Slashdot Mirror
Cable TV A La Carte?
Anonymous Coward writes "According to this BusinessWeek article you can now get your MTV a la carte. I having been waiting for years to buy my cable by the channel, and this article indicates that my cable company is now legally required to let me. I am going to call Time Warner tomorrow with my list just to see what they say. Anyone out there doing this now?"
Glad to hear it, now I can get TLC, Discovery, MTV2 and all the other good channels without BET and Lifetime.
-1 (Troll) is antihammer
How many do you get per $??
It says you can get HBO without having to pay for a premium level of service. They can still require you to get basic service and even make you rent a digital box.
This can't be true. I mean, who's going to explicitly ask for the three religious channels, the channel where they talk about hot rods, and that one that's just a bad radio station? These things get bundled for a reason.
Damn, that sucks, maybe I should actually read this stuff.
-1 (Troll) is antihammer
I am not doing this, but it is something I would like to do; under the current 'pay for channel bundles' method, most channels piggy-back on the success of a few, while forcing me to 'buy' channels I have no interest in.
Ruth Ivimey-Cook
Software Engineer and Author
If you read the article... it's only talking about getting premium channels individually. So you can get just one nightly dose of Skinemax, w/o paying for cinemax 2, 3 and 4.
Doesn't apply to basic cable.
a way to remove Womens Entertainment without having to delete the channel from memory.
Let the Geeks rejoice......
-Tolerate my intolerance
What kind of price limits are they put to? Same price as in a package of channels? Obviously, if they aren't held to any firm price limits, they'll just charge $20/channel, and nobody will buy it.
I do think this is a good law though, How many people on slashdot would want to get cable just for TechTV?
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
I am sure that the 'package' pricing will make consumer choice still include a few channels that would otherwise not be purchased. How many cable channels rely on being packaged with other groups of channels just to get a shot at having some eyeballs watching them?
Package deal - 39.99
Individual Channels - $3.00 -$5.00 per channel.
It could add up very quickly, and I think that most consumers couldn't be bothered to pick and choose channels while taking pricing into account IMO.
Cheers,
VonKraken
The headline and description are totally wrong. The rule says that a Cable company must allow you to buy HBO/Showtime/Cinimax/TMC without signing up for premium cable. So this means if you don't like watching MTV, Discovery Wings, or other non-Basic cable channels, but you watch HBO, you can drop Premium cable, but still keep HBO.
Come play Heroes of Might and Magic Mini online.
It would be better to have 70 channels of things you want to watch, rather than have 125 channels which include 4 home shopping networks, oxygen, lifetime,5 gardening channels etc....
Letting the viewers decide what they want to pay for is quite a concept. What took em so long?
---
When you come to a fork in the road, take it! --Yogi Berra--
If the cable companies start losing money on the pay-per-channel, they'll simply rebundle the premium channels (the ones that most people are willing to pay for per channel) and bundle those into basic service making you pay more in the end. Rule #1: In the end, the customer always loses.
As long as I can keep Women's Entertainment (WE) I'm fine.
"This isn't a study in computer science, its a study in human behavior"
..they have always a stick behind the door to still screw some of your hard earnd dosh (tm) out of you!
Yes, that right! Just read this:
"It's up to our clients [the cable operators] to decide how they offer our services,"
Translation: we got a stick behind the door.
"It's our hope that our affiliates would use whatever tactics are available to increase their premium penetration."
Translation: We're gonna screw you with it!
Moderation: +4. Modded 70% Funny and 30% Overrated. 100% Saturated.
For places with digital cable, we have the following setup. I'm not speaking for all of Canada, but at least with this cable provider (Rogers).
1) Analog channels. Channels 2-~78 are analog. We can choose between 3 "tiers" which determine what type of filter is installed at the cable box itself. 2-28 is "basic" cable. 29-~42(?) is another tier, ~43-78 is another. They are grouped this way as to make filtering easier. Changing the programming is a PITA as someone has to physically drive down from the cable company and change things. Usually being wishy-washy as to what you want will net you a $50 charge each time someone has to drive over.
2) Digital channels. Channels 80-999 are digital. You can order most any of the "basic" ones for $2.50 / each / month. Bundling them in bigger sets gets you bigger discounts. ie: 5 channels for $10, 10 channels for $15, etc. You can mix and match as you please, and they are activated usually before your call to the cable company is finished.
It's been this way for a year and a quarter now.
My wife would divorce me if I were to cancel Lifetime.
I wonder, does this apply to satellite providers like Dish and DirecTV?
Or only the regualted cable providers?
Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
/. posts a story on MTV/HBO but refuses to cover the H1B Visa bill passed on 2002/11/02?
from the article.
"It is now official. On November 2, US President George Bush signed the department of justice Authorisation Bill which will make extension for H-1B visas easier.
It will also make it possible for more Indian doctors to live and work in the US once their academic programme is over.
The extension of H-1B visas will particularly benefit the IT sector. This is good news for Indian H-1B visa holders, as nearly 50% of them are working in the high-tech sector. "
Goodbye Showcase, CNN, Discovery, TLC, Sci-Fi.. hello pr0n!
Trolling is a art,
We've had cable à la carte in Quebec for at least 4 years. You pay a small premium for the ability to pick your channels, but it is always worth it.
Here is an example of one of our à la carte providers.
