Free Republic

Cable Choice Now by L. Brent Bozell III Posted Feb 19, 2006 The "cable choice" initiative continues to gather momentum. Increasing numbers of public policy organizations, political leaders, and even telecommunications companies are endorsing the very simple concept that consumers should take and pay for only that which they want on cable television, rather than having to continue subsidizing programming they find offensive or just plain lousy. As to be expected, the cable industry is fighting back, with everything it's got. The problem is that it has very little, and is now reduced to argumentation that flirts with the bizarre....

We should have learned by now that government is a terrible steward of competition. Its natural impulse is to regulate or manage, when the best it could do is get out of the way. This is especially true when rapid technological change disrupts an industrial sector, like telecommunications, that for decades operated under a restrictive regulatory regime based on the premise all we needed was one provider. With deployment of high-speed fiber optic networks, broadband providers, phone companies and even power companies are poised to enter the local video market, finally offering American families a competitive alternative that will drive...

Cablevision Hikes Rates 3.2 Percent Friday November 21, 5:03 pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE:CVC - News), the nation's sixth largest cable television company, said on Friday it will raise monthly cable bills by 3.2 percent next year because of increased programing costs.

Cable rates surged 8.2 pct in 2002--FCC study Tuesday July 8, 4:44 pm ET NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Cable bills rose 8.2 percent in 2002, outpacing inflation, according to a Federal Communications Commission (News - Websites) survey released on Tuesday. The study, while no surprise to consumers who have complained about the price increases in their monthly cable bills, puts a nominal figure on the rate hikes. The report comes amid growing tension between cable operators and sports programmers. Operators have been blaming high cable bills on the rising costs operators are forced to pay for programming. Several...