http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=14737&hed=Time+Warner+Pans+%C3%A0+la+Carte§or=Industries&subsector=Communications

Quote :

"Time Warner Cable, the No. 2 U.S. cable operator in the United States, on Monday became the first to challenge Cablevision on its assertion last week that à la carte pricing for cable and satellite TV channels would actually be good for the cable industry. In an address in New York City, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt called the proposal for per-channel pricing a bad thing for the industry. He said the U.S. Federal Communications Commission had tied à la carte pricing to complaints about indecency that politicians on both sides of the aisle have been hearing (see FCC Open to a la Carte Cable). “There is clearly a concern about content among some consumers,” he said. “It’s important for us to listen to our consumers. Our industry needs to come together and find a resolution. But à la carte is economically a very bad thing for the industry.” Shares of Time Warner eased $0.06 to $18.21 in recent trading. Last week Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan came out in support of a proposal by the U.S. FCC that the industry adopt à la carte pricing. Mr. Dolan advocated this position despite the cable industry’s overwhelming stand against it (see Cablevision Backs a la Carte and TechSpin: Cablevision Dissents)."

i've always wondered why they didn't do this, and I guess the answer is there wasn't enough demand for it to justify the loss they'd probably see initially.

12/7/2005 10:51:51 AM

even chit chat already had a thread on this

12/7/2005 11:15:04 AM

I'd love to have it, but it's not for Congress to butt in on this. Of course, that's all this congress has been doing. Sticking its collective nose where it doesn't belong.

12/7/2005 11:17:05 AM

i've had enough of this french talk

12/7/2005 11:20:46 AM

Yeah, I'm surprised they're discussing it like that in Congress. I'm sure anyday now they'll start referring to it as Freedom Cable

12/7/2005 11:22:21 AM

Similar Issue...a la carte shows. Firefly and Arrested Development fans I'm looking in your direction.

Quote :

"suddenly it’s not so hard to envision a future (by which I mean two years, not twenty) in which you buy most of your TV shows the way you do, say, magazines—subscribing to some, picking and choosing others. At which point there’s no more need to stick to the half-hour/hour-long model on TV than there is for magazines to publish each issue at precisely 100 or 200 pages."

http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/tv/15038/index.html

12/7/2005 11:44:52 AM

This will kill niche programming.

12/7/2005 12:10:21 PM

^or enhance it...

they're probably discussing it in congress because the gov't gives cable companies what are essentially private monopolies in various communities

its breaking up a little with cable-over-ip

but really, if you don't like Time Warner, and can't get a sattellite dish at your apartment, who else are you going to call?

(thats an honest question, i don't know if Adelphia or Comcast have tried to set up operations in Raleigh)

just like why congress cares about baseball...

[Edited on December 7, 2005 at 12:13 PM. Reason : OR DID I JUST BLOW YOUR MIND]

12/7/2005 12:12:10 PM

a la carte is probably great for anyone who doesnt watch ESPN.

12/7/2005 1:53:02 PM

What about someone who only watches ESPN? All I would want is the Discovery Channel, History Channel, and sports stations.

12/7/2005 2:02:35 PM

Carriage fees for ESPN are insane compared to other channels...youd be paying about what youre paying now Im sure.

12/7/2005 2:12:39 PM

Hmm. I could do without that.

12/7/2005 2:22:27 PM

comedy central, cartoon network, history, travel, discovery, food network, and a couple of the network channels, and I'd be set.

the girl would want to keep tlc and hgtv on top of those.

[Edited on December 7, 2005 at 2:25 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2005 2:25:05 PM

if they do this most of the other channels will cease to exist
its a dumb idea

you think it will save you money but you are an idiot if you dont think they will just price the channels so it costs the same or more

[Edited on December 7, 2005 at 3:08 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2005 3:07:16 PM

choosing the channels is fine but it would suck to have to chose the shows

I mainly stick to Discovery, Science, History, and National Geographic and its impossible to know what you would want to watch. Half the time i just flip to one and say 'oh thats neat, ill watch this'

plus it doesnt work with ESPN/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

12/7/2005 3:10:36 PM

They should pay us for QVC exc... I hate those channels. I bet alot of the lesser cable networks would die if they changed the payment scheme. It'd be interesting to see which channels people really want to watch.

12/7/2005 4:58:43 PM

but there are some channels that you would never hear about...i just recently stumbled over the channel current, google's tv station, which is one of my favs now.

i guess they would give you 'samples' of some new channels to see if you like it

12/7/2005 5:08:59 PM