said by SimbaSeven:It'd be like the consumers telling the oil companies what they'll pay for oil.
I know what it would be like. But is that illegal?
Buying groups abound that bring together buyers of products or services to get more favorable pricing or to have clout where they had little individually. There are also buying cartels, but I think one of the main distinctions is what does the effect of the group/cartel have on both upstream, downstream, and competitors.
If DirecTV, Dish, TimeWarner, Comcast when to Viacom and said you will only allow us to carry your channels and other operators cannot have your service, then there are issues. Nor are those cable companies telling Viacom what they can or can't sell to other cable dealers or other distribution means.