Why Your Cable Bill Is Just Ridiculous

[Commentary] In a rare moment of candor, and departure from the usual languid "Try rebooting the box" communication expected from cable companies, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt apparently said at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association annual cable show: “There are too many networks.” “There are a lot of general-interest networks that have lower viewership, and the industry would take cost out of the system if they shut those networks down and offered lower prices to consumers,” he said. “The companies involved would make just as much money as they do now because of the costs.”

Most cable subscribers are forced to pay for hundreds of networks, but they routinely watch less than 20. So why not allow consumers to choose cable channels on a channel-by-channel basis (so-called a la carte offerings)? The blame is often laid at the doorstep of the content providers that bundle little-watched channels with more popular networks. Kind of like when the nets say you can only have ad inventory on hit prime-time shows if you also buy some in other, far less popular dayparts. Then there is that dumb-assed argument that bundling supports diversity of programming, providing comfort for the 12 people out of 3.5 million subscribers who want to watch something in Hindi or Urdu.

[Simpson is the president of George H. Simpson Communications]