The Low End of the Food Chain

"Circumstance has forced my hand to be a cut-priced person in a low-budget land." From "Low Budget" by The Kinks.

By today's standards, I am considered a failure in some sectors. Never made the big time. In writing, you're on the Best Seller list, or you're selling screenplays, or you're on the dole. It's not show show, it's show biz. There's very little in the middle. Newspapers and magazines are folding. Computers can write copy, too. The ink-stained wretch has gone the way of the horse and buggy. Even if you get a gig, the pay can't feed a family for all the time and effort expended. It can't even feed a single person.

It's always amazed me how some outstanding artists can be so prolific at a young age. I'm not including childhood actors, because they're often one-trick ponies. A flash in the pan for sweet sixteens and pubescents. Some chart topping bands from the 1960's, bands I still listen to, had teenage frontmen. Alex Chilton was sixteen when he sang "The Letter" with The Boxtops back in '67. Number one song internationally that year. Nothing like Blue-eyed Soul. Want to feel really old, just think of the Alex Chilton revival in the late 80's when The Replacements wrote "Alex Chilton" for their album Pleased to Meet Me. That was over 30 years ago.

The list goes on. Tommy James of Tommy James and the Shondells fame was a teenager when "Hanky Panky" hit the top of the charts in 1966. Stevie Winwood was fourteen when he joined the Spencer Davis Group. He had a long and illustrious career: Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic, not to mention his solo act in the early 80's. It's not just music, either. Tiger Woods was a scratch golfer in junior high school. Lebron James could probably do a 360 Tomahawk Dunk in elementary school. Bryce Harper was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at sixteen. I'm sixty years old and still grinding. You make the bed you lie in.

In our current society, you're either a technology native, or a technology immigrant. Because of my age, I wasn't born into the digital world, so by default, I'm a technology immigrant. I remember those computer courses in high school and college where you used punch cards with IBM "Big Iron" computers. I hated every minute of it. We've come a long way in programming to the point where coding will be obsolete in twenty years. Artificial Intelligence will do the work for you. You can even ascertain the speed of technological innovation in our television viewing habits. It's coming on quickly and enables end users to pinch pennies.

I had a stroke of good fortune three years go when my father and I visited my uncle in Westchester County. My father has passed away since then, but my uncle is still going strong. He had an extra Roku streaming box, one that my cousin had given him, and he gave it to us to take home. I'm not a Luddite, but I was apprehensive about taking it. Primarily because when it comes to home entertainment systems, they tend to be a pain in the ass to set up. As it turned out, the installation was easy, and my father and I began streaming Red Sox games on MLB.TV the next season. My father was ecstatic. Not only did he save over $100 a year with the single team streaming option (We subscribed to the Extra Innings package from the cable company beforehand.), but he also had the option to exclusively watch the Boston broadcast team from NESN (New England Sports Network).

Fast-forward three years, and I'm doing some belt-tightening. The iPhone was easy. Dump AT&T and move to Cricket. Cricket is a subsidiary of AT&T and they use the same network, but at half the price. The cable bill was enormous. Three hundred channels, most of which I didn't watch. Although we're in the second golden age of television, The Minutemen got it right with their tune, "There Ain't Shit on TV Tonight". I had to do something. My checking account was on life support. Enter Roku stage right with a cable cutting bundle: Spectrum TV Choice, my cable company's a la carte streaming offering. They give you all the local broadcast channels and PBS, plus you select ten cable networks out of 65 possibilities. I slashed my bill in half.

I'm elated with Spectrum TV Choice. The only drawback is they don't broadcast the regional sports networks. MSG, SNY and YES (which carries the Yankees), are unavailable. Bummer. I enjoy watching Red Sox/Yankees battles, but since most of the rivalry is carried on national networks such as ESPN and TBS, I only miss about four games a year. That's doable. I receive all the major news channels but opted out of Fox News. That's like subscribing to state run television in Russia. If I can avoid it, I want to minimize my contribution to the Murdoch Family Empire.

What I don't understand is why Apple hasn't bought Roku yet. Apple is primarily a hardware company and already offers a streaming box in Apple TV. It's barely making a dent in the sector. Roku is the industry leader and commands about 40% market share with a durable competitive advantage. They recently went public, and the stock has gained approximately 500% since the IPO (Initial Public Offering). Although it may appear that Apple missed the boat, they can still afford it. They've got more than Fort Knox in their coffers. I believe it would be a nice tuck-in for them.