Cable Costs

Is anyone else pissed off at the high cost of cable service? Wouldn't it be great if we could pick channels ala carte and just get the ones we want. I see no reason to pay for foreign language channels, religious programming and sales channels that I never watch. And even with the basic package you get garbage. There could be a reduction in cable channels by 300% and I probably would not miss a one of them.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Sicarium · 46-50, M

Completely ala carte would likely increase prices, not lower them.

As it stands now, the packages do two things. 1) they give the garbage channels a cut of the action. That's the part everyone focuses on. 2) They guarantee the big channels access to a huge number of viewers. That guarantee to potential viewers actually lowers the cost of the major channels.

Go ala carte and the garbage channels will die off while the big channels get more expensive. The channels in between would likely die off and come back as webisodes or internet broadcasts for their popular shows while the unpopular stuff dies. AMC and The Walking Dead would be example, the rest of AMC's programming generates little revenue and would likely be cancelled. That means you're now in a nickel and dime situation where you're paying for individual shows on top of major channels. By the time you had everything you wanted, you'd be paying more.