Cable companies would lose the argument if they refused to buy the bundles the networks offer. Every time the cable company and a network get into an argument the network wins, because eventually the network gets blacked out and the viewers want to know where their network that they’re paying for is. Last year Cox and the local CBS had one of their arguments, so CBS went away right before the NFL playoffs, Cox was fighting the good PR fight, all the way up until a previously planned rate hike went into effect. Then Cox customers blew up at them, here they were “fighting” a hike from CBS that amounted to $2 a month, and then they hit us with another rate hike that averaged $8 month. They caved into CBS’ demands within 48 hours of the first bills hitting mailboxes.
That’s why a huge market like LA needs to flex the muscle they don’t understand they have.
Cities own the cable franchise, just as the People of the United States own the broadcast airwaves. That’s a huge hand. It’s a royal flush. The city — not Time Warner — decides which cable company gets to scoop up all that revenue. Offer the franchise to the first company that bids with “per channel” pricing.
In a market like LA, it would be a game-changer.