Wouldn't it be nice to be able to pick and choose the cable channels you want?

[oregonjen]

Instead of having to pay for let's say, The Game Show Network, Jewelery Television and all those religious programs, just to pick the 20 or so that you really watch? Of course, the lobbyists in DC might object to that. :evilfrown:

Save money and only buy what you want to have in your own personal cable package. Would be nice. Had a fun rant with my brother on our monthly bills when you look at the price per year instead of per month, it really sucks!

[HopeHoops]

1. I already have that option

I don't get cable at all. Pink Floyd had it right with "I got 13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from." Now there are hundreds of channels of shit. I'm not paying for that!

[fishwax]

2. I prefer package pricing

I like having the variety to choose from and available to watch anytime they might have a half hour or an hour of interesting programming, rather than paying individually for a channel I might only watch for a small amount of time each week or month.

I also don't think a la carte pricing would necessarily result in cheaper pricing overall. It would for some subscribers, presumably, though not for all ...

[oregonjen]

3. We have so many channels that we don't even watch

I hate that my monthly bill is subsidizing programming that I don't watch nor agree with. Faux news is a perfect example.

[Moondog]

4. Yep, Faux and a bunch of sports channels I never watch.

[fishwax]

6. true, but then again so do others subsidize the channels that you do watch

and without those subsidies, the channels would be *much* more expensive on an individual basis. And that's assuming the channels would even survive such a price structure, in the face of declining ad revenues (since they could no longer count all cable subsribers as potential viewers) and rising marketing costs (since they would have to convince viewers to pay for their network individually, rather than to simply change the channel).

So I don't really mind subsidizing fox news, knowing that their viewers are subsidizing Countdown and The Daily Show.

[OmahaBlueDog]

5. I need 13 channels, maybe

Food Network
HGTV
Disney
Nick
The Weather Channel
ESPN
MSNBC
My 3 local channels
The local PBS station
Maybe TCM
Maybe TNT