Do you want to remove linux?
Does it? Or is it just cable with a cable?
Blah, legislation should be spent on opening up cable internet access to other competitors like DSL rather than allowing them to retain their heavy monopoly.
What about satalite packages? I would love to buy just only buy specifcal local chanels (Denver, Miami, and LA) with just Sci-fi, discovery and nuddie channels. Unfortunatly Dish Network, makes you buy a shitload of other channels if I want sci-fi and discovery :(
NO! NO! Please don't mod me, I'm too young to die a troll. *click* Oh the pain, the pain...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I just called my cable comapany and asked them If I can choose my basic local (broadcast) channels and Comedy central, TLC, MTV. The Receptionoist Informed me that these channels are part of "family package" and I would have to purchase that option to get those channels. The CS person then informed me that I can pick and choose my movie channels if I so desired.
Oh well so much for legal rules
(PS I have cablevision)
what I am most hopeful for, is sports being put as a seperate package I can deny and trade in for other channels/events ;]
none... tech tv blows
They just need to make every channel a 'premium' channel like HBO. I'd buy that, 'Comedy Central', 'Cartoon Network', 'Animeal Planet', and maybe 'TLC', and no others. I'd still spend less than I am now.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
I know not everyone is in this situation, but here in Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas, y'all), I get all I need off the air for free:
02 - KDTN, 2nd PBS channel
04 - KDFW, Fox
05 - KXAS, NBC
08 - WFAA, ABC
11 - KTVT, CBS
13 - KERA, primary PBS
21 - KTXA, UPN
23 - KUVN, Univision
27 - KDFW, semi-independent (owned by 5, IIRC)
29 - KMPX, religious broadcasting
33 - KDAF, WB (was originally Fox, hence K-DAllas-Fox)
39 - KXTX, Telemundo
49 - KSTR, "K-Star", has the Dallas Stars games
52 - KFWD, semi-independent (can't remember which big station owns them)
55 - KLDT, independent (lots of Westerns)
58 - KDTX, religious broadcasting
68 - KPXD, PAX TV
That's 17 stations for no more than the price of a good rooftop antenna. Actually, we don't even have that... we have a 300-ohm rabbit ears that the kids move around when we change channels. Though sometimes the kids have to stand in the middle of the room, holding the antenna, until the show's over. But only if it's a really good show.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
I'm British, so all I know is BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV and Channel 4. How does the US TV system usually work?
They honestly need more stations like VH-1 Classic(ie MTV back when it was worth watching). All they seem to play are blocks of mega-obscure videos from the early 80s(and some '70s in their own time slots). I end up just leaving it on that channel for the entire weekend seeing videos I never knew existed before. Commercials? yeah, they seem to air them every 45 minutes or so. I watch that instead of G4 all the time now.
It's too bad MTV2 failed where VH-1 classic picked up. Imagine, a channel that plays just music videos that time hath forgotten! Never thought I would see the day VH-1 Classic is playing Megadeth videos while MTV plays "Fast Lane".
I'm amazed that posting trollish statements to piss people off is still effective. Even if the person is actually a rabid racist, and not just a rabid troublemaker, posting on slashdot has to be the least troublesome racist activity he can do. Pick your battles, don't let posts on a message board get under your skin.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
What are the cable deals like for Slashdot readers outside of the US?
I spent four months living in France this year and my cable provider had a point system. Each channel cost a certain number of points (ranging from about 2 for something boring up to 15-25 for a premium channel) and you paid for packages with varying amounts of points. Then you could pick the channels you wanted and not waste points on something you would never watch. It seemed like a better deal (perhaps not cheaper, but much more flexible) than what we have in the US. I don't even have cable here since I'm not a huge fan of television and cable TV packages cost more than I am willing to pay.
-Joe
...I'll be happy. http://www.advfilms.com/news/index.asp?c=&p=0&i=64 8
^_^
I know that cable companies try to screw you, but I didn't know they were so open about it. This is a quote from one of showtime's spokesmen.
"It's our hope that our affiliates would use whatever tactics are available to increase their premium penetration."
Hmmm! I don't care much for their choice of words there, when they tell us how they plan to screw us. *shudders*
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
My channel lineup? All three C-spans, FoxNews, CNN and Headline news (as a backup), Comedy Central, UPN (Star Trek), and Fox (Simpsons, Bernie Mac), and TNN (More Star Trek). Maybe History Channel too, and the military channel if available.
Personally, I'd like to opt out of MTV. There is rarely anything that doesn't disgust me on that channel. Music videos are gone, Daria is gone; the only thing we watch on there at all anymore is Road Rules when they go visit someplace cool, but we look at the scenery and ignore the dialog...
I'd more likely opt-in to something like Food Network...but I've already got it...
Yeah, I guess this ruling is good for some. But you can't get rid of regular cable channels for reduced price. I personally do not want the premium movie channels as I don't watch much TV. When I do I watch Fox, Comedy Central, and the History Channel. Maybe some A&E every once in a while.
The problem is that I can get local channels on cable for $14 or I can get everything for $50. There is nothing in between. I wish I could cut out at least some of those crappy channels even for $10 a month off. Obvious monopoly.
Yeah - I have satellite and only need the local channels from cable - yet I would have to subscribe to a package of like 30 channels and rent a box from them in order to get the local channels.
