Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want?

WHY CAN'T I HAVE JUST THE CABLE CHANNELS I WANT?
[SOURCE: New York Times 4/16, AUTHOR: Richard Siklos]
[Commentary] The great paradox of the cable "a la carte" debate is that it comes as the number of media options is exploding and the way they are being priced is all over the map. The much-maligned bundle will most probably prevail as the most popular business model for media, although it, too, is likely going to need an extreme makeover. Just look at the big picture: At one end of the spectrum is the push to sell more and more programming on a per-show or per-viewing basis, via video-on-demand or some kind of download service. Whether it is iTunes from Apple Computer, the new video services from Google and Yahoo, or the newest iterations of nascent mobile telephone services through Verizon, Sprint and others, it's clear that we are approaching a future where there will be no chance that a favorite show can be missed. All this is happening not so much because content makers sense gigantic riches in these new ventures, but out of fear that if they don't make their programming more freely available, younger audiences will grow up accustomed to getting their favorite shows free via illegal file-sharing services and DVD's burned by their pals. At the other end of the spectrum from selling individual shows is the equally au courant concept of überbundling -- selling digital cable services combined with high-speed Internet and telephone service, and maybe throwing some wireless into the mix. Ask cable industry executives, and most will argue that a majority of people still prefer buying the existing pre-ordained packages of cable. And the addition of new services like high-speed access gives viewers conveniences like a single bill and shared customer service. Yet a recent poll found that 54 percent of television viewers said they would prefer to buy channels individually, while only 43 percent said they'd rather pay a flat fee for a fixed number of channels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/business/yourmoney/16frenzy.html
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* Cable A La Carte ‘Such a Bad Idea’
http://telecommagazine.com/newsglobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_1976