 
cork1958
Cork
join:2000-02-26
Fruitport, MI
 ·Charter Pipeline
edit:
April 29th, @09:15AM
| Quality channels? "many quality but less popular channels may not generate enough advertising revenue to survive"
If they were quality channels to begin with, they would catch on and people would keep them. Otherwise, I don't need or want multiple shopping channels or duplicate crap channels anyway. | |
|
 | 
DaveNJ
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey | Re: Quality channels? hopefully i can drop MTV, and then the viacom channels. | |
|
| | 
DrTCP
Yours truly
Premium,ExMod 1999-04
join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX
| Re: Quality channels? said by DaveNJ  :
hopefully i can drop MTV, and then the viacom channels.
and Fox channels... | |
|
| 
yock
Eschew the False Dichotomy
Premium
join:2000-11-21
Fairfield, OH | I think they're referring to small networks such as Bravo or TV Food Network, who have a devout but small following. Some people just don't find the programming on ABC, CBS, NBC, and the like very entertaining. | |
|
| | |
| sparks
join:2001-07-08
Little Rock, AR
| I guess to me it was the statement made by one of the cable execs in my area.
Yes sports has gotten out of hand.
BUT if the people who watched sports had to pay the full price they could not afford it. SO we split it among everyone, so now everyone is happy.
Now if I wanted HBO I pay for HBO, why not split the price of it to everyone and HBO would only cost me $2 a month.
Thats not the way it works!
HUH ?????????????????????????????
sparks | |
|
| Jenna9654
join:2003-04-17
Atlanta, GA
| I was under the impression the shopping channels and the God channels actually paid for space on a sat or cable provider's line up.
I agree with the comment about the crap channels though. The first thing I did when we got Dish a couple years ago was create my own list of favorites so I never saw the channels we didn't have and the channels I had no desire to see.
It always amazes me the number of religious channels we have, can there be that many people out there that need to see Rosaries and Hail Marys recited on a daily basis?
--
The female chooses not the male which is the most attractive to her but the one which is the least distasteful. ---Charles Darwin | |
|
| |
| 
GO BLUE
Greed Is Good
Premium
join:2004-03-08
IN YOUR MIND | i cant see this affecting the "must carry channels" .unless that changes to
--
WOLVERINE | |
|
icp1
Premium
join:2000-10-13
Saint Louis, MO
clubs: | awesome, but not going to happen This would be fabulous, but I don't believe it will ever pass. | |
|
lonebandit
join:2001-12-01
Oak Creek, WI
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| loose the extra channels! Personally, I dont need the multiple shopping channels nor all the spanish channels. Yet my cable bill goes up and up.
One might think though, that if channels are available 'a la carte' that they could be more expensive that if ordered as a bundle.
-JDB | |
|
| |
| veh
join:2003-04-05
San Francisco, CA | It is ridiculous that we have to pay for those infomercial channels. | |
|
dadkins
Go For It
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| Uhhh, yeah "many quality but less popular channels may not generate enough advertising revenue to survive."
If these channels are "less popular", and I'm not watching them, why must I pay for them? Just to keep them alive? DUH!
If I'm not watching these channels, why would I care if the fold? I get a boat load of channels that make no sense to me, *cough* Golf Channel *cough*, *cough* 4 spanish channels *cough*, why must I pay for this/these? I do NOT buy cr@p off of Home Shopping Network/QVC/ShopNBC...but they are getting piped into my house(and paid for every month). What about the 6 all news channels? So I can watch the President or The War On Terrorism from six different angles?
How about $1.00 per channel? my bill would be about $15.00-$19.00 per month(alot less than it is now). [/rant]  | |
|
| Automate
join:2001-06-26
Atlanta, GA
| Re: Uhhh, yeah said by dadkins :
How about $1.00 per channel? my bill would be about $15.00-$19.00 per month(alot less than it is now).
The problem is every channel will not be the same price. Those shopping channels actually pay the cable companies to broadcast their programs so they actually reduce your cable bill. Something like ESPN on the other hand would probably cost about 6 or 7 dollars a month because of the high programing cost. | |
|
| | 
Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
Albany, NY
| Re: Uhhh, yeah said by Automate :
The problem is every channel will not be the same price. Those shopping channels actually pay the cable companies to broadcast their programs so they actually reduce your cable bill. Something like ESPN on the other hand would probably cost about 6 or 7 dollars a month because of the high programing cost.
I'd be willing to add the shopping channels onto my a la carte selection if they reduced my cable bill.  It'll never happen, of course. Best that would happen is that they would be free or included in the "base bundle."
