Most of these channels they are dropping could be offered on a VOD basis or through IPTV distribution freeing up more space for quality HD content. They could even earn ad revenue through the use of targeted ad technology like what Google uses. As far as sports go they should cap the players salaries. How much money do you need to earn to play sports?
I don't watch ESPN and would like Sports Channels moved to a premium tier. If this happened, I doubt we'd see our bills go down but hopefully a few years without price increases would be nice.
I'd like to see more channels bundled in packages. (Viacom package for $X.XX, etc ...) Consumers would have a better choice of what they want to watch. (Or have a Cartoon Bundle, Essential Bundle which includes USA, TNT, etc ...)