You're lucky. You don't have the Commission for Restrictions and Thought Control insisting that you get channels in a language you don't understand. I wish they would do something useful like bar CNN from regular cable TV and replace it with BBC World so we can all get decent news coverage.
read the article. this only applies to premium services like HBO, which is exactly what the CS person told you. they can still package everything else as much as they want
IIRC, you can still do this for basically every channel if you've got one of the big satellite dishes with a C and Ku band receiver. There are packages, too, and some are unencryped over the bird.
I used to dig watching M2 when it was new, and I was spending late, late nights in the TV station. *sigh* Master Control sucks.
even with the Max Headroom reruns?
we've only had TechTV for about a year on our crappy digital cable, and i've had a lifetime dose of Screen Savers. even my M$-lovin' roomate can't take most of their programming. i watched the Apple keynotes that they showed, and Max Headroom... that's about it i think. i tried to watch more but it gets bogged down in M$ Windows nonsense that means nothing to me. oh well.
Anyone know which federal rule that caused this? I read the article and its a little light on the details.
I'd like to see the actual federal mandate to see what it actually covers before going to Time Warner here in Austin and asking them to give me some pricing info. If anyone's already done this here, reply and let me know..
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
One group, however, would especially like to get the word out: The companies that produce programs for premium cable channels. ..... But they won't publicize the new rule, out of fear that they'll alienate the channels that buy their programming.
Have I misunderstood?
Surely the producers should be bullying the cable companies, not the other way round. The other channels will be delighted to leap on mainstream programming that another channel has rejected in aa huff. The producers can afford to be a lot more choosy about who shows their shows. They only need a single buyer.
The article doesn't say anything approaching the Slashdot blurb. It says you can order pay channels without having to subscribe to premium service.
/. continually misreport the news in such a way as to sound appealing to the readers? What does it accomplish? Speaking for myself, it just annoys the hell out of me when I find out the truth.
They can still make you get standard service. Here in Austin Tx, you can't get pay-per-view unless you have digital cable (from Time Warner).
Why does
WWJD? JWRTFA!
"It's our hope that our affiliates would use whatever tactics are available to increase their premium penetration."
This post will be modded down for no particular reason by a sweaty 14 year old who is not allowed out past dark.
is JapanTV, a 24/7 NHK feed. I'd have to upgrade my DirecTV decoder and get a new oval dish with dual receivers. Then I can get JTV a la carte for only $30/month. But I'd have to invest about $300 before I can even start spending the $30/mo. At least it would all work with my TiVo, they even have program listings. They have a bunch of ultrapremium channels in this price range or higher. Ouch, those prices are too damn high!
We have ATT Broadband Cable, previous TCI. Mid-summer this year, they dropped the premium movie channels from all non-digital converter boxes, requiring customers to go with the digital systems if they wanted premium movies. This "A La Carte" ruling would seem to be addressed with this obnoxious policy implemented by ATT, etc.
It says you can get HBO without having to pay for a premium level of service. They can still require you to get basic service and even make you rent a digital box.
Actually, in the case of AOL/TW, you are required to have digital cable in order to have HBO, because they simply don't offer HBO on their analog cable.
'Sides, one thing they can do (and are doing) to control this is with cable modems. I have AOL/TW's cable modem service. They charge $44.95/mo unless you have at least what they call their 'extended basic' package, which costs $39.95/mo. Otherwise, the price is $89.95/mo for the cable modem by itself.
My journal has hot
.... like you need to divorce your wife instead.
(it's a joke. laugh.)
My cable provider (Adelphia) offers TV in bundles with Broadcast, ($11/mo) Basic, (+$20/mo) and then premium stuff, whose price I don't know. They also offer Internet.
I don't know if they will offer Internet without at least Broadcast cable TV. But they add a surcharge to the cable Internet if you don't have at least Basic, so you may as well get Basic.
Pricing for Internet wasn't mentioned, but now this makes me wonder if this practice is legal.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
My dad's worked in cable engineering since its inception and has always said that ala carte pricing is not a good idea.
First off, it's more expensive. Consider: a fair price for a channel you really want is probably 2-5$ per month. I receive 85 channels for $23. Even eliminating the dozens I don't watch, there's more than 10 channels I do want to get, including all five major networks, comedy central, cartoon network and a gaggle of learning channels, BBCA and of course Food TV.
Second off, it's not really good for the cable co based on how the cable companies receive and send the channels themselves. Everything's handled by big blocks of splitters and amplifiers. Each handles a set of channels. Channels are pulled down from satelites in blocks as well...TWC in Albany has a set of five or so, one of which is dedicated to all the myriad HBOs, one to all the turner channels, etc. So it makes sense to sell TV in blocks...it's impossible to accurately tell how much a SINGLE channel costs you. In fact, after setup costs and maintenance costs and offsetting the possibility of customer service, just getting one channel may cost about $15 on a good margin, while getting fifty channels on the same line would only be pennies more.
Finally, it's not fair for marginal channels. You know all those channels you don't watch, like History or Speedvision or Golf TV or Univision? They're all somebody's favorite channel, believe it or not. There may be very few people who watch them, but they're getting equal billing due to being part of a package deal. Thus, they also have the ability to get hugely popular -- after all, you're more likely to catch something interesting on than if you had to order it specifically. Would TV Food be such a mainstay in our house were it not for having actually seen Good Eats, Iron Chef, David Rosengarden's Taste or Jamie Oliver? No. Hell, we wouldn't have ordered "ala carte" a channel that was ostensibly just reruns of Julia Childs.
