Amazon Prime price increase

If you're an Amazon Prime member -- and I've been one for years and years -- there's a price increase coming. The current price of $119 will become $139 come February 18 for new customers, or March 25 for those renewing.

As I've said, I've had an Amazon Prime membership for a long long time. I was a Prime member before there was a thing called Prime Video. I was a Prime member when Unbox was introduced. Unbox became Instant Video on Demand, and is now called Prime Video. That's how long I've been a member.

I think (I really should check to be sure) it was originally $79/year. It went up to $99/year, then to $119/year. Now, the next price increase is coming and again, it's another $20/year increase.

Amazon last hiked the price of Prime in 2018, when it increased to $119 from $99. Four years before that, it raised the subscription fee to $99 from $79.

Amazon’s annual increase amounts to about a 17% rise in price. Amazon also raised the monthly price of a Prime membership from $12.99 to $14.99, the company said. New members will see the increased prices on Feb. 18, and current members will be billed at the higher rate after March 25.

Well, there you go. It was $79 to start with. It's not quite doubled since it's original launch, but it is giving me some pause.

When it started, there was no video service. We went with it because we calculated that the cost would be justified by the shipping benefits. Now, at $60/year more than it first cost, I have to wonder if it is worthwhile.

I suppose if you figure the video services into it, it is worth it. But we didn't subscribe for video services, and have always considered that a bonus. No longer. It's now figuring into my calculations, because I'm not sure we'd get $140 worth of benefits over a year from the shipping. Heck, I'm not really sure we're getting $120 worth, the current cost.

So, now Prime Video moves from a bonus to something I'm actually paying for. It's still cheaper than Netflix (the middle and higher package). I'm not a fan of the interface still. It's better. Or maybe I'm just more used to it. I've never liked the interface. But the amount of content is really good, and as a streaming service, it's probably worth it.

I'll be keeping Prime Video in my Streaming Life. I just don't like having to pay more for it. Such is life, even a streaming one.

NBC Regional Sports Networks planning Direct To Consumer service

One of the issue for sports fans -- and if you're a sports fan, you already know this -- is accessing regional sports networks when streaming. Cable systems offer the regional sports networks with their plans, but those are for everyone, not just sports fans. If you don't care about sports, you are paying for something you don't care about. But if you are a sports fan, and your favorite teams are only, or often, or even occasionally, carried on a regional sports network, then you appreciate them.

I bring this up because NBC Regional Sports Networks, specifically Bay Area, California, Chicago, Washington, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, are only available on DirecTV. Well, most of them. NBC Sports Philadelphia isn't available, but the others are, both satellite and streaming (DirecTV Stream).

The DirecTV Stream package that includes the RSNs is $90 and up. That may be a good deal, depending on what you've been paying for cable, but it's a bit more than I want to pay. Since I don't live in one of the areas served by NBC RSNs, it's not an issue for me. But for people that do live there, it matters.

This is where a recent announcement from NBC comes into play. NBC intended to announce that Valari Dobson Staab had a new position with the company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

NBCUniversal has tapped Valari Dobson Staab to be chairman of NBCUniversal Local, a division that includes the NBC owned-and-operated local stations, the Telemundo-owned stations, and the NBC regional sports networks.

Staab has overseen NBC’s local stations since 2011, and Telemundo’s stations since 2013. She reports to Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal television and streaming.

After an initial flurry of reports that NBC was launching a direct to consumer (DTC) service for RSNs, those hopes were tempered when NBC issued a clarification, according to Forbes.

However, management tried to walk back the DTC news. In a statement released the following day, a spokesperson for NBCUniversal said,  “In a personnel-related announcement issued by NBCUniversal Local on Jan. 31, a reference to the NBC Regional Networks’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) plans was inadvertently included and was misleading,” the spokesperson said.

“At this stage in the process, our DTC strategy is evolving as we assess options in each of the unique sports markets we serve. At this time, we don’t have any further details about launch plans including timing or markets. More information will be announced when available,” said the NBCU spokesperson. 

