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SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX
| reply to Fatal Vector
Re: They will get what they want
There is nothing wrong with niche channels. Some niche channels ended up becoming more than that after gaining popularity. There is a pretty simple solution to all of this. Have your standard cable come with a wave of default channels (HSN, public access, broadcast channels, weather channel, cooking channel, etc) and a list of choices from a secondary tier of channels (Sci-Fi, Comedy Central, A&E, TNT, etc). Say you can pick 5-10 from a list and if you want more you pay a little more for another block of channels. Then you have the special package you can add to that like a sports package, news package, movie package, etc).
The fringe channels that make cable so interesting still get their support, you get to choose the important channels you want to keep, and you can pay extra for the expensive channels if you WANT to. There. Was that so hard? | |
Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| I think this might be a good compromise between only offering packages and complete a la carte. Have a bare-bones default lineup which would include broadcast channels, shopping channels*, and a few of the most popular cable stations. Then let users either add on packages like they currently do (Sports, Movies, Kids, etc) or buy a "custom channel package" which would let the user select 5 of their favorite stations. Want more than 5 more stations? Buy another custom package and add 5 more stations. Repeat until you've got a lineup that suits you.
In addition, to help promote niche channels, cable companies could include a "Preview Channel" in the default lineup. This channel would take its content from a different non-default channel from week to week. This week it's HBO. Next week, it's Sci-Fi. The week after that it's Oxygen. You never know quite what you'll find on that station. That might help generate interest in niche (or recently added) channels.
* They pay the cable providers for access as opposed to the other channels which require the cable providers to pay them to air their content. That's why I'd add them by default.
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-Jason Levine
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SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX | Smart idea about the preview channel. I only wish these ideas would actually sink into the heads of the people who actually make these decisions. | |
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