Block pricing isn't really that expensive, anyway. I get 85 channels and broadband internet for less than the a quarter of the cost of my car's insurance and upkeep, and I sure get a lot more utility out of it.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
100 bucks says 3 out of ever 4 on-topic posts on this article won't take into account that basic fact from the article.
grep -ri 'should work'
We have 3 tuners in our house. I recently called Dish to see about getting an upgrade on one of the tuners to more channels. The support person told that I would have to upgrade the smart cards in all 3 tuners. I asked why and he began to babble some stupidity about how they all "worked together". I informed I was a computer tech and was completely sure that my tuners weren't networking in any form and worked independently of eachother. Eventually he got around to admitting that Dish requires this on all when you upgrade one. Of course that means I would have to pay times 3 for the 3 tuners.
I declined their "generous" terms.
I wish the FCC would look into this obvious deception by Dish.
I get a premium cable package, analog unfortunately, and I get a TON of channels that I don't watch. To cope with this I actually used my tv's vchip for something useful. I blocked MTV, BET, Oxygen, Lifetime, the NASA channel, and a slew of others. If you flick the channels on my tv you only have 31 channels of goodness :).
ALL.. the ONLY channels that I want are the Sci-Fi & Cartoon Channel!
Are you sure? I thought cable companies were required by law to offer "Basic Cable" which is just local channels, public access, and maybe a few "cable" channels thrown in to make it interesting. This is usually priced around $10.
Of course, this is for analog cable. If you want digital cable then you probably do have to subscribe to their overpriced 30+ channel digital package.
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
...this 'wife' tingy anyway???
(Did I mention yet I've got a great new server, with lots of SCSI-disks etc.?)
I've been coveting dish for a while (AT&T could install the very next day when I called to check prices, so that's why we went with them), and it would certainly be cheaper (yes, even with local channels). But I've also wanted to just be able to order channels a la carte and pay for it that way. However, if it's just a matter of not having to pay for all the "non-pay" channels (as it seems the article states), then we're not quite there yet.
Dish, here I come.
A couple of years ago I went back to just "Basic Cable". This includes all the local channels, public access, plus a few others like WGN, BRAVO, PAX, C-SPAN, and a couple of home shopping channels. I pay about $15.50 total a month.
Wanker's Corner NOTHING!
There's a place on the Oregon maps called "Whiskey Dick." It right near North Junction on the Deschutes River maybe 20 miles South of Maupin.
If you guys think "a la carte" == cheaper, wake up. This is a new way for cable companies to make more money from you.
Cable companies aren't going to do ANYTHING that they don't think they can get more money for.
The opposite of progress is congress
Here in Montreal their is a service provider that offers "A la carte" cable television
:)
but we're stuck with a lay that force you to choose 50% + 1 of french channels
so this isn't that great
but what is cool is that you can take different packages
In example: sci-fi, sports, adult and US package
combine with a french package I can have what I want
You get 85 channels for $23?
Through who?
Oh wait.. 50-60 of those channels are "winter" channels that show vast amounts of beautiful snow....
I called the the local cable company and they just kept tell me, "You don't have cable, quite calling us."
I have been waiting for something like this for some time. I called Charter to check the rates for Basic + HBO on the ala carte plan and they claimed that it did not exist. The service rep. told me that HBO is only available on the digital plan. I pointed out this requires me to purchase additional channels over what I have today and the rep agreed. I then pointed out that they were required to offer me option that did not do that based on the new rule that went into effect in October. The rep is going to get back to me.
What? You want me to swap my analogue box for a more expensive digital one with all those lovely foreign channels that I don't understand? Great Mr Cable Provider, I'll have one for each room in my house.
What? You are saying that the digital artefacts are meant to be there? The split second black blank screens are meant to be there too? My analogue box is being phased out? Great Mr Cable Provider, I'll have two for each room in my house.
What? You have removed all your local shops to improve my quality of service and to save yourselves some money? You aren't passing the money savings onto me? You haven't employed extra staff to man the phones? Great Mr Cable Provider, I'll have to recommend you to my friends.
Cable companies deserve everything they get.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
maybe he was the troll, and you're replying to it!
I suggest you tune in at 11pm for the Sunday Night Sex Show and at Midnight Sat/Sun for Bliss!
Very interesting shows!!! Better than what you have get on HBO and Skinemax, IMHO.
When I signed up with DISH network, I got a plan where for $15 a month you could pick 10 channels from their basic lineup.
Unfortunately they don't offer it to new subscribers anymore. Maybe this will prompt them to re-offer it?
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
Tried looking for the "rule" on the fcc.gov site and couldn't find anything yet. Anyone out there got a link? I need to read it before I can use it to beat up my C-TV provider.
There is no problem so great that Armegeddon wouldn't solve it.
Step 2: Disconnect cable wire
Step 3: Call them, ask for cheapest offer
Step 4: Leave disconnected for around 2 weeks
Step 5: Re-connect cable, enjoy most expensive offer at the cheapest one
Step n: If they call you, just say: "Yes I removed it for a while because I was painting the room/on holiday/blah. Sorry didn't know"
It's a stupid protocol with no feedback, they just send the codes and ASSUME the receiver has processed the filtering requests. I wonder why they don't keep sending the codes every x days...
