I get why these two companies are at each other's throats, but look who is in the middle. We'll pay more regardless what they decide. If you are a cable subscriber (not satellite) then I suggest you write to the FCC and your local representative to inquire about al a carte cable. I am sick and tired of packaged cable where I pay for crap I don't watch yet sit here and listen to two huge companies bicker over how much to charge me for it. With al a carte you pick what you want and pay for what you subscribe to. Seems to me this is the fairest and will set the market for them. Channels will compete for viewers with better shows and the more people who subscribe/watch will begin to allow them to demand higher ad rates. I am sure the technology is out there for cable companies to deliver specific channels. Any thoughts?
Act with your wallet....get satellite (if you can). Also, how about the all regulation nonsense between cable carriers by region? Free market baby.....embrace it.
I wish they could do al a carte or at least bundle packages geared toward preferences. I have no desire for half the channels we get and would prefer to save money over having them. Honestly, I don't watch that much cable-based sports or music channels like VH1 or MTV (which isn't really music anyway)...plus they could keep every single one of those shop-at-home channels. I don't have need for the hispanic networks. Some of their shows look interesting at times, but can't understand a word of it. Perhaps maybe they should consider English subtitles (like they would). I'd bet I could delete at least 20 channels permanently without regret.
What really sucks is that regardless of the FOX nonsense, we still got a notice from TWC that our cable bill was going up as of 1/1.
I wish we could do al a cart programming. It was explained to me that the reason it's not done that way is because of the number of stations that would not survive because they typically would not be chosen.
exactly......i told twc to take a walk and went to dish network. quit whining and act with your wallet.
I have heard this too. Well, let's talk about free market here too. So we are subsidizing a bunch of crappy stations that no one watches. Simple solution: many of these 'smaller', less watched stations can be grouped together into little packages that can be subscribed to. If not true al a carte, I would settle for a more broken down packaging system where I get a little more of a choice. Instead of: Standard cable = 20 channels Basic cable = 72 channels DigiPic Cable = 500 channels Why not a series of smaller packages broken down into logical groups that have a sports channel, a food channel, a movie channel, a music channel, a news channel, etc. I don't need ESPN 8 (the Ocho), or 5 different 24 hour news stations.
Going to another provider does not solve the problem. With satellite you still pay for packages that include stuff you don't need or want including extra hardware dangling from your roof. Free market would be al a carte. That would be acting with your wallet. It would be sending the same message to the carrier as well as the programmer/producer. I think it would be good for TWC as well because they would have more of a bargaining chip. If no one was subscribing to a particular channel because their shows sucked then that channel would have no grounds to jack up their prices on TWC. While the inverse is also true (the better the programming, the more they can demand for that channel).
The solution is going to an OTA antennea and tell the cable and dish providers to FO. If enough people do that, and a lot have, they will have to listen.
i agree a la carte would be the way to go but that isn't an option. if you want TWC to "get tough" then tell them you are leaving. You'd be amazed what people will do when they begin to lose business.
I just looked at my cable bill and it jumped 23.80 more a month to 168.80. I was having a tough enough time paying the 141.00. Definitly going to get rid of the digipic and go back to just the 72 channels and also get rid of the dvr. I record stuff but never remember to watch it so its not that important to me. I really need to get it back down towards 100.00 a month. When my cable bill becomes more then double my second mortgage payment its time to rethink my cable.
