Companies want shoppers to think of them first—just not too deeply. If consumers start dissecting the brands synonymous with electronics, some of them are just weird.
The transition to high-definition television really picked up steam this fall as ABC, CBS, NBC, and the WB filled their 2003-04 prime-time schedules with more hours of HDTV programming than ever before. During an entire week, these networks are offering some 70 hours of HDTV.
Arguably the leading premium channel for movies and original series, HBO adds $23.24 to my monthly cable bill. I get six HBO channels, though they mostly repeat the same shows ad nauseam. Linear redundancy has been a waste of cable bandwidth since the DVR landed, but it’s become even more outmoded in the age of high-def broadband and on-demand viewing.
Refusing to pony up for unbreakable packages to get the few programs they’d watch, younger viewers have been cutting the cord on cable TV...