---
Or maybe the AC submitter should have actually read the article before submitting, with a totally wrong title.
1984 was supposed to be a warning, not an instruction manual.
Yep, Videotron and LOOK have been offering a la cart TV for almost 3 years now but then again we are stuch with mostely lame chanels like MUSH MUSIC and others like SPACE (A CAN version of sci fi channel with no budget).
This article depresses me because of two opposing facts:
1. People don't care about networks, they care about shows. Give me "The Sopranos", "Survivor", "Cowboy Bebop", "[Insert your favorite show here]", a la carte. I couldn't care less about these dinosaurs called networks. The sooner networks disappear the better.
2. But, this show based nirvana is never going to happen because the companies controlling the television system are just as violently opposed to changing their business model as the [RI|MP]AA companies. So even with a la carte networks, I'm still going to have to pay for 167 hours of crap each week for the one hour I do want.
Feh! A pox on all their houses.
I live in Westchester County, NY, a suburb of NYC. We recently moved from one Cablevision area to another, and lost some favorite channels from the standard lineup. I called Cablevision, and they added each channel I wanted for about 75 cents per month. Not bad!
Although it sucks that we get fewer channels now for a higher price (even before adding the 75 cents) than we did in our old area.
$8.95/mo web hosting
Now the posters don't even read the stories.
Trying is the first step towards failure.
Thanks for pointing out something we all already know, fucknut. Hey jackass, try reading the article next time!
Animeal?
Is that a cross between Animal Planet and the cooking show? Next up on Animeal how to make a California Condor Omelette!
Please note this is supposed to be a joke (maybe not a good one but humour nevertheless)
Actually, in the case of AOL/TW, you are required to have digital cable in order to have HBO, because they simply don't offer HBO on their analog cable.
BS! In Columbus, OH where I live, if your on Time Warner, if your on BASIC service (which is Analog) you can get 3 channels of HBO for price of one. For Digital subscribers, you can get 14 HBO's for the price of one. Doesn't do me any good cuz I'd never watch HBO any way.
Gorkman
See, the thing is that they have enough bandwidth now to deliver 500 channels. So their business is getting like $50 a month from each subscriber. Once they have the bandwidth, giving you 500 channels isn't much more expensive (if at all) than giving you 3. They are not going to give a discount simply because they don't *get* a discount in terms of reduced expenses by providing fewer channels.
The only way it would make sense for them is market segmentation. In other words, if some new pricing scheme made them more money than it lost (in terms of full subscribers switching down), then they'll do it. This is why they offer a really shitty basic cable - they want it to be just better than a rooftop antenna, but limited enough that it makes you want premium.
So no, there is no system under which we all end up paying less for cable than we are now.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
I dunno where you live, but I'm in NY. I have TW Cable, and they allow MSN, AOL, and Earthlink as ISPs over their cable modem service, in addition to their Roadrunner service. I pay $42/mo. for the cable modem service, and have no cable tv. I also got the modem for free for the life of my subscription, installation was free and the first month free too. I'm pretty pleased. My coworkers and I think that because of the AOL TW merger, one of the stipulations was the opening of their cable lines to other ISPs. It's definitly saved me a lot of money.
Actually, I believe that the $44 vs the $89 is to combat cable piracy. It was discovered a while back (prolly been exploited for a couple years now) that all you need to do is splice the cable to your modem, just as you would to split signals between tv sets, and viola... free cable TV. So, if you don't get cable tv from us, we're going to charge you for it anyway. That way, we don't care if you're splitting it off for free TV.
put the what in the where?
The first thing that sprang to my mind was:
Excellent! Now I have a new term to use when speaking with militant Vegans.
The Weather Channel is like $5 a year.
HBO is about $150
http://www.cssnps.com/
Pick and choose what channels you want, and even who you want to buy them from.
Of course, you have to have this giant mobile birdbath on your roof.
An interesting article on some of the happenings on this show: (maybe the article the poster was talking about).
h ow =87&story=4068
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cg?s
I don't think it would be unfair for Speedvision to not subsidise GolfTV.
Actually I think it is unfair that a Speedvision viewer would have to subsidize GolfTV.
My box lets me hide the channels That are not watched in my home.
;)
That means whe I surf I only surf the channels I watch.
so take the 30 dollars divide that by the 20 channels that are watched. that means I'm paying 1.5 dollars per channel PLUS I get a bunch of "preview" channels of other shows, in case I want to see what my other options are.
In short, just filter the channel you don't watch then see how much per channel you enjoy that you are paying. Probably getting a better deal then if you bought the channel individually.
OTOH, thats not what the article was about, it was about not having to buy a premium package just to get HBO/Showtime.
see, I did read the article
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Where is that? In our area, you can get RoadRunner for 44.95 if you have basic cable also, or 49.95 if you don't.
-- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
You should read it again:
"New York City fans of HBO's Sex & The City who could care less about the 20 or more channels that must be bought to get that particular premium service could slash their monthly cable bill from $56 to about $31. The smaller fee would get HBO and the major TV networks."
As I recall the major TV networks is not part of the basic package, and has been a required provision of the cable company since time long gone.
