Let the market sort out what survives and what doesn't. I suspect there's more market for the educational channels than one might first imagine. Many people I talk to watch those channels exclusively (History, Discovery, TLC, etc)
I'm sure it will, but what I want to point out is that the pricing will be structured in such a way as to affect people's choices. I suspect that a lot of folks think that "a la carte" means that every channel costs the same to them, and they only pick (and pay for) the ones they want. But it's not going to be like that, where every channel costs $0.95 - instead, narrow channels like Discovery Health and BET will cost you $0.35 per month, and big popular channels like A&E and Fox News and ESPN will cost you $7.95 per month. You'll likely subsidize smaller channels anyway, whether you like it or not.
> Let the market sort out what survives and what doesn't. I suspect there's more market for the educational channels than one might first imagine.
For PBS? Talk about the heavyweights subsidizing the low viewership channels. I'll bet PBS'll fight a la carte with everything they've got. Save Big Bird!