So it sounds like they said released information that wasn't cleared for release regarding RSNs. That doesn't mean they aren't going to. Most outlets think they probably will. However, I think they aren't ready to announce anything because they haven't come up with enough of a plan to be able to answer the inevitable questions. Now the questions will be coming anyway.

I like the idea of NBC Sports launching a direct to consumer sports service. I wish ESPN (Disney) would do that. Sinclair, who owns Bally RSNs, will be doing it ... sometime. If they do, that will be mean better streaming options for consumers. If I want an RSN package, I can get it. If I don't, I won't.

The plan, whatever Sinclair/Bally, ESPN/Disney (if...), or NBC devise, won't be perfect. Nothing ever is. But it will at least be an option, which we don't have today. More options in my Streaming Life is what I want. I just wish it was sooner rather than later.

USFL memories

As we close in on the end of the 2021 NFL season, with Super Bowl 56 scheduled for February 13th, I'm taking a moment to mention that another pro football league is starting up in April. The USFL kicks off on April 16th, with a game that will be simulcast on Fox and NBC.

The Saturday night, primetime game between the New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions will be played at Protective Stadium in Birmingham starting at 7:30pm ET. NBC Sports will produce pregame, halftime and postgame shows; Fox Sports will handle the game coverage. The same commercials will run across both networks. Fox and NBC each have multiyear deals with the USFL, with NBC carrying 22 games this year (nine on NBC, nine on USA, four on Peacock) and Fox also carrying 22 (14 on Fox, eight on FS1).

This isn't the same USFL that operated in the 1980s, although the logo is very similar and many of the team names are the same. This USFL is playing all of its games in Birmingham, AL with some games at Protective Stadium and some games at Legion Field. Well, at least during the 2022 season.

I am interested in the new league. However, I wonder how much it is because of the original USFL. I was very interested in that league, and there's a story behind that. I did attend some USFL games in Jacksonville, after the Bulls joined the league. One game I attended featured two Heisman Trophy winners. The New Jersey Generals, with Herschel Walker in the backfield, beat the Bulls, with Mike Rozier at running back, when Bulls kicker Danny Miller's 41-yard field goal was called no good.

The field goal attempt looked good to me. It looked good to the other 73,226 people there. It looked good to the ABC announcers on TV. It even looked good to the official under the left upright. But it looked wide to the official under the right upright, and it was his call to make. So, since there was no instant replay under the rules, the Bulls lost the game.

Can you tell it meant something to me? It did. I enjoyed watching Herschel Walker play, after having seen him play at Georgia in college. Of course, he was on the visiting team, and I was cheering for the home team. Still, I enjoyed watching the Bulls play. I was disappointed when the USFL ceased operations.

This new league simply has a lot of the same names, nothing more. But, I'll give it a shot. I can watch Fox and NBC with an antenna, FS1 and USA with Sling TV Blue, and Peacock because I have a subscription (actually, it's included with Xfinity Internet service). If I like what I see, it may be a part of my Streaming Life for three months this spring and summer.

Am I really a fan of TV?

I saw a video the other day that mentioned a TV show that is considered by some to be one of the best shows ever. And I thought to myself, I thought, "Self, you know I've never seen an episode of that. Huh."

That was pretty much my reaction at the time, but it got me to thinking. How many classic TV shows have you never watched? Or maybe did watch but didn't like? So, I was curious. So I did some research. So I found out there were several shows that I've never watched, and others that I had seen but didn't care to watch.

Then I thought to myself, I thought, "Self, does this mean I'm not really a fan of TV?" Then I decided to start typing and see if I could come to an answer. This is me typing.

How do I pick the list of any so-called "top TV shows of all time?" Well, there are many ways this can be determined. TV Guide is a pretty good guide to this. A few years ago, they did an article called TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time. Here are some of the shows listed that I never watched.

No. 1: The Sopranos. I've never seen an episode. It was on HBO, and I didn't subscribe to HBO.

