I watched and enjoyed the first season, but was extremely disappointed from the second season on. I don't know if the final season will be any good. I enjoyed the revival of MST3K, so moving to Netflix isn't a bad thing. Whether or not Manifest will be any good, I don't know.

I'm happy that fans of shows that are canceled have options. And, with streaming services such as Netflix now in the mix, more have that opportunity. Fans of Manifest will look forward to another season of the show in their Streaming Life. And that means possibilities for us all.

Fire TV Recast

credit: panbo.com

I've used a few different DVR systems over the years. I've used TiVo (cable and OTA), Simple.TV (cable), Tablo (OTA), and Air TV (OTA). I can now add Fire TV Recast to the list.

I've talked about all of these before, and my DVR of choice lately has been Tablo, followed by Air TV. But what about Fire TV Recast? Well, it's a good system, too. It has one drawback.

First, the cost of the Fire TV Recast system is not bad. It costs about the same as the high end Tablo or Air TV devices. And it's comparable to them.

Setup of Fire TV Recast is similar to that of Tablo or Air TV. You use the mobile app to set it up and scan your antenna channels, and then it just kinda works.

But here's where the limitation kicks in. Fire TV Recast is only for Fire TV devices. It won't work with Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, or any other smart TV system that isn't Fire TV. If you're all in with Amazon, and intend to stay that way, it works rather well. Otherwise, it's a waste of money, as there are other good options that work with the other platforms as well as with Fire TV, including Tablo and Air TV.

Let's say that Fire TV is your platform of choice. If so, once you set up Fire TV, the content just shows up on the main Fire TV page, under Live. There is the last channel you watch, displaying what's currently showing on that channel, as well as the Fire TV Recast program guide, called simply "Guide." Other live streaming channels you watched will show there too, but those two Fire TV Recast items will be in the mix, led by Guide.

The Guide itself is easy to use. It's a standard programming guide like all the DVRs and most cable systems have. You can see what's on, what's coming up, and record content if you wish. You can mange the channels, if you want to hide some.

Recording a show is easy, although I had to search to find the recordings. I found them under Library. That makes sense, but I would have liked to have seen a DVR listing under Live TV. However, since some apps and service include DVR functionality, I could see some people getting a crazy about their Sling TV or YouTube TV recordings not showing there. I won't argue with Amazon's decision to put the Fire TV Recast recordings under Library. Once I figured out where to find it, it wasn't really a problem.

All in all, it's a good DVR. The only issue I have is that it only works with Fire TV. To me, that's a killer insofar as it being my DVR of choice. But, if you are all in with Fire TV, it's a good option that integrates well with that system. It won't be the go-to DVR in my Streaming Life, but if you decide to make it yours, it's a good choice.

The Roku Channel

I've seen many sing the praises of The Roku Channel since the service first launched in 2017. I've not really bought into it, because nothing stood out to cause me to want to give it a try. Well, recently, I decided I would give it a try.

Well, I've given it a try. And I'll use it some, certainly more than I did, but I won't use it a lot.

The Roku Channel offers live streaming TV, which I can get from other sources. It also offers on-demand movies and TV shows for free (ad supported), which I can get from other sources. It also allows me to subscribe to premium services, which I do directly, because I hate Roku Pay. So, the three big features are all features I can get elsewhere.

Is that a reason to not use the service? No, actually. There are many different apps and services that offer similar content and features as other apps and services. Bringing nothing new to the table isn't a disqualifier in and of itself.  No, what does it for me is how it works; that is, the user experience.

I have a problem with autoplay content. The Roku Channel doesn't do it to the degree that Peacock TV does, but if there is a TV series, it automatically plays the next episode unless I manually intervene. There's no way to turn off Autoplay, or Play Next. I never want Play Next or Autoplay turn on. Never. So, forcing it on me is not a user friendly experience. And if the experience is not user friendly, I won't subject myself to it.

As I said, it's not as bad as other apps/services, such as Peacock TV. But, it does the Play Next thing, and that's a deal breaker for me.

If it offered the capability to turn that off, I would use the app/service more. Really. There is some good content on The Roku Channel, and I will use it on occasion, but not for TV shows. Live streaming? Sure. On-demand movies? Sure. TV Shows? No way, because I don't want Play Next.

Do I recommend The Roku Channel? Well, no I'm not going to recommend something that I don't like. But, I will say that if Play Next doesn't bother you, then there's no downside to The Roku Channel. It won't be a large part of my Streaming Life, but it will be a small part. So there's that.

College football season underway

The 2021 college football season starts this afternoon. I've already planned my streaming service to use for the teams I follow, but not everyone follows the same teams I follow. And, I may decide I want to watch other games. Saving money was the primary reason I dropped cable and started streaming, but I've also come to appreciate the flexibility I get from streaming. So, if I decide I want to watch something else, I want to be able to do that.

My teams aren't playing this weekend, but maybe your team is. Or maybe you just want to watch a game that's interesting. So, what do you do?

Looking at the schedule for today's games, there are a few things that I'd need to do if I wanted to watch everything -- or be able to watch everything.

There are four major divisions of college football: FBS (Division 1-A), FCS (Division 1-AA), Division II, Division III.

Division II/III

Let's get Division II and Division III out of the way first. This weekend, no games are scheduled for broadcast in those division. There are no Division III games, and only one Division II game, and it's not being broadcast.

FCS/1-AA

To watch all the FCS/1-AA games, you'll need ESPN, ESPN+, and CBS Sports Network.

ESPN+ is a $7 standalone service. Some people still think it includes the ESPN service. It does not. ESPN+ is an service that is best used as a supplement to ESPN, but you do not need to subscribe to ESPN in order to subscribe to ESPN+. It's totally separate. But, again, ESPN+ does not include standard ESPN service.

FBS/1-A

If you want to watch FBS/1-A games this weekend, you'll need ESPN, CBS Sports Network, and Fox. Some streaming services include Fox, but not all. If you have an antenna, you can subscribe to one of the cheaper services.

The Streaming Services

To watch games this weekend, you'll need some of these:

• ESPN
  • Sling Orange ($35)
  • Vidgo ($55)
  • Hulu+Live TV ($65)
  • YouTube TV ($65)
  • Fubo ($65)
  • DirecTV Stream, formerly AT&T TV ($76)
• ESPN+
  • Standalone subscription ($7)
• CBS Sports
  • Hulu+Live TV ($65)
  • YouTube TV ($65)
  • Fubo ($65)
  • DirecTV Stream, formerly AT&T TV ($76)
• Fox
  • Antenna (free)
  • Hulu+Live TV ($65)
  • YouTube TV ($65)
  • Fubo ($65)
  • DirecTV Stream, formerly AT&T TV ($76)

So, depending on what you want to watch, those are ways to watch college football this weekend. I'm ready for my games. Are you ready for yours? If not, get to planning, so your Streaming Life isn't missing the games you want to watch.