--
-Jason Levine
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
http://www.PCQandA.com/
http://www.urateit.com/ | |
|
| | TheWickerMan
join:2002-04-09
Enola, PA
| said by Automate :
Something like ESPN on the other hand would probably cost about 6 or 7 dollars a month because of the high programing cost.
And since I'm not a sports fan, those would be the first ones I'd drop if I could. Really, how many of them do you need? There's ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports, The Golf Channel, and a few other's I'm probably forgetting.
Not to mention these shopping channels. I have no need for those either. | |
|
| | | 
kjhhg
@comcast.net
| Re: Uhhh, yeah The problem with a la carte is the price on the individual channels will go up. Just as you stated you would drop all sports channels somebody will drop the channels you like. Espn (or plug your favorite channel in here) will then have to raise the fees to still maintain profit. If 50% of the people do not like Tech tv and drop it then those that want to keep are going to have to make up the difference in the bottom line. I think the outcome would be you would pay at least the same if not more for the channels you would want as apposed to what you have. | |
|
| | | | veh
join:2003-04-05
San Francisco, CA | Re: Uhhh, yeah True. | |
|
| | |
| 
pit_viper
1 Shot, 1 Kill, No Remorse, I Decide
join:2002-07-24
Play_Hockey | Remember....TechTV would fall in this category | |
|
| | hottboiinnc
ME
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH | Re: Uhhh, yeah i'd pay for TechTV and the other maybe 10 channels that my family watches.
CBS, Fox, NBC, HBO, ShowTime, CourtTV, LifeTime, TechTV, Disney, Nick, WeatherChannel, thats about it. | |
|
|
cable man
@suth.com | cablehater how bout a basic package that would include some of these less popular titles and then a la carte after that????? Say 20-25 dollars for basic, then a la carte for each channel or channel package after that????? | |
|
| 
Optimized
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-03
Pompton Lakes, NJ
clubs:
Host:
RCN
Patriot Media
Cellphones, provid..
Other Manufacturers
| Re: cablehater said by cable man:
how bout a basic package that would include some of these less popular titles and then a la carte after that????? Say 20-25 dollars for basic, then a la carte for each channel or channel package after that?????
How much is basic for you and what channels do you get?
--
Chilly likes it | |
|
rid0617
join:2003-07-20
Greer, SC | In a perfect world this wil happen Unfortunately will never happen. Lobbyist won't let it. Time to grease more politican pockets. First thing I would eliminate is CBS, Viacom, Shopping & Sports. Tired of rate increases being blamed on channels I never watch. | |
|
Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH | nice change from a 3 digit cable bill cant wait till this passes. im sure about 70% of the crap channels on our lineup will drop. say bye bye to the $140+ bill every month and say hello to a $60 a month bill. | |
|
| 
kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL | Re: nice change from a 3 digit cable bill $140 a month???? Does that come with its own illegal immigrant who stands by the TV and changes channels for you????
--
::: Do, or do not, there is no try:::»www.kapilville.com | |
|
| |
Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
| Re: nice change from a 3 digit cable bill nope. unfortunately thats the way it is. standard basic digital, one regular DC box and a DVR, and Roadrunner. mom has been threatening to get rid of roadrunner for this exact reason and go back to the sh!tty 512/128 DSL. hopefully if this ala carte bill is passed, that day never has to come and our bill will drop dramatically. | |
|
| | |
LuckyArmpit
@softwriters.com
 from:
pnh102
| Re: nice change from a 3 digit cable bill Vchat, if yer mom won't pay the bill and you wanna keep roadrunner, how about getting a job to help pay for it????
Lucky;) | |
|
| 
pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
edit:
April 29th, @10:13AM
| said by Vchat20 :
cant wait till this passes. im sure about 70% of the crap channels on our lineup will drop. say bye bye to the $140+ bill every month and say hello to a $60 a month bill.
You could just cancel your cable right now and say bye-bye to that bill. If these kinds of costs put such a dent in peoples' pockets, why do they continue to pay them?
I hate bills like these... no one is going to die without Cable TV so you can't make that "essential service" argument like you could with electric, water or sewer service. Cable TV is a luxury. No one needs it. If you can pay for it, pay for it, if you can't, tough. Why should Congress even be wasting its time on this issue?
--
Keep America Strong! Bush/Cheney 2004 | |
|
| |
See 6 replies to this post |
|
| 
TraumaJunkie
Premium
join:2004-03-05
Knoxville, TN
| said by Vchat20 :
cant wait till this passes. im sure about 70% of the crap channels on our lineup will drop. say bye bye to the $140+ bill every month and say hello to a $60 a month bill.
