> I think it's a great idea. We don't have cable or satellite TV, but we probably would if we could pay for only the channels we want.
You aren't missing much. People with satellite flaunt their thousands of channels, but if I had it, I'd still be flipping between the ball game and Emeril :)
The cable companies must sense an opportunity here, however. A la carte is prolly going to mean $60 one time charge to hook you up, $30/month for the service, plus $10/channel. If you take several channels, the basic package isn't much more. Pretty soon all this will be available over the Internet if it isn't already.
Yeah, it still might not be worth it, even with the option to select channels. Last time I had a baby, it was a drag having nothing to watch when I was up late at night, but now we have lots of DVD's.
The biggest challenge may be coming soon via electric companies. They are developing the technology to provide television and Internet through normal electrical outlets. Their Internet speed is said to be many times faster than cable highspeed.
In some areas SBC offers satellite, DSL Internet and phone at much less than the individual providers can.
The problem with future development and competition is existing laws and regulations that have prevented that.