MTV not being lumped in as a standalone is because Viacom offers Showtime, MTV, VH1, and Nickleodeon together to the cable companies, so the companies, in turn, must offer it to subscribers. The Discovery channels would probably do the same with Discovery, TLC, and Animal Planet.
I wouldn't be surprised about the rental of a cable box though...
That's quit enough out of you!
Anyway, the "basic" channels, cable is required to carry. It's usally the local channels, but the price for them is generally in the $10 range. While it would be a challenge to broadcast them individually, that's why we have smart boxes on the downstream side. They can group the "extra" music channels (M2, VH1 Classic, etc, etc), the "lifestyle" channels (TechTV, others), "extra" sports channels (ESPN Classic, etc). What's the huge problem with configuring it to block individual channels? Probably software, and they're too lazy and/or cheap to offer that service. Charge for basic, then $5 to choose 5 channels from any of the remaining however many. Want 5 more channels? $5 more bucks. And don't forget the $5 "rental" fee for each receiver.
It's at least somewhat of a solution. No choice for basic, but choice above that.
I thought that's why they put filters on the cable going into the house or building. To prevent you from getting service that you haven't paid for.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
I want the Shania Twain chanel. Muted, of course.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
The local cable company here in Canada charges us 10.00/month for the digital cable box which we bought from them for 129.00 so we don't even pay that. They have this thing that's 20.00 for 20 channels, plus 1.50 or so for every other channel you want. You also have to pay 8.95/month for a basic set of 50 some odd channels.
Why is it that I can't just buy the porn channel and a few others? sure, I get about 15 religious and infomercial stations that I never watch (but end up paying for), but what I really want is the ability to only view what I asked for. If I wanted the latino HBO, I would have bought it. Since I get it, and I have to purchase 5 HBOs all together for one price, I end up paying extra for something I don't use. I think a la carte pricing is on its way, and not a moment too soon. The only reason cable companies would not want this is because they are subsidized by the extra crap.
What if the internet was this way and you had to pay to view other web pages that you were not interested in just to get to the few that you actually want to see? Oh wait, NetZero and Juno couldn't give that away. the only difference I see is the cable companies don't have to compete for local market share (can you say monopoly?).
Why read the article when I can just make up a snap judgement?
In Quebec with Videotron at least, digital tv has packages, but can be bought a-la-carte. You do need to get a base package which includes a few channels (like all on-air stations), but that's about CAN$10. You then have to choice to buy any channels you want. Most cost, if i remember correctly, CAN$1.50, but things like Playboy will cost you more.
I found i still preferred to get a big package, though, just because i like to have lots of channels around. But someone who only wants the essential plus HBO wouldn't have to buy a package.
It's illegal to charge someone more for using a credit card. It doesn't stop one of the local gas stations from giving me a "discount" for using cash.
I imagine they will charge a crazy amount for individual channels, but then give a "discount" for multiple channels. I may get 10 channels for $40 now, but if I ask, they'll probably charge $10 each and then bundle the 10 for $40.
My cable company, Adelphia, is made up of a bunch of weasels (some of whom are now headed to jail for dipping into the profits for personal use) always looking to screw people. Where there's a weasel, there's a way.
Because the link is slow, here is the text of that rule:
Dishnetwork is offering a deal right now for 80 bucks for the dish 500 and reciever only. You have to sign up for a year of international programming though.
Want to know the funny thing? NHK's feed is free to air to the rest of the world via c-band sattelite. Actually according to charts (you can find them on NHK's web page) it shows that you can recieve NHK via c-band, but requires one of those 6 foot dishes.
I'd like to get TVJapan myself, since my speaking ability has degraded since my time in college there, but my house is surrounded by high trees so I don't have line of sight.
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
One of the side effects of this is that plenty of cable television networks will not survive. Eventually the cable companies will be able to weed out the networks that do nothing to increase their viewer base and just suck up money. Comedy Central will make a much bigger cut of the cable money pie, as will Food Network(I'm guessing here, but I love it), CNN, Lifetime(unfortunately) and a few others (I'll leave the readers to fill-in their own blanks). At the same time those bandwidth/money sucking networks would get a smaller and smaller piece.
My point is: Showtime is a premium pay movie channel... OF COURSE they want bigger [market] penetration. It means more money for them. They are a business. It's tantamount to Ford saying "We hope our dealers use whatever tools are at their disposal to sell more cars."
put the what in the where?
I just spoke to a comcast representative and he told me that I can get HBO with basic service.. BUT I would have to get both the 'standard' and 'digital' packages to get HBO2, HBO-west, etc (which are included in the price of the single HBO but inaccessable without the digital reciever)
:)
I can't find any information about this law anywhere. I'm going to contact the FCC and find out more
"Your call is important to us, please hold"
sulli
RTFJ.
Anyone have the specific details on where the new rule can be found. My cable company disclaims all knowledge of the rule and will not offer individual channels? I tried a federal register search online with no results.
"Pee Pee" Falls
And I'm proud of that! I just can't believe anybody even watches TV anymore. I mean, you can all your movies, shows, MTV, whatever from gnutella and all your news from news.google.com. Let's leave last-gen tech behind. way behind.
Karma: Bizzare (mostly affected by varying internal caffeine levels.)