Hmmm....rose colored glasses I assume? When is the last time government mandated anything and it cost the taxpayers less?
--
Air goes in and out, blood goes 'round and 'round. Any deviation from this can indicate a problem. | |
|
Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
Albany, NY
| There's sure to be a downside While I'd look forward to being able to trim my channel selection down to the few that I actually care enough about to pay for, I can see a downside. I'm guessing that the cable companies will price it in such a way as to make it less expensive for the average consumer to go with the bundle than to go a la carte.
For example, say your average cable bill is $45 with a bundle. They might charge a base fee of $15 (which would include your local stations) and then $3 per channel. In this example, if you select 10 channels or more with a la carte, then you'd be better off with the bundle.
Some people would still opt for the a la carte with very few channels, but they would be the minority. The cable company would get the best of both worlds. Claiming to offer a la carte, while keeping most people on the bundles.
--
-Jason Levine
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
http://www.PCQandA.com/
http://www.urateit.com/ | |
|
| hwstar0
join:2003-11-29
La Mesa, CA | Re: There's sure to be a downside Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...
More like a base fee of $24.95 just for the right to have 0 channel cable service , and $ 0.25-$5 per channel depending on the nationwide number of subscribers (more subs => higher cost). | |
|
rid0617
join:2003-07-20
Greer, SC | Satelite rules Only reason I have cable now is the promotion I'm on. Till December I paty $67.95 for expanded basic, all movie channels except Showtime and 3.0/256 internet. Soon as that promotion ends its back to directv and internet only. | |
|
| 
Pz_
join:2001-03-31
Brownsburg, IN
clubs:
| Re: Satelite rules I got that same deal when I called to cancel Comcast. I never really knew what I was missing out on with Direct, but it rocks. The picture and sound is way better (and my tv is about 10 years old even!) plus they threw in a Tivo to boot.
I will never ever go back to sucky cable tv. | |
|
bozothedog
join:2001-05-02
Birmingham, AL
| I used to have a la carte with a BUD. The "problem" with ala carte is that cable revenue will drop sharply.
At my last home I had the equivalent of a la carte programming. I went with Comcast broadband and subscribed to their limited local cable service, because it was actually cheaper than broadband alone. Additionally, I had an old C-Band satellite (BUD) system which you can buy programming for a la carte. I subscribed to the only to the channels I watched that being History/Discovery, CNN/Fox News, and Nickelodeon/TVland channels for a total of about $5/month on a 3-month subscription basis. I had about 20 channels (they were like mini-bundles with east and west coast feeds) total off the satellite and maybe another 20 off the cable. My total broadband/TV bill was about $57/mo. When I had basic cable, it was nearly $90/mo and I had to purchase all kinds of stuff I'd never watch.
I would do the same again except that analog satellite is dying and channels are going away almost daily.
I would love ala carte cable or digital satellite. There is absolutely no technical reason that digital cable or digital satellite cannot offer this. | |
|
| 
Blasterbator
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Jackson, MS
·Cox HSI
| Re: I used to have a la carte with a BUD. technical? no
logistical? yes
With ala carte pricing, do you have any idea how long it will take the typical TV-watching buffoon to "choose" the channels that they think they want?
How many times will they call the cable or satellite company to "add" a channel because they heard something "good" was going to be on tonight?
It amazes me how much of a religion TV is to even educated people sometimes... if you hate the cable company so much THEN SWITCH TO SATELLITE... if you can't stand them either, THEN FIND A NEW HOBBY.
Ala Carte pricing is a train-wreck just waiting to happen.
--
"If PCs are hard, then Macs are flaccid" -bb | |
|
| | 
Vvian Kalyss
join:2003-10-14
Stage 5.0
clubs:
| Re: I used to have a la carte with a BUD. LMAO nicely said. Hell I can hear my neighbours two floors up argue over channels from the local satellite provider... and we have nowhere near the amount of channels you guys have (roughly 30, no I didn't care to count, I only ever watch 4).
--
" Her eyes were just the end of Hell-- / All pain, / Articulate " | |
|
| | ParanoiaInc
join:2002-08-28
Tucker, GA
| We are in the age of information and the Internet. one shouldn't have to 'call' to add/remove a channel or two, they should be able to do it with a remote to the receiver or over the internet through one's account management system.
