I am thrilled to see the FCC changing course on this issue.
NEW YORK – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to suggest that cable companies could best serve their customers by allowing them to subscribe to individual channels instead of packages of several stations, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The newspaper said that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is expected to announce Tuesday that the commission will soon revise the conclusion it reached in the report it issued last year on “a la carte” pricing in the cable industry.
Citing an FCC official familiar with the revised report, the Journal said the report will conclude that buying individual channels could be cheaper for consumers than bundles and that themed tiers of channels could be economically feasible.
Last year’s FCC report on the subject found that most U.S. households would face higher television bills if they only paid for the channels they wanted to watch.
The commission said then that increased costs for marketing and equipment would force up monthly bills by 14 percent to 30 percent for most cable or satellite TV customers even if they only paid for a handful of stations.
Customer advocates have said a pay-per-channel approach would keep cost increases in check by making programmers and providers more accountable to viewers.
I’m quessing the assumed increased marketing costs would be due to networks actually having to prove they’re better than any other net out there. The increased costs due to equipment is self-explanatory. What ‘a la cart’ would achieve is better quality programming. Think about it. For instance, would the Fox News Channel be able to exist if suddenly ~50% or more subscribers suddenly dropped the channel? One of the following scenarios would play out:
#1 – Fox would be forced to even out their programming towards a more “centered” viewpoint
#2 – Drastically raise fees charged to the cable companies (which would probably lead to scenario #3 anyway)
#3 – FNC would close up shop.
Granted, the flip side of that coin would mean conservatives would be able to drop CNN or PBS, but I’m willing to bet that the number of conservatives willing to do without those channels is considerably less than the numbers of Democrats/liberals desperate to eliminate FNC from their cable boxes.
Bring it on.