Suppose every channel were considered a "premium" channel and people had to subscribe to each one individually. Some channels would go up in price, such as MTV, CNN, etc., and some would go down in price: CourtTV, etc.
I think the end result would be that some channels would make enough money to be sustainable. I would expect that most of the less popular channels would only be available in major markets (such as large urban centers with lots of subscribers).
The "packaging" that has existed in Cable TV has allowed some of the smaller networks/channels to exist even though they only have a niche audience. Yes, everybody pays a little extra, but the diversity of programming is pretty high.
Amazing magic tricks
I'm not married, but I'm pretty sure my sweetie would kill me if I turned on Lifetime.
sulli
RTFJ.
Contrary to what the Slashdot article implies, the provision regulates only "video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis," (e.g. HBO or pay-per-view) not channels like MTV that are offered only as part of a package. Also, it is not clear whether it would apply to an HBO 1+2+3 "package" since technically these are not offered on a per channel basis.
However, for channels that do fall under this provision, the operator is prohibited from discriminating against customers who subscribe only to the rock-bottom basic package, so they must be able to get HBO for $5/month if customers on the super-ultra package can.
I bought cable internet without cable television but decided to try it anyway to see if it had been left unblocked. The ONLY chanel I get is Lifetime. It must be a cruel joke.
Oh, come on, "There weren't any more details."? Get with it, lameass! If you're gonna post this s*it every day with a new modus operandi, you can't wuss out suddenly. Get with it, sucka, and give me some gory details!
I tell ya'll, the quality of trolling these days is going right downhill.
I blame AOL.
If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
It's part of the 1992 cable Act: Section 623(b)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Volume 47 of the US Code Section 543(b)(8).
You can find it online at
http://uscode.house.gov/usc.htm
using the above information.
I have often said to myself and others... "With so many channels, why is there never a show on worth watching? One would think the cable companies would try to improve their programming, to bring in more customers..." Now I know why there is never anything on: The cable company does not care about the quality of those many channels... they are just filler so the customer has to pay more for the premium channels.
Who do you get your IP addresses from? If it's a TW IP address, TW is your ISP. Just because you're using TW's service to connect to another ISP, doesn't mean that TW is not your ISP.
And no, TW does NOT have to open the cable lines to other ISP's. If that were the case, your bill would come from JUST MSN, AOL (which is now part of TW, dipshit), and Earthlink. TW would not be mentioned on the bill.
I've been called a "Fucking Dick" by better people than you.
I might answer my own question but could it be that back in the early 90s cable systems had a monopoly and you could not satellite (easily).
If you go into a grocery store, you can't buy 3 cans out of a sixpack. It seems they have the right, barring extenuating circumstances, to sell just one package, with everything, or sell every channel individually.
If lots of people don't want the channels some one will offer a specialized ala carte plan.
And because I have karma to burn...
The free market should work this out
--Joey
Last year they also had everyone trade in their analog cable boxes for digital cable boxes (no change in fees related to that). Having a digital cable box doesn't mean you have their "digital cable" service, only that you *can* get digital services. If you have the Standard service, some of the channels are digital (you can tell by the MPEG artifacts). This page lists the available channels and what category they're in. I have Standard plus the HBO pack, which is a Digital Premium item.
AOL/TW's cable business is kind of run like a franchise so there can be substantial differences between regions when it comes to prices, channels and services both for cable and RoadRunner.
Doesn't work if you have Cable modem. They can filter all or nothing. Actually, it's not even really a filter, it's something they screw on that prevents the cable from making contact.
I've been called a "Fucking Dick" by better people than you.
These things get bundled for a reason.
As a welfare programme for arts graduates ?
Actually, if the cable is installed right, a filter blocking the analog signal is placed on your line at the pole/little green box before the line enters your home. But those don't take all that much to remove and the worst that would happen if you did remove it and they caught you, and this happend several times, is they'd come up to the house and tell you to stop taking it off.
Linux: The world's best text-adventure game.
Now if I could just get cable modem service without paying for basic Cable TV service, I'd be thrilled to death. I have Direct TV, i dont even hook up the stupid cable line to my TV.
adventure-today.com
I also called Cox San Diego, and the friendly, knowledgeable rep told me no way; "I've worked here 2.5 years." He also said his manager and all the San Diego staff would say the same. I did get out of him that if I send an email (did it) through the corporate website, the corp people will read it (ie not go to San Diego). So, someone at Cox HQ "just got mail". ;( /. talks about Star Gate (regular tele is 1 season behind - go Daniel Jackson!).
I used the terms "Pick and Choose", "Basic" plus a few "Premium Channels". He understood and we skipped the pat response package nonsense (I don't have cable).
PS I still have to avert my eyes when
This type of A La Carte programming has been available on TVRO (big-dish satellite) for a long time now. It's very, very cheap.
TVRO is a great way to get quite a number of channels, and many you can't get anywhere else. The only thing you can't get with it is local stuff, and you can get that over the air for free. TVRO isn't dead yet.
-twb
please
This stuff varies between TW regions but around Rochester, NY AOL/TW advertises that you can choose different ISPs. I use RoadRunner so naturally it's on my cable bill and I don't know how the other ISPs handle the billing or who doles out the IPs. The other ISPs *do* handle the technical support so I'd say that's a strong argument for them being your ISP. Handing out IPs is one thing ISPs do but it's not the only thing.
