TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Comcast
2 edits | a la carte won't save most people any money
A la carte programming costs will be such that it will never really save most customers money. For those who rarely watch TV and are satisfied with bare bones basic cable, a la carte could help them cut costs where they can take basic plus one or 2 favored channels. But for those who like a smattering of sports, movies, some HDTV, childrens shows, and a music channel or 2, the costs will turn out to be the same(but with less channels to watch).
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guitarzan
Premium
join:2004-05-04
Skytop, PA
 ·epix
| said by TKJunkMail  :A la carte programming costs will be such that it will never really save most customers money. For those who rarely watch TV and are satisified with bare bones basic cable, a la carte could help them cut costs whree they can take basic plus one or 2 favored channels. Local channels and basic plus sports would suit me fine.
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Minister
join:2002-01-02
Fleeting | reply to TKJunkMail
Thank you Rich, but in this class we show our work on worksheets or we get no credit for the assignment.
Could you show your numbers? |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH
| Nice idea not practical......
I guess I feel sorry for the people who cannot get satellite, but for those millions that can, if they don't like what the cable company is doing, get DirecTV or Dish, or visa-versa. I think when broadband pipes get really fat, we will see IPTV that is independent of the ISP/ incumbent (vonage for TV), but until then good look with a-la-carte. Instead of offering a package of the 50 popular channels, they will bundle all 13 discoveries for $15/mo, all 5 ESPNs, etc, so you will have to pay like $100 just to get ESPN1, MTV1, Discovery channel, ETC. Or, if it was all a-la-carte, it would cost $100/mo to get all channels except the permiums, not the $46 it takes now (DirecTV TC Plus w/ locals, 1 TV). |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
| hopefully the junk channels will go away
Of course they like it - they can charge $10/10 channels or what ever form of channel bundling they want. In some ways, I actually hope that this will filter out the TV spam (cr@p) channels, as they will have to survive on their own merrit.
Good: Hopefully better over all TV channels
Bad: Price / channel will be significantly higher
Overall: Currently 500+ channels and nothing on. Will 20 channels of my picking be better for me - I think it might. I do think that large corporations that own many networks may benefit from it. I.e. Fox/DirecTv - anything Fox owns will be bundled for you, while other networks may be more expensive. |
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mbernste
Boosted
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
·Comcast
·Optimum Online
| Cablevision "can't just do it"
With all the "include the crappy channel" contracts that they have with Time Warner (HBO) Disney (ESPN) and Viacom (CBS), they can't offer a la carte until those contracts expire. Once they do expire, they would need federal law to be passed to prevent the content providers of such bundling. Once that is done, then, and only then can Cablevision offer a la carte.
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WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
1 edit | I don't buy this -- not one bit
Cablevision really, truly wants Ala Carte -- ok sure... right... next they'll be saying that they are glad FIOS is coming to their neck of the woods.
People have asked for Ala Carte for years... if they actually thought it was good thing, the Dolans would have done it many moons ago.
Also - say goodbye to those "sweetheart" deals that big cableco's are getting from multi-channel powerhouses like Disney and Viacom - if cable doesn't bundle them and have leverage to toss them into a forced level of service... then the channel owners have no incentive to offer deals to them.
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jfwjxn
join:2002-03-26
Portage, MI
| A la carte means set top boxes...
Of course Cablevision likes this. If the FCC requires A La Carte, the cable companies can start requiring everyone to have a set top box, and then rake in the profits from that. Plus the fact in the end it will not amount to a better deal for "power watchers." |
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KlanXX
Premium
join:2003-03-19
Hamtramck, MI | reply to BiggA
Re: Nice idea not practical......
most people can get satellite.why do they still bother with cable and their rate increases.I switched to dish 5 1/2 years ago and never looked back. |
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uvacow
join:2002-09-02
Charlottesville, VA | reply to WorkinClsDog
Re: I don't buy this -- not one bit
excuse me, can you explain how "sweetheart" these deals are??
From what I can gather, it is those same networks that hold their basic channels hostage for teir expensive cable channels |
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WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
| reply to jfwjxn
Re: A la carte means set top boxes...
said by jfwjxn :Of course Cablevision likes this. If the FCC requires A La Carte, the cable companies can start requiring everyone to have a set top box I don't think so - at least the way the regulatory environment is now - the FCC would have to shake up the rules a bit -
Set Top Boxes are not allowed to be "required" to provide basic services, and if I believe as such a cableco can not legally require one (look at Cable Cards as an example - they are legally mandated so that homes don't have to get a STB)
It will be interesting to see how the FCC spins this whole thing out and makes it work...