So, what does one do if they only want the dix HD channels on DirecTV but are paying more than $10/HD-channel? | |
|
| | |
| | | 
redleaf
join:2000-09-12
Fort Lauderdale, FL | Re: I used to have a la carte with a BUD. Wow. I knew ESPN was expensive but $4.50 a month for the Golf Channel? Or 2.90 for Gospel Music Television? Jeebus.
There's a few others too. Weird stuff. | |
|
andreo
join:2001-03-30
Des Moines, IA
| Yawn Personally I don't care. Let them offer a la carte. Knowing the cable companies they will still find a way screw over their customers. This may give them a better way of doing it. I've been sub'ed to satellite since 1997 or so and I wouldn't dream of going back to cable (though I did pick up a cable sub for the HD channels when I lived in the Chicagoland area).
I also see that I will have to take a look at what this bill says. I do wonder what the "decency act" part of the bill says.
And also on the other hand, maybe I'm wrong on this and our govenment is really looking out for everyone and the cable companies were looking for something like this to come around to better serve the consumers. This could very well be the beginning of Utopia. | |
|
| 
furlonium
Computer Over? Virus equals Very Yes?
join:2002-05-08
Bethlehem, PA
·RCN CABLE
| comedy central, cartoon network, and Fox that's all I'd need Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, and Chappelle's Show
I don't watch TV other than those listed shows.
The overall idea of a la carte sounds like a good one to me, but I don't see it happening. I think all the cable companies would have a hissy fit. | |
|
| | Andromeda451
join:2004-04-08
Queen Creek, AZ
| Re: comedy central, cartoon network, and Fox Has anyone disconnected from the cable hookup ? If the companies are screwing the customers so badly why continue to support them? (just being an advocate for responsibility) The welfare state has progressed to the point where we as customers (not taxpayers) are expected to grant white collar welfare status to "smaller" cahnnels? WCW is only another attempt by large corporations to make sure they get their unfair share of revenue. VH1, MTV, VIACOM, DISNEY, Bravo et al. can all evaporate and would be missed until ADHD takes hold then we'll be on to something else.. Last time I checked the Constitution (you know, the document that Congress works to ignore when expedient) does not guarantee revenue... | |
|
| | | |
Blasterbator
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Jackson, MS | Get a new hobby. TV is over rated. | |
|
| |
| 
thecraftyb
join:2004-03-29
Alpharetta, GA
| said by Blasterbator :
TV is over rated.
So true. I don't have cable or satellite TV; I can find MUCH better things to do with my time. Plus I'm not tossing $60 a month down the drain to have my thoughts overrun by whatever crap television producers decide I should be looking at like the rest of you suckers.:D | |
|
Pseydtonne
Premium
join:2003-01-25
Melrose, MA
| Cable boxes versus families If cable companies are mandated to carry a la carte programming of each channel, I can give you a hint how it'll actually be practiced because it's already being tested. People will have to have cable boxes on each television getting anything above the local broadcast channels.
Every TV will need a box. "Buh... buh... why? I don't want a box. I have a cable-ready TV and those channels are cable-ready now." It's not cost-effective to change traps on people's lines every time they change line-ups. So they'll make each channel digital, scramble them, and then key them based on the account.
Goodbye to free additional outlets... well, with Nickelodeon and Disney for the kids' room.
Many of you satellite subscribers know this grief already. You can't just hook up a random TV because it won't get anything beyond the local stuff (including the Spanish channels a lot of you complain about).
If brains prevailed instead of wallets, we'd work on the technological issue before the legal one. We need to develop a standard for tuner devices first. That way, you could buy a small tuner for each set and it could decipher whatever company's signal it gets. It would be addressable, thus it would work like a cable modem. You could call up for activation, no truck would need to go out since the taps would only have basic broadcast on the line for theft.
Hmmm... that could work. Give it ten years. | |
|
|
thecraftyb
join:2004-03-29
Alpharetta, GA
| Re: Cable boxes versus families said by Pseydtonne :
If brains prevailed instead of wallets...
Lol, if that were the case, this and just about every other problem a society faces would disappear.;) | |
|
| andreo
join:2001-03-30
Des Moines, IA
| Well Pseydtonne, you make a good point. But there are problems.
Addressable boxes would have the privacy people up in arms, and maybe for good reason.
One standard, sounds great and should be done but then tech companies would have a fit cause they wouldn't have any proprietary equipment that they could lease to other companies.
