TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: A-la-carte Pricing For Cable and Satellite TV

Re: A-la-carte Pricing For Cable and Satellite TV

Tony P. (kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net)
Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:41:00 -0500

In article <telecom23.565.4@telecom-digest.org>,
nmclain@annsgarden.com says:

> The FCC has released its report on a-la-carte pricing for cable TV and
> satellite TV services (formally called "Report on the Packaging and
> Sale of Video Programming Services To the Public"). It's posted on
> the FCC website at
> http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-254432A1.pdf .

> It's a huge document (129 pdf pages), but it's interesting to read.

> Neal McLain

Most people don't understand the concept that a la carte would cost
more, not less.

When a cable company offers a channel they pay the provider a fixed cost
for the years contract. That cost is then spread among ALL subscribers.
But lets see you took, oh, the Cramp Channel (Aka Lifetime) and offered
it among others a la carte. The subscriber base would likely be smaller
but the provider wouldn't want to adjust their price because there are
real costs behind producing those programs.

Nobody seems to understand this.

So if you want to pay $30 a month just for the Cramp Channel -- be my
guest. But the tiered system we have now pretty much works.

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