Posted on 11/29/2005 11:20:05 AM PST by april15Bendovr
A la carte pricing urged for cable TV Nov. 29, 2005 at 1:59PM Federal regulators are calling on the cable TV industry to let viewers pay for only the channels they want to watch.
Currently, viewers' only choice of cable TV channels bundled packages, the Wall Street Journal noted.
A Federal Communications Commission report says the industry should let viewers choose and pay for individual channels, which the regulatory body says will ultimately save consumers money.
"This report will conclude that a la carte could be in the best interest of consumers," an FCC official told the Journal. The report also suggests "themed tiers" of channels, the official said.
The FCC cannot force the cable industry to change the way it does business, the Journal noted.
The industry claims a la carte programming would raise costs and ultimately reduce the number of networks offered.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1530286/posts?page=13
Cable industry won't do it.
Good idea. Fifty bucks a month for five or six watchable channels is pretty bogus...
I'd rather pay $50 a month for 5 or 6 good channels than $100 a month for total garbage...
This will be the death knell for Liberal TV. CNN, MSLSD, MTV, MTV2, LOGO, and all the other crap lib channels that get no ratings will die a well deserved death. Subsides from bogus cable "packages" will no longer keep the garbage channels from spouting their BS...
"A la carte pricing urged for cable TV Nov. 29, 2005 at 1:59PM Federal regulators are calling on the cable TV industry to let viewers pay for only the channels they want to watch.
Finally the Feds are doing something worth while! Hope and pray it happens.
If I am charged more for FOXNEWS and nothing for CNN (Which will be off the air) I will be content. Ratings will actually be ratings, not BS, pumped up, TV Guide "The best shows your not watching" phony Nielson ratings. All of those horrible reality shows will have the proper stake driven through their hearts.
COMMON SENSE PING!
That is the exact point I am trying to establish in the general chat posts.
The technology is there and it can be done. I would love this so I could get rid of channels I never watch or intend to watch. I probably could cut at least 5 to 10 stations I have no interest in. Now the big question is will the cable company give me a better rate or charge me more for the Al LA Carte service???????????
It will if Ted Turner has his say I would imagine.
Probably not but wouldn't it be better to actually pay for what you want?
Ted Turner most likely wouldn't go for it because it would kill CNN once and for all...Who would want to pay specifically for that crap?
This is a bad thing?
Correct. Pay-per-view already exists and it would only be an extension of it. If the cable company provided a simple web site or phone menu system you could pick once a month or so what channels you wanted for that month and that would take care of your viewing choice and billing.
I think you already know the answer to that, it would probably be $20.channel
Sorry I wasn't very clear on my point
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.