[opendtv] Re: News: The death of Cable TV

  • From: dan.grimes@xxxxxxxx
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:15:39 -0700

Bert writes:
"By the way, Craig, here's a quote from the article Kon posted. Another
example of something you seem unable to accept:

"'The cable industry has resisted 'a la carte' pricing, allowing customers
to pick and choose which channels they watch and pay for. Cable networks
make part of their money from subscription fees paid by customers to the
cable operators and then to the networks. So smaller networks could go out
of business under such a pricing plan.'

"Specifically, the last sentence. You often mention how starving producers
have a difficult time getting onto MVPDs, yet paradoxically you won't see
that "robbing Peter to pay Paul" is the only chance for that unknown
content distributed. A la carte pricing prevents that."


What do you use to support this assumption (the same question would go to
the writer of the article)?  Data, research, Nielsen ratings?  It seems
like an awfully big assumption, to me.  How do you know that if the
stations can be selected a la carte that people won't pick the small
networks?  And how do know that the pricing structure won't completely
change once a la carte is in place.  Is there good research to show what
will happen to the business under a la carte?  All I see is speculation and
a whole lot of rhetoric coming from the content creators and MVPDs.  I
don't trust this rhetoric because it is coming from two groups that are
desperately trying to hold onto the current business model.

I really look forward to an open distribution platform, if ever one is
created.  It would really open up my consumption possibilities.

Dan

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