No. 2: Seinfeld. I've never seen an episode. I know it aired on NBC. Or ABC. Let me check. NBC. I don't even know what night it aired. Let me check. Wednesday or Thursday, from the looks of it. I don't know why I never watched it. Maybe I watched something on the other networks. Let's see. Oh, that's a lot of years. So we have Jake and the Fatman? No, that wasn't it. Home Improvement? Okay, that makes sense. In Living Color? Okay. Chicago Hope? Nope. The Commish? No. Rescue 911? No. Murder One? Diagnosis Murder? No and no. So, sometimes I watched other stuff and sometimes I watched nothing.

No. 6: The Wire. I've heard it's good, but again, never saw an episode. Probably because it was on HBO, and I didn't pay for HBO.

No. 18: Saturday Night Live. I watched in the early years, but haven't watched it since Norm Macdonald was fired. Well, I watched when he hosted it a year or so after being fired. But SNL has really not been something I cared to watch in the last couple of decades.

No. 19: Oprah Winfrey.

No. 21: Mad Men. Another NBC show? No, this was AMC. I had cable when it started, but never watched it for some reason. I've heard it's good.

No. 26: The Cosby Show. I saw a few episodes, and liked what I saw, but work or something often interfered, so I never watched it that much.

No. 28: Friends. Another NBC show? Yes, but again, never watched a single episode. I've heard it was good, but I never really had an interest in it.

No. 29: ER. Never watched it. I had to look up which network it was on. Medical dramas never really appealed to me. Well, except St. Elsewhere, which is No. 51 on the TV Guide list.

No. 30: Sesame Street. I was too old to watch it when it debuted. I'm not sure why my children and I never watched it, other than it aired during the day and I worked. Thinking about it, I did manage to watch a few episodes, but this was more of a work interference rather than a lack of interest.

I'll stop at the top 30. And of those, I've never seen a single episode of seven of them, and three more that I rarely ever watched.

So, does this mean I'm not a fan of TV? Not at all. It just means that I don't watch everything. Of the top 30, I regularly watched two out of three shows. And as it was once said, two out of three ain't bad. So yeah, I'm a fan of TV. Maybe not the same TV you like, but I wonder if you regularly watched 2/3 of the top 30 shows. Check out the list and see.

Of course, it really doesn't matter, does it? TV offers a lot of content that appeals to a lot of different people. The important thing is that you be able to watch the shows you want. I stream. You do too. Well, probably, since you're on a streaming tips and opinion Website. I like having the ability to watch the shows I want to watch, whether current shows, or classic shows that I want to watch again. Streaming lets me do that. And I really like having classic TV shows in my Streaming Life.

New Roku Channel channels

The Roku Channel is Roku's free streaming service containing ad-supported live and on-demand content, as well as premium (subscription) content. It has a lot of stuff.

Keep in mind, we're talking about The Roku Channel, not the Roku platform itself. Having the Roku Channel is NOT the same as having a Roku device. If you don't understand the difference between Roku and The Roku Channel, just understand that there is a difference.

The Roku Channel, Roku's free live streaming service, has recently added some live streaming channels to the Live TV lineup. You can tell what most of them are just by the names of the channels.

• Movie Favorites by Lifetime (386) Exactly what it says. Movies from Lifetime network. Not the same as Lifetime Movie Network, but similar. And free.
• Vevo 2K (1181) The 2K part means music videos from the 2000s, not the streaming resolution.
• Vevo '80s (1187) Music videos from the 1980s.
• Vevo Reggaeton & Trap (1148) Music videos from those similar styles of music.
• Classic Doctor Who (757) Episodes from 1963-1989, featuring the First through Seventh Doctors.
• Antiques Roadshow UK (463) A live stream of content from the British TV series.
• BBC Food (446) Not the old BBC channel that was replaced by BBC Lifestyle, but a streaming only service of BBC content focusing on food. So similar, but not exactly the same.
• iHeart80s (1188) Note that these songs are audio not video.
• The Country Network (1176) Music videos.
• LiveNOW from Fox (120) Raw feeds of live events and breaking news by Fox News.

If you're looking for live streaming content, The Roku Channel continues to offer more and more selections. Not everything is for everybody, but it's likely you'll find something on The Roku Channel for you. If not from these newly added channels, them from the hundreds already on the service. It would be a good addition to your Streaming Life.