• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 9, 2016

If you are a pharmacist, chances are you aren’t buying brand-name aspirin.You are going with the generic, white-label stuff because, for many, aspirin is essentially aspirin. A professor of economics at University of Chicago came up with that conclusion.

Just wonder how those pharmacists -- and other like-minded people -- might think about TV. Perhaps a good TV drama is like other good TV dramas. Maybe a reality show is just a reality show.

There are different approaches to consuming TV. My father, for example, is on the fringe, watching TV in perhaps the strangest way, almost like pharmacists think about aspirin.

He turns it on and starts watching, without waiting for any program to start. Flipping around with his remote, he might find an action-oriented movie, and starts watching -- even if the first 30 minutes of the two-hour film has gone by.

And then there is this: My father has has never recorded a TV show with any DVR technology. His old DirecTV service didn’t include a DVR. His current service has it, since DVR technology is now being incorporating into virtually all set-top boxes. But he doesn’t use it.

What my father needs is a white-label TV network/programmer -- maybe one labeled “movie” or “comedy” or “action-adventure TV," with a tag that says “This ‘movie’ channel contains similar ingredients to NBC or HBO.”

Why go in this direction? TV networks still have some brand-name value, and it seems we pay more for this. For others, networks just seem to offer different combinations of drama, reality, comedy, news and sports.

Can my father name the networks for the TV programs he is watching? Nope. (He can’t even name the TV show!)

And maybe this isn’t just for old people. My wife consistently has trouble identifying what network “Modern Family” runs on -- and other shows.

Perhaps your white-label network is called something like Netflix, Hulu, or perhaps that set-top box you got from Comcast. The former should be saving you some money -- especially if you are a new-wave TV consumer who has cut or shaved the cord.

Got a TV headache yet? Take an aspirin; any aspirin. It might go away.