June 6, 2007

(South Carolina) - We have been duped by CBS.

I am a faithful believer in the power of the internet - witness this online news source. We get over a million hits per month - that works out to about 16,000 to 17,000 different readers every day (most of you check out the web site twice a day). That's a lot of people for a South Carolina ONLY web site.

Every once in awhile, during hurricanes and ice storms and such, we get 16,000 to 17,000 hits per HOUR to check out our free, up-to-date, animated weather maps and any bulletins from the news crawl above the editorial section.

The point is that we are PREPARED to host as many viewers as show up. And it's free.

Unfortunately, nobody told CBS that you have to keep your word when you sell internet access to an event or a season.

CBS owns CSTV which hosts tens of sports events every day on cable and satellite TV, and, as an afterthought, on the internet on something called "all-access TV." It's an ironic misnomer, if you ask me.

The service is perpetually being interrupted, freezing the video and making the viewer wait for a small eternity while the band width catches up to the number of viewers tuning in to watch.

Before I complained, officially, I wanted to be sure that it wasn't my computer or in-house local area network, so we had it checked WHILE the "all-access TV" game was running. It stalled and time out and everything else that goes along with bad internet site management. And it WASN'T my computer. The best guess our independent consultant could make was small bandwidth from CBS - "maybe they didn't alot enough.." quoth he. He said the the ability to increase service is called "scalable bandwidth." He said it was obvious "all-access TV" wasn't scalable.

It cost me $19.95 to get a season of my favorite team - video - on the internet. It was no bargain. I have yet to be able to watch an entire game because CBS's bandwidth doesn't allow more than a certain number of people on at a certain time (as opposed to, say, FOXNEWS.COM, which never seizes or crashes.)

But guess what? There is no way to complain! There is no phone number or direct email address for "all-access TV." CSTV is about as helpful as your local cable company. And CBS? Have you watched their nightly news lately? You think these guys are going to care what anyone says.. well anyone not wearing a turban or spouting Marx.

What do I want you to do about it? Nothing, unless you enjoy wasting money on empty promises.

all-access TV indeed!

- Dick Anderson