Here’s one reason for why the cable bundle offers so many channels you don’t want

Why do cable subscribers end up with so many channels they have no interest in watching? Blame ESPN, says a small Cedar Falls (IA) cable provider.

Recently, the municipally-owned Cedar Falls Utilities renewed a long-term contract to broadcast Disney’s ESPN channels to its town of 40,000 residents. But this time, it said it was also forced to take on two Disney-owned channels it didn’t want -- SEC Network and Fusion. It’s deals like this that result in bloated cable bundles of hundreds of channels few people ever watch, CFU said. For customers who routinely ask: Why can't I pick channels like a la carte items off a menu? "Now you know," wrote Betty Zeman, a marketing manager at Cedar Falls Utilities.