The price of the popular channels would go way up and then people would find another way to get the content then the government would find a way to tax/control that.
You don't have to tune in the channels you don't want.
Back in the day, we had the 10’ C-band dish. We had the option of bundling or a la carte. I paid like $5 for a years worth of Cartoon Network.
We only watched about 12 channels and paid $80 a year.
MY hope is that when my current contract with DirecTV expires next year, the ability to order ala carte programming off the web and use streaming or download-and-watch delivery has matured to the point where I can cut off cable/satellite altogether.
Honestly, it’s already almost to the point where I can just buy the shows I’m interested in off of iTunes or the like, and then I also own a copy of that show for good (as much as DRM-protected media allows for), not just for the single airing. If I can get live events and supplement with a regular OTA antenna, I should be just fine.
The corporatist lefties don’t want you to have a choice.
There should be a charge for airtime, that’s all. It wouldn’t matter what channel you used. Just pay for the time you are watching. That way, people can channel surf all they want, and watch what catches their eye.