Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

FCC May Endorse Cable a la Carte, In a Policy Shift
The Wall Street Journal (Excerpt) ^ | November 28, 2005

Posted on 11/28/2005 9:15:35 PM PST by HAL9000

Excerpt -

Federal regulators are on the verge of suggesting that cable companies could best serve consumers by letting them subscribe to individual channels instead of offering only prepackaged bundles.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is expected to announce today at a Senate forum on indecency that the FCC will soon reissue its review of cable industry "à la carte" pricing with a wholly different conclusion. While the original report concluded that consumers would pay more for individual channels, the new one concludes they could pay less.

"This report will conclude that à la carte could be in the best interest of consumers," said an FCC official familiar with the revised report's contents. The report also finds that "themed tiers" of channels could be "economically feasible," the official said.


(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: alacarte; cable; decency; fcc; kevinmartin
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
CNN and MTV will hate this.
1 posted on 11/28/2005 9:15:36 PM PST by HAL9000
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: HAL9000

What will happen is they will put a price on each one that will make the total similar package add up top three times the cost.


2 posted on 11/28/2005 9:16:33 PM PST by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000

History Channel, Fox News, Discovery Channel.

How much?


3 posted on 11/28/2005 9:18:34 PM PST by Graybeard58 (Remember and pray for Sgt. Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
I can easily envision à la carte being more expensive if not way more expensive.
4 posted on 11/28/2005 9:20:01 PM PST by Texas_Jarhead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Graybeard58

If I ever watched TV again, those would be the channels. If they would offer that, I might go for it.


5 posted on 11/28/2005 9:20:11 PM PST by doug from upland (The troops will come home when the mission is complete)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: A CA Guy
What will happen is they will put a price on each one that will make the total similar package add up top three times the cost

They will price themselves right out of the market.AWB

6 posted on 11/28/2005 9:20:47 PM PST by Americanwolfsbrother (Don't hate on someone for using their mind.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000

I was asking for this 20 years ago. Hope it happens soon.


7 posted on 11/28/2005 9:21:09 PM PST by Just A Nobody (I - LOVE - my attitude problem! WBB lives on. Beware the Enemedia.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
Let's see, FoxNews, The History Channel, Discovery, CNBC, National Geographic, ESPN-ABC-CBS-NBC (For sports), I don't need anything else.
8 posted on 11/28/2005 9:21:36 PM PST by fso301
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: A CA Guy

Not if you are like me. I won't have HBO, Comedy Central, MTV,VH1 or anything owned by Ted "Eat my Buffalo Steaks" Turner in my house so we do not have cable. With Ala Carte, I will order Fox News, ESPN and maybe a couple of other channels and that's it.


9 posted on 11/28/2005 9:22:34 PM PST by tang-soo (Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks - Read Daniel Chapter 9)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000
CNN and MTV will hate this.....just two of the many I will drop!
10 posted on 11/28/2005 9:22:47 PM PST by SweetCaroline (What shall it profit a person if they gain a million dollars, but looses their soul?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000

You spelled MTV wrong, it`s Empty-V.


11 posted on 11/28/2005 9:24:09 PM PST by WillamShakespeare (What is a John Kerry?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fso301
Let's see, FoxNews, The History Channel, Discovery, CNBC, National Geographic, ESPN-ABC-CBS-NBC (For sports), I don't need anything else.

You omitted GoreTV.

A mere oversight, I'm sure...

12 posted on 11/28/2005 9:24:19 PM PST by okie01 (The Mainstream Media: IGNORANCE ON PARADE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Graybeard58

12.95 each, plus 4.95 for cable access, 6.95 for a converter box, 3.86 in franchise fees, plus 1.88 in tax to pay for the war of 1812 --- or you can get 73 channels including those three for only 49.95.


13 posted on 11/28/2005 9:25:06 PM PST by MediaMole
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000

Actually any channel that doesn`t have 10 billion commercials every 2 seconds is fine with me.


14 posted on 11/28/2005 9:25:18 PM PST by WillamShakespeare (What is a John Kerry?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SweetCaroline

CNN and MTV would be outta my cable ASAP...now if only I can call the cable before my wife does, I can keep Spike and lose HGTV...


15 posted on 11/28/2005 9:25:35 PM PST by JRios1968 ("Cogito, ergo FReep": I think, therefore I FReep.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Americanwolfsbrother
They will price themselves right out of the market.AWB

Unfortunatly, in most places they still have a monopoly in most places, and there is no market.

16 posted on 11/28/2005 9:28:30 PM PST by adamsjas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: tang-soo
or anything owned by Ted....

Turner Classic Movies can be quite good. They even have an occasional patriotic themed day - war movies where the US is the good guy, for example. (Actually, he's now just a minor shareholder in the empire which controls AOL Time Warner and the old Turner properties (although they have now dropped AOL from the name). )

17 posted on 11/28/2005 9:29:38 PM PST by PAR35
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: okie01
You omitted GoreTV.

OMG! How could I have left that out?

18 posted on 11/28/2005 9:30:27 PM PST by fso301
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: HAL9000

Some channels pay the cable companies for carrying their content. So consumers would have to decide if they were willing to accept a $0.50/month discount in exchange for allowing QVC into their home.


19 posted on 11/28/2005 9:30:40 PM PST by supercat (Sony delinda est.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JRios1968

....hey, I was thinking of getting rid of SPIKE! FX too!


20 posted on 11/28/2005 9:30:54 PM PST by SweetCaroline (What shall it profit a person if they gain a million dollars, but looses their soul?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson