Cable companies announce ‘family tier’ channels [in weak bid to head off "a la carte" pressure]

Baptist Press News ^ | January 3, 2006 | Dwayne Hastings

[Red Badger]

The MSM is afraid that if we are ALLOWED to pick and choose, we will.........

[meowmeow]

“A la carte is the nuclear option,” said Josh Bernoff, a cable research analyst, told Variety. “It would destroy the economic foundation of the entire cable industry,”

And what a loss to mankind that would be.

[VRWCmember]

Competitive pressure will send the cable companies toward a la carte as some satellite companies (like US Direct) already have packages that give more control and choices to the consumers.

[JamesP81]

Notice how Ted Turner's company, hard as it tried, just couldn't stomach offering Trinity Broadcasting. Might get contaminated by some of that Christian stuff.

Also note how neither offered The History Channel. Can't have people learning history, after all, it would make the MSM and libs look bad...

[B Knotts]

"A la carte is the nuclear option," said Josh Bernoff, a cable research analyst, told Variety. "It would destroy the economic foundation of the entire cable industry," he continued.

This is an open admission that they are currently forcing unwanted crap on us.

[SmoothTalker]

I don't like the large hand of government. It should be up to a private bussiness to decide what services to offer, and how to offer them. If consumers don't like it, they are free to take their bussiness elsewhere.

[conservative physics]

you know what is really starting to tick me off? commercials! I can fairly easily avoid shows that I know are offensive... but I have no way of controlling the practically pornographic commercials that play between the ones I watch that aren't offensive.

[BurbankKarl]

I got your nuclear option right here...turn off your cable.

[JamesP81]

And what a loss to mankind that would be.

I wouldn't miss it at all. The only thing TV has worth looking at is news programming, and that's all lib propaganda so you might as well get it from the internet. That's what I do.

[Terabitten]

I really don't see the big issue. Have a basic tier of 12 channels, then charge a buck per channel with a twelve channel minimum for any channels over that. What's the big deal? Weaker, unpopular channels get weeded out, and advertisers get excellent targeted results.

[MineralMan]

"but I have no way of controlling the practically pornographic commercials "

---

Pornographic? What? I haven't seen as much as a bare breast on any commercial. Your definition of what is pornography must be very tame.

I suggest cancelling your cable service and subscribing to NetFlix. They have lots of G-rated films.

[Rutles4Ever]

Totally weak. So if I don't want MTV in my house I have to give up ESPN as well?

Who in the hell are they kidding?

[kinghorse]

NO NO NO. We don't want this. We want sports, news and weather. Give it up boys. You know you are going to have to do it so just do it. Stop playing games jerks.

[kinghorse]

Oh and don't give us that feigned concern for parents, media people. We know you could care less.

[dhs12345]

Me too! The ad for Brokeback Mountain is an excellent example. Played many times on TBS Christmas Day during the A Christmas Story marathon.

Finally removed TBS from our TV listing.

[Terabitten]

If consumers don't like it, they are free to take their bussiness elsewhere.

That's kind of the problem - there essentially isn't an "elsewhere" to go.

Take my family: my wife and I like Discovery, History Channel, Animal Planet, ESPN and its various spinoffs, the country music channels, and a couple others. Where else can I go to see those channels?

[Rutles4Ever]

Full disclosure: I stopped cable in my house almost two years ago. Turned out the only channels we were watching were ESPN, Fox News, TLC, and maybe BBC America for Mystery! episodes...

But it wasn't worth paying $65 a month to watch TV.

[reagan_fanatic]

“A la carte is the nuclear option,” said Josh Bernoff, a cable research analyst, told Variety. “It would destroy the economic foundation of the entire cable industry,” he continued.

So be it.

I'm sick and tired of being forced to pay for such gems as the public access channel, BET, MTV and a host of other worthless networks just to get the few channels that I really want. What the industry's really afraid of is losing control of the ability to dictate to me and countless other cable subscribers what channels we have to take if we want any cable at all.

[B Knotts]

I canceled my satellite service about a year ago...it was no longer worth the price. Lots of money for very little decent programming.