No truck rolls, heh, the cable companies would think of a reason to roll a truck and charge you out the but for it. At my old house in NW Indiana I already had cable modem service. There were no traps on the line and I could get basic cable any time I wanted simply by running a line to the nearest tv. When they offered HD for my area they gave me no other choice then to have someone come out and install it. I was even more baffled when the installer didn't know how to:
1) snake the coax from the utility room over to the rec room with the tv.
2) didn't know how to correctly connected the cables from the HD receiver to the back of the television (I didn't give him a second chance when I noticed he had it wrong the first time)
3) had no idea what a TOS link cable was
4) didn't even have a ladder and had to borrow mine (along with my metal snake)
5) claimed that since there wasn't a cable drop in the rec room it was an extended installation and I was charged a total of $50.00 for what amounted to him crimping a new cable that I ran over to the tv. (I've yet to see the refund for that charge also when I let the cable company know that the installer did nada while he was at my house)
For cable internet, I've had no problems and they provide fast reliable (in my experience) service. For tv programming, I would never go with cable.
As for the extra channels, I've ran into several interesting shows on channels that I would normally not watch (thanks Tivo) so while there are tons of channels that I don't watch more then once or so a year, I like having the choice so I'm not stuck watching some of the garbage that the networks are feeding to the public on a regular basis. What would make me even happier is programming from around the world, not bbc America but a nice true pipe to other programming bounced right off one of their sats. | |
|
DrTCP
Yours truly
Premium,ExMod 1999-04
join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX
| N channels for a fixed price Cable companies often state the cost of providing choice of individual programming would be too much because advertising on those additional channels that are less eyeballed is what is supposed to reduce the cost of delivering the wanted channels.
I think this can be worked out if viewer is required to pick N channels from a pool for a fixed price. There would be tiers on the size of group (N) that can be picked. For example, standard would be 20 channels, extended would be 40 channels, etc.
Or, even perhaps the viewer can choose N1 channels from primary programming pool and N2 channels from secondary programming pool. This way the viewer would be required to pick some of the less popular ones (but at least given a choice among them).
When there is a will there is a way.
Also, for this choice to work a set top box is required. FCC should mandate that cable companies should not be charging for the set top box (may be the 1st one) | |
|
| ParanoiaInc
join:2002-08-28
Tucker, GA | Re: N channels for a fixed price I only want six, but I am already paying more than $10/channel for the six I am interested in. And how does on differentiate between STDV, HDTV, PPV, etc. channels? | |
|
Sharingan
join:2003-08-17
North Hollywood, CA | Lol how much for just a few channels Lets say
WB
FOX
CartoonNetwork
Disney
TechTV
----------------------------------
That would be wonderfull | |
|
| |
dogo88
join:2001-09-24
Old Bridge, NJ
|  Do you really think ala carte will be cheaper?
So instead of getting HBO, Show time, Local channels, out of market channels that you mostly don't want all for $40 a month. You'll now get HBO, Show time, Local channels, one or two out of market channels all for $39.95 a month. | |
|
| ParanoiaInc
join:2002-08-28
Tucker, GA | Re: Do you really think ala carte will be cheaper? I am only interested in six channels. Unless the cost per channel is over $11 then it will be cheaper. | |
|
| |
|
| JJV
Premium
join:2001-04-25
Seattle, WA
clubs: | Re: I hate cable tv and satellite tv and tv period »www.house.gov/deal/contact/default.shtml
Send him an email showing your support.
I did.
Why do I have to pay for 250 channels to get the 5 I want? | |
|
Hot_Rats
He's Not Tor Johnson
join:2003-07-08
Indianapolis, IN
clubs:
| So can I...
I can also find better things to do with my time than watching TV. Like, working at a soup kitchen, cleaning up trash in the neighborhood, learning Japanese...
Oh, but wait, I want to be *entertained.* So, I'd like to have the 1-2 hours of TV I watch a day to be entertaining, and I only need a few channels that offer my type of programming and a programmable VCR to get that.
I don't need 50 out of the 75 or so channels the cable company is selling me- and you know what? The cable company *makes money* to the tune of several million dollars in my area, off of forcing you to have that channel, by selling advertising revenue. The sell local advertising under the presumption that there are some XX thousand subscribers who have this channel- but what if only 10 want it?
So, yeah, give me the local channels plus the 5-10 cable channels I find somewhat entertaining from time to time (this is TV, people) and shove the rest of them.
--
"I'm downloading with a 56k modem. Can you give me step by step instructions on how to install x86 Solaris?? Please reply back. Thanks." | |
|
|
A La Carte
·
Re: loose the extra channels!
·
I hate cable tv and satellite tv and tv period