It’s not “government overreach” because cable is like the water company or the electric company. It’s not a true free market. The government (us) is already involved.
There can be five hot dog carts on the same street; but we’ve all agreed it’s impossible to have five sets of cables running to your house so you can take your pick.
So one company is awarded (by government) the chance to serve a particular area. No competition.
Since the consumer can’t take their business elsewhere, as in the case of the lousy hot dog cart, the only way to make cable companies responsive to what the consumer wants is government regulation.
The consumer wants a la carte cable. If the cable companies don’t think they still can make money offering it, then they need to give up their local franchises to other providers who can.
You are 100% wrong.
There is no such thing as an exclusive cable contract. If you wish to build over the existing plant, and you can meet the franchise requirements...go ahead. That is NOT possible with a utility.
I understand it is delivered in a manner that seems like a utility, but it is not a utility.
The government did not spend a single dime constructing cable plant. It was all done privately. And the government spends a lot of time trying to squeeze more money out of the cable companies.
They see a bunch of revenue coming in and they cannot stop trying to find another way to get a tax on the business.
If you do not like the programming, drop the cable. There are plenty of other ways to get the programming.