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Brian: Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
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jeffs471
join:2005-09-16
Camarillo, CA | reply to KlanXX
Re: Nice idea not practical......
I don't want to sign a contract |
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KlanXX
Premium
join:2003-03-19
Hamtramck, MI | A 12 mo. contract is nothing.But if u buy your system u dont sign a contract. |
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Zorglub
join:2000-11-18
Fremont, CA
| Idea is great but...
At the end of the day, content is basically a fixed cost for a given number of channels (say that 150 channels are currently available). So, if "a la carte" programming is really a way for each and everyone to pick and choose the 20 channels or so that they really care about and lower the monthly bill, then the overall revenue will go down, and won't be able to support all the current channels. IMHO, a la carte programming will simply raise the cost of each channel so that at the end of the day, we are still paying the same monthly fee but have less channels to choose from. The most realistic scenario is that "a la carte" pricing will end up happening but each channel will be priced so high that only people who watch 10 channels or less will benefit, while the rest of us will continue buying the same "discounted" bundle of channels.
The current system means that we're subsidizing each other's viewing habits. I like Speed, G4, Sundance, IFC, DIY and a few others, don't care for ESPN and the religious channels while my neighbor is the exact opposite. His bill subsidizes my channels and I subsidize his. At the end of the day we all have more choices, and it's not that bad. If we really want to lower the monthly bill, the best way is to foster competition by letting the Bells join in the fray as fast as possible. |
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WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
1 edit | reply to uvacow
Re: I don't buy this -- not one bit
the "sweetheart" piece is for the cableco - not the average ratepayer like you and me 
the cableco can promise say 2.5 million basic subscribers if they toss (for example) Toon Disney into expanded basic... vs only let's say 1 mil if it's in Digital Basic - that gives a large cableco leverage for Disney to cut them a deal... but noone's saying that the savings ever shakes down to the consumer
With Ala Carte - and no more bundling - channel pricing will VERY likely go up, not down... and many smaller channels which have benefitted from bundling (E!, TV Guide, Bravo, Discovery, TLC, etc and pretty much any NEWER channel) will see their ratings tank and they will likely go belly up.
On the other hand, the Sports channels which are always in demand from hardcore fans will likely raise their rates per subscriber sky-high (these are already the most expensive on a per-subscriber basis) to compensate for the big loss of revenue from those of us out there who don't want or need 12 channels of sports... this also translates to more money out of pocket.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to cut down the number of useless channels on my dial - but ala carte doesn't mean lower rates in any scenario that I've ever heard mapped out.
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Brian: Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA | I still want an explaination
WTF do I need with the 7 non-english channels that are in my lineup?
What gives with the freakin Golf Channel?
Anyone?
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YellowDart
join:2003-07-09
world | reply to WorkinClsDog
Re: A la carte means set top boxes...
You could use a cable card but then the cable company will just raise the cost to rent a cable card up to $5. |
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nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
| reply to Minister
Re: a la carte won't save most people any money
said by Minister :Thank you Rich, but in this class we show our work on worksheets or we get no credit for the assignment. Could you show your numbers? my thoughts exactly. put up or shut up. |
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WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
| reply to dadkins
Re: I still want an explaination
The non-english channels are usually "must-carry" by FCC guideline -- anything within 50 miles of whereever your cable operator is based or transmits from... so in a sense, they are saddled with those channels as much as you are.
The company I used to work for had about 5 of these that were must carry and people complained constantly - nothing the Cable Operator can do about it though.
The Golf channel on the other hand... I got nothing 
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WCD
Brian: Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
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PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
| reply to mbernste
Re: Cablevision "can't just do it"
said by mbernste :With all the "include the crappy channel" contracts that they have with Time Warner (HBO) Disney (ESPN) and Viacom (CBS), they can't offer a la carte until those contracts expire. Once they do expire, they would need federal law to be passed to prevent the content providers of such bundling. Once that is done, then, and only then can Cablevision offer a la carte. That's Right! Look at all the squabbling between the content providers and the distributors about which channels get included in the "basic" package; e.g., OLN and Dish Network. Unless the law changes, the content providers will never go along with a la carte, because they want to boost the ratings of their less-popular channels. |
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