TV shows on Studio CX
Oct 19, 2014, 7:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX Marco Polo Club, Virgin Flying Club
Posts: 91
TV shows on Studio CX
I tend to watch TV shows on flights (rather than movies), and there was a time when Cathay had a really good selection. These days they seem to be economizing by having only 2 or 3 episodes from a series (and also including very old shows). I prefer to watch shows in sequence, and that's now very difficult. Some months I might be on Dragonair planes with no TV, or I might have work to do, or I might even fly other airlines. And no chance to gorge on 7 or 8 episodes on a longer flight.
When they do advertise a "full series" there are sometimes episodes missing or out of order. I managed to watch series 2 of Veep and what they labelled as episode 3 (or 4) was actually the final one of the series. With series 3 of BBC sitcom Rev they only had 5 of the 6 episodes!
Having said that, Virgin's offering is far worse. For almost every TV show, they only have a single episode.
Does anyone know if this is a cost-cutting exercise, or whether anyone complains about it?
When they do advertise a "full series" there are sometimes episodes missing or out of order. I managed to watch series 2 of Veep and what they labelled as episode 3 (or 4) was actually the final one of the series. With series 3 of BBC sitcom Rev they only had 5 of the 6 episodes!
Having said that, Virgin's offering is far worse. For almost every TV show, they only have a single episode.
Does anyone know if this is a cost-cutting exercise, or whether anyone complains about it?
Oct 19, 2014, 8:28 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
I tend to watch TV shows on flights (rather than movies), and there was a time when Cathay had a really good selection. These days they seem to be economizing by having only 2 or 3 episodes from a series (and also including very old shows). I prefer to watch shows in sequence, and that's now very difficult. Some months I might be on Dragonair planes with no TV, or I might have work to do, or I might even fly other airlines. And no chance to gorge on 7 or 8 episodes on a longer flight.
When they do advertise a "full series" there are sometimes episodes missing or out of order. I managed to watch series 2 of Veep and what they labelled as episode 3 (or 4) was actually the final one of the series. With series 3 of BBC sitcom Rev they only had 5 of the 6 episodes!
Having said that, Virgin's offering is far worse. For almost every TV show, they only have a single episode.
Does anyone know if this is a cost-cutting exercise, or whether anyone complains about it?
When they do advertise a "full series" there are sometimes episodes missing or out of order. I managed to watch series 2 of Veep and what they labelled as episode 3 (or 4) was actually the final one of the series. With series 3 of BBC sitcom Rev they only had 5 of the 6 episodes!
Having said that, Virgin's offering is far worse. For almost every TV show, they only have a single episode.
Does anyone know if this is a cost-cutting exercise, or whether anyone complains about it?
I find it just goes in cycles with what I like or not...it seems to me that inevitably some months are just better than others.
Also fyi, only 25-35% of the content is "refreshed" each monthly cycle, aka stuff tends to stay on for a few months in a row, so if you're flying multiple times each month, every month there is a bit of fatigue.
Oct 19, 2014, 6:00 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: San Francisco
Programs: QF Platinum, Former CX Diamond, TG Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Amex Platinum
Posts: 173
Never had a problem myself - perhaps it was a glitch in the system and/or human error. Write to MPO and tell them and I'm sure it will be fixed relatively quickly. Come to think of it, lately I've been thinking that CX/KA seem to be extending their library of full series. At least that's my impression.
Oct 19, 2014, 6:10 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
+1 for the full series working correctly.
At least that was my experience for long-haul international a few weeks ago. Watched the entire season of Big Bang. Other series were also on offer as described above.
At least that was my experience for long-haul international a few weeks ago. Watched the entire season of Big Bang. Other series were also on offer as described above.
Oct 19, 2014, 6:20 pm
#5
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Might just complain they took out some cd selections too...
Might just complain they took out some cd selections too...
Oct 19, 2014, 6:29 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
yea same here. i have no data to back it up, but they seem to have a lot of seasons lately and i think it's great they do that. one of the reasons StudioCX is probably one of the top 3 AVOD systems anywhere IMO.
Oct 19, 2014, 9:53 pm
#7
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Beijing, Paris, Edinburgh
Programs: Marco Polo Diamond, Flying Blue Platinum for Life, GHA Black, IHG Platinum
Posts: 450
This is my big complaint at the moment, the "greatest hits" CDs (I forget the actual name of the selection) have really been reduced recently.
Oct 20, 2014, 12:29 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX Diamond, BA Gold, *A Silver, Accor Diamond
Posts: 345
I'd agree that there are definitely episodes missing from various series that they show - The Newsroom and Blacklist being two I noticed recently. 1 episode missing from The Newsroom, 2 from Blacklist and they've also shown series where they never add the final episode (The first 5 of 6 shown of Political Animals but never the last one). That said, Amazon instant video solves the missing episode problem and I do usually manage to watch most of a series on Cathay so I can't really complain. But it's a good question - I don't know why some episodes get missed out and I'd never thought of asking!
Oct 21, 2014, 1:33 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 6,978
I saved all TV series at home on my digital box, so I know for a fact CX claims of "full seasons" are generally false. I don't know why that is the case and never asked, but CX does missed a few episodes. Maybe CX is also the victim depending on who their IFE providers are, and judging by anything IT related by CX tends to stink, I am not surprise by this.
Oct 22, 2014, 3:44 am
#10
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Melbourne
Programs: BA GO, CX SL
Posts: 53
I have found CX to have a brilliant selection of TV series. Watched the entire series of House of Cards and Brooklyn 99 on my most recent trip. Have noticed that their movie and music selection seems to be refreshed less frequently than previously. I am generally pleased with the offerings on CX.
Oct 23, 2014, 7:28 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX Marco Polo Club, Virgin Flying Club
Posts: 91
I hadn't noticed House of Cards. Must look for that next time I'm onboard.
CX does still have a good selection, and yes there are (ahem) other ways to watch TV shows.
One possible explanation is that English language comedy isn't popular in Hong Kong (there are very few such shows on TVB Pearl) and that's why Cathay aren't too bothered about offering such a good selection. Just a thought...
CX does still have a good selection, and yes there are (ahem) other ways to watch TV shows.
One possible explanation is that English language comedy isn't popular in Hong Kong (there are very few such shows on TVB Pearl) and that's why Cathay aren't too bothered about offering such a good selection. Just a thought...