Re: FCC Urges 'A La Carte' Cable


Ian J. Ball wrote:
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10249339/
>
> Forget most of this article - the important part is this:
>
> --
> [Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin] said that
> cable and satellite providers might want to consider letting consumers
> pay for a bundle of channels that they could choose themselves, a
> variation of the so-called "a la carte" pricing system that some in
> Congress have backed.
>
> "You can always turn the television off and of course block the channels
> you don¹t want," Martin said, "but why should you have to."
>
> Cable and satellite providers complain that "a la carte" pricing or
> tiers would drive up costs for equipment, customer service and marketing
> ? charges that would likely be passed to subscribers.
> --
>
> The cable companies are whistling past the graveyard on this one - with
> the advent of digital cable, not only is 'a la carte' cable desirable,
> it's inevitable.
>
> The first company to offer it will make a bundle...

It's already available in Canada. Unfortunately, you're forced to take
a basic package of about 30 channels that includes all the local
stations and some basic cable stations, most of which are useless, and
then you can pick and choose according to package or individual taste.
A friend of mine has the service and for about $45 or $50 she gets the
basic channels and 30 picks, plus 18,000 unasked-for music channels as
a bonus. It also comes with a built-in TV Guide and a blocking feature
to prevent kids from viewing certain channels that you want to watch
when they're not around. Two drawbacks are that you need separate
terminals for separate sets and, if I understand it right, you can only
tape one signal off one set, while with regular cable you can tape as
many simultaneous separate signals as you want, depending on how many
VCR's and splitters you've got plugged in. I don't remember for sure,
but I don't think you can even tape one channel while watching another
at the same time with a la carte because of the whole digital
connection.


> --
> "Read less. More TV." - Dr. Greg House, "House"
> http://homepage.mac.com/ijball/TV-Blog/

.

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