I’m calling this a bug because I would like it to get attention, and my opinion is that the change that has been introduced is fairly problematic.
In the new beta release 4.0.4, the first detail screen that is displayed when a show is selected from the Progress List, is not very satisfactory in my opinion. I think the old display is better, and now I have to press the tiny, dim (it took me a long time to see it) link icon beside the show title to get there. This is just an unnecessary extra step. If you want to keep the new initial screen, then you should either change the Watch on display to include, as the first entry, the network where the show is actually broadcasted, or at lease include the broadcast network name somewhere on the page. An extreme example is that the display for “The Blacklist” shows Netflix as the first Watch on entry, and there is no mention of NBC, where the show originates. In fact, Netflix does include the show but not any of the current season episodes. Since this display is about the recent unwatched episodes, this display seems more like a promotion of a streaming service than providing the information that would be most useful. It is fine if Netflix is listed first for Netflix originals, but not for shows like this. Included below is another sample for the show “9-1-1 Lonestar” This entry lists Disney+, Amazon Video and Google Play but has no mention of Fox, where the show originates. Please correct this or return to the old initial display.
I don’t understand your concern or what is the exact issue here. Is this an error on the page or is something from your objective not lovely to use?
The watch on are the streaming providers (not production networks) we currently have. Most users want to have those fields instead of opening the dialog (like before).
We don’t have broadcast information. Only where you can watch it and which company has produced the TV show.
Thanks for your quick response, Chris. I would never complain about your presentation. i find your displays, graphics, etc. far better than those of any other competing product I have seen. It’s just that very often it is more useful to know what network broadcasts a show than what streaming services offer it. Often we’ll want to know where we can watch a show live or record it for later viewing. Many of the services listed have an extra cost, of course, but more importantly, sometime they don’t offer the most recent episodes of a show or there is an additional charge for watching. I’ll use the example of "The Blacklist’ again. The first two services listed are Netflix and Amazon Video. Netflix does not offer the current season of the show. I’ve included a Netflix screen below showing that only episodes through season 9 are available.
And Amazon Video only offers the recent episodes for sale, not for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Anyway this is just one example of why it is very useful to know the broadcast network. You do have access to the broadcast network. You display it on the About screen for the show listing. Here is part of the About listing for “The Blacklist”.
So you know the show is broadcasted on NBC. I just want to see that information on the top screen for the Progress List entry display. I can drill down to it, of course, but it would be much more convenient to see it on the first screen. I don’t care if it’s included on the line with other services or on a separate line, as on the About display, but I would really like to see it somewhere on the first screen displayed when I select a Progress List entry.
The network on the progress item is visible for upcoming episodes (and all others are watched). I am quite unsure where I can add the network without overloading the entire item.
I would really like to see the originating network always included among the listed Watch on entries. In fact, I think the originating source should be listed first. It might be CBS, FOX, NBC, CW, ABC, BBC, ITV, Netflix, Amazon Video, Paramount+, Disney+, etc.
Since the item is called “Watch on”, I think that makes sense.
