Don't forget the packaging. A lot of channels like History International are pushed by offering deals on related (ie owned by the same people) more popular channels. The Mouse is the king of this, if the cable company wants ESPN, ESPN2 and the primary Disney Channel they'll find getting them all is cheaper if they also pick up things like ESPN Classic and ABC Family. This is one of the reasons ala carte cable channel purchasing is never going to happen, given the way cable providors are pushed to purchase packages of channels it makes better sense for them to also sell in packages.
Pay TV is really a hideously over complicated world, and a lot of fun to study.
Indeed. Incidentally, I've read that NFLN is demanding $.70 per subscriber.
I don't know whether or not that is true, but it IS a fairly steep asking price for what amounts to a brand new network with very little content other than 8 football games a year.
I agree that the world of pay TV is an interesting beast.