Jan 4 2008 08:04 PM ET

You can only have five cable channels. Go!

Logos_lSo I’m reading this piece on HollywoodReporter.com about how Disney Channel edged out USA for the title of 2007′s top-ranked cable network by roughly 15,000 High School Musical fans viewers. I get to the lists of the Top 10 cable nets in total viewers (in order: Disney, USA, TNT, ESPN, TBS, Lifetime, Fox News Channel, A&E, Cartoon Network, and Nick at Nite) and in the 18-49 demo during prime time (USA, TBS, TNT, ESPN, FX, Discovery, Spike TV, A&E, Comedy Central, and MTV). Because I like to torture myself, I suddenly think: What if I could only have five cable channels. Which ones would I choose? After much "I’ll never see another Rocky marathon on Spike? Another ABC Family original?" whining on IM to Slezak*, I came up with the following:
• Bravo: I need Project Runway.
• USA: New episodes of Psych and Monk start Jan. 11, so that’s good. I also get Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: SVU repeats — score.
• TBS: Saturday mornings just wouldn’t be the same without Movie and a Makeover, especially when Ghost (Jan. 5) and Housesitter (Jan. 12) are on this month’s schedule.
• VERSUS: I can get NASCAR and some college football on the broadcast networks, so the only other sport I truly need is the PBR (Professional Bull Riders).
• Discovery: If I hadn’t made that stupid New Year’s Resolution, this would read Comedy Central. I guess I’d finally have to make friends with my neighbors so that I could visit them every night at 11. And when there’s a new episode of Reno 911! (Jan. 16!) and South Park.

Your turn. Name your networks, and be sure to include how long you debated. Me? On-and-off for an hour.

*Slezak’s picks: TVG (Television Games Network, his "horse racing channel’), HGTV, Food Network, HBO, and Bravo. He’ll get BBC World News on PBS and visit someone with TNT for holiday Law & Order marathons.

Comments (165 total) Add your comment
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  • Heather

    SPEED (debated 0 seconds: I need my motorsports), TNT (2 seconds), ESPN (5 seconds), BRAVO (5 seconds), VH1 (2 minutes)

  • Andie

    Bravo
    HBO
    TBS
    Showtime
    Comedy Central

  • Ryan

    Bravo
    HBO
    Showtime
    F/X
    Comedy Central

  • Amber

    This only took me about ten seconds:
    I have to have HGTV, Food Network, Comedy Central, VH1, and E!

  • Cece

    MTV (Hills, can’t live without them), TV1 (I need my Martin/Good Times marathons), Comedy Central (can’t get enough of that South Park stuff), Bravo (two words: Project Runway) and FX (McNamara/Troy is my guiltiest pleasure of all)

  • Cece

    Oooh, if I could add on, I’d include Soap Central (I need to catch up while I’m at work)

  • Kate

    Food Network (right off the bat)
    USA (for more Law and Order SVU)
    E! (for Talk Soup)
    Style (for How Do I Look?)
    TV Land (cause they have Three’s Company)

  • Jake

    ESPN
    YES
    Turner Classic Movies
    Discovery
    IFC

  • Laurie

    Comedy Central, TCM, USA, TNT, and FX, I guess, for Damages. If Bravo would bring back reruns of West Wing, I’d go with that, but Project Runway is not enough. My instant choice was TCM because I am a geek. It is the class of the field.

  • janine

    VH1
    BBC America
    Cartoon Network
    USA
    MTV2

  • Angela

    TNT
    Bravo
    USA
    Comedy Central
    VH1

  • Rahul

    HBO – too many good shows to name
    F/X – I have a huge list of “what I don’t like about (my)self”
    ESPN – SportsCenter
    Sci-Fi – Battlestar Galatica
    TNT – Who doesn’t love watching the same movie 3 times in 1 weekend?
    done in 5 mins

  • EMB

    TNT for The Closer
    TBS for My Boys
    USA for Monk, Psych (RIP 4400/Dead Zone) plus the endless L&O reruns (that applies to TNT too)
    Bravo for their Top ____ reality programs and Project Runway
    ABC Fam for cheesy TV movies

  • Susan

    ALN (MTM, Nehart, WKRP, Lou Grant, Trapper John)
    AMC (Mad Men)
    E! (Guilty Pleasure)
    HBO
    Showtime

  • Susan

    Oohhh…I must edit.
    Add TCM
    Subtract E!

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