(I searched and could not find a simular thread. If I have overlooked please just link this one to it.)
Wouldn't it be nice if our sims could have more TV and radio channels to choose from?
You know, like The History Channel or ID Investigation Discovery, and some rock and country radio stations for the radio.
If there is a S4, I wonder if more will be added.
What do you guys think?

There is no use for a History Channel in the sims, there is no history skill. Besides sims don't even have a proper memory. But, I think it would be nice if celebrity sims will ocassionally appear on TV. Or maybe there could be home schooling classes broadcasted on TV and radio.

Why does there have to be a use or need for it? Does your Natural Cook watch only the Cooking Channel? Mine watches the Romantic channel and has no Romantic traits. Just something different.

I agree, I'd like to have more non-skill TV channels just to simulate my Sims having different interests. And they could even add a few skill stations, like a DIY type channel for handiness skill.

KidZ Zone
Romantic Rendezvous
Sports Universe
Action World
Terror TV
Cookin' Cable
Got Garden
Fishing Fracas
Halls of History
Super Shopping Network

Those pretty much covers the basics for cable but would like to see a Science, Learning and maybe a CSI type channels to round things out.

EDIT: Agee a DIY channel would be cool.

Chinese
Classical
Country
Egyptian
Electronica
French
Indie
Kids
Latin
Hip Hop
R&B
Rockabilly
Roots
Songwriter
Soul
Pop

Also covers just about all the bases for radio. You can also add songs to the Custom folder to play in game.

Thing is you have to have the TV or EP that gives you the options so it would be nice to have it all in the Base Game.

Romantic channel gives romantic moodlets. History channel on the other hand would be completely redundant. Sure EA could code it in, but why would they?

I see it as "why wouldn't they?".
History Channel was just an example. I watch it for pleasure not to learn from it, although I learn something anyway. Romantic channel only raises the fun bar, he/she recieves no moodlets from it.

For me, TV channels are not just about skilling or moodlets, but about who my Sims are as people. Just like with different non-skill books you can read, I like for my of my Sims to prefer Mystery and some to prefer Sci-fi, even though there's no 'real' difference to the Sim.
Or, like their clothes and hair, if you really believe that the only thing that matters is how a Sim might benefit from things from a gameplay perspective, you could have just one outfit and hairstyle, since the Sims don't care what they are wearing or get any benefit from having different clothing choices. That's for the player, to help create the Sim's character. And for me, TV choices and book genre choices, as well as furniture and hair and clothes choices, make up part of my Sims' characters.

There is a tutorial on how to do this with mods, but it appears to be outdated. Maybe someone will make an updated version one day.
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=396117

However, the notice says:

It's quite possible that someone who is experienced with S3PE could be able to figure out the method to use in the newest version. It says a newer version is in the works, but I'm unable to find the newer version and that version is the one still linked to from the wiki.

My point exactly, in different words.

Any other channel that just raises the fun bar is redundant. It's like the different kinds of coffee that do nothing and don't even have a different mug. It doesn't influence gameplay in any way, it just gives the false impression that there's a lot of things to do in game.

For story purposes, more channels would have more of a point. That way you can really emphasize a Sim's personality for the story.

For just gameplay purposes, though, there's not really a point unless it adds a skilling emphasis. Or, for example, you can get a slight job performance increase in the law enforcement career if you watch the Investigation Discovery channel, or something like that.

I would maybe like a news channel. I'm happy with the channels we currently have but maybe they could tie a news one in so that it functions like the gossip interaction or reading the newspaper - maybe even tie it in with Seasons/Supernatural and have a weather/moon phase forecast, that would be nice.

I agree with some of you to an extent. Thing is, one that I honestly wish would come back is the interests like we had in TS2 Freetime. I'm not given to demand a lot of things from the previous games but I do miss that feature.

Pretty sure there are custom TV channel mods out there... try WCIF.