Television offers greater variety of choices

Ever since Netflix introduced its online streaming feature in 2007, viewers have debated whether traditional TV is still worth watching.

For my part, I won't be canceling my DirecTV service any time soon.

Despite the fact that TV has commercials and fewer choices in episodes for certain shows, the ability to record shows makes TV worth paying for.

Although Netflix does have all the episodes of shows like “Arrested Development,” “Lost” and “24” on demand, its offerings are relatively small. For instance, Netflix lacks popular shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Game of Thrones” and “Family Guy.”

There are many great shows on Netflix like “Mad Men,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Chuck” and “Sons of Anarchy”; however, it will never be able to include all the shows aired on television. One of the perks of TV is that you can record all of your favorite series, even the ones that are not available on streaming sites like Netflix or Hulu Plus.

Aside from variety, another benefit in watching TV is the ability to watch the newest episodes of favorite shows. Netflix shows every season except the current season for shows that are still on the air, which is great for people who are starting new shows but not for content-starved fans.

For example, many students this summer used Netflix online streaming to catch up on the show “Breaking Bad.” However, when the final season of the show resumed, people had to watch it on TV because the new episodes were not yet online.

Also lacking from Netflix is anything resembling sports. To be able to watch the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, golf, tennis or whatever, there is no alternative to television.

At the end of the day, Netflix online streaming, Hulu Plus and other websites are all phenomenal in what they offer: lots of episodes for a few shows. If these online streaming websites were to add an even wider variety of choices, and put every single episode on demand, cobwebs might start growing on my satellite receiver.