Anyway, The Dish Network announcement might be an alternative to A-la-cart subscriptions. Instead of paying for a full month to pay for stuff you don't want you can buy a temp upgrade to watch the one program your interested in.
Is this is a ploy to grab a little extra cash? The one time I tried a short term upgrade (less than 30 days) it cost $5 to cancel it plus a partial cost for the more expensive channels. It was not a freebie.
What DISH is offering sounds good on paper but it may not be worth the expense.