I'm in Detroit. I've had TW cable for many years. They may allow you to CONNECT to other ISPs (actually you can do that with ANY ISP since they're all on the Internet, duh), but as far as MSN or Earthlink being your ISP, are you paying money to TW, or are you paying money to MSN or Earthlink?
As for the pricing, I have found that pricing can be different from franchise to franchise.
My journal has hot
I saw this posted in another thread. I thought it was funny. Oh well.
How about Wetwang?
I think you've got it wrong -- it sounds like you'll still get forced to buy the complete "expanded" package if you want ANY of the channels in it.
The "1992 Cable Act" is actually the "Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992". It is public law PL 102-385, October 5, 1992, 106 Stat 1460.
Mostly it affects 47 USC. See 47 USC, sections 609, 521, 522, 543, 534, 535, 325, 541, 555, 552, 532, 531, 558, 533, 536, 537, 542, 544, 544a, 546, 548, 551, 553, 554, 334, 555, 555a, 335, and 521.
US Code may be viewed at The Government Printing Office (www.access.gpo.gov).
Is this an out to escape any FTC requirement for full disclosure?
It would seem that, although a company is not required to disclose this, word-of-mouth or other publicity should get the word out fairly quickly.
Then I could just go to another cable company who DOES offer this option....Oh, wait a minute...
Dude, you know that big fucking satellite dish you got? It's an antenna. You know how you can get the local channels? Another antenna! Moron. Put up a stupid UHF/VHF antenna idiot.
Don't like what's on TechTV? Do something about it.
Don't bother flaming me about the grammar - it's not my petition.
dd
No cable system carries all the cable channels. The only valuable system would be: "Here are ALL cable channels. They range in price from $1 to $4 each. Pick as many as you like" (and are willing to pay for).
Anything less sucks big time.
Could I time-slice? One 'channel' with programs from different channels. Tivo on the back end?
Thousands of movies when I want them?
Not util they (or someone else) learn to "manage abundance rather than ration scarcity"
Yeah - I have satellite and only need the local channels from cable - yet I would have to subscribe to a package of like 30 channels and rent a box from them in order to get the local channels.
Last I checked satellite != cable. Unless you're just posting an offtopic message...
-dk
Here is a summary of the part of the
0 12:@@@L&summ2=m&|TOM:/bss/d102query.html|
Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 that is being refered to:
Prohibits (with exceptions) a cable operator from: (1) requiring the subscription to any tier other than the basic service tier as a condition of access to cable programming offered on a per channel or per program basis; or (2) discriminating between subscribers to the basic service tier and other subscribers with respect to rates charged for video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis.
Gotten from: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:SN00
So, it says that if a channel is offered alone, then the cable company cannot say must buy something else first. However, in the case of (for example) the Home And Garden channel, they don't sell it alone, so you cannot buy it alone.
Cable Companies have actually been doing this for a while, but you have to ask explicitly for it. Even (on occassion) forcing the sales person to talk to their manager.
I would love to buy channels ala cart, though.
Ciao!
The Doctor What (KF6VNC)
Could someone please find the reference for that rule? I can't walk down to AT&T Broadband and say that some little known rule mentioned in the newspaper says they have to offer me the SciFi channel and The Learning Channel for less than the full Bronze Package Price.
I have about 50 digital channels to choose from. There is no mandatory package, you just choose the ones you want. A great system with only one problem, a problem which affects all watchers of television:
The majority of the new digital channels are crap.
Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
b00bies
Wir mussen wissen. Wir warden wissen. I am a wuss
They can still require you to get basic service and even make you rent a digital box.
How else do you expect to tune in digital channels? I have yet to see a TV with a built in digital tuner. I believe the point is that to get certain premium channels, you must purchase packages of channels, not individual channels.
Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
For a very large part, Dish Network already does this. They have an service called "Dish Picks" where you select any channels you like at $1.50/month*channel with a $5.00/month minimum. You can also add this service to any other tiered service, forgoing the $5/month minimum (I get two channels this way, in addition to the 150-channel tier).
Not every channel is available a la carte, though, because some content providers (notably Viacomm) won't permit their channels to be broken up this way.
Also, some channels are lumped into subpackages that can be ordered alone. Only want HBO? You can do that. Same for Cinemax. Want just the five "superstations?" Sure! $5/month gives you all five of them.
The factor that has been constraining the cable companies on this front is that the content on their analog cable systems is fundamentally unencrypted. It takes the combination of encryption plus an addressable box in order to implement channels a la carte. Otherwise, the filters and traps needed to make it work would be a nightmare!
www.wavefront-av.com
Where is that? In our area, you can get RoadRunner for 44.95 if you have basic cable also, or 49.95 if you don't.
That's the way it used to be here in San Diego. Now it's 44.95 for everyone, and they also stopped charging the strange cable taxes to broadband-only subscribers.
Government idiots don't want it to be since they are in Time Warners pockets. Just licence out the frequencies to individual companies just like the radio spectrum is.
I've been able to do this since cable was first introduced in my area (c.1982). It's not only OLD news (probably the oldest ever posted on Slashdot), but it's hardly newworthy to begin with, since it's not financially practical to purchase your channels a la carte unless you only want one. After that, it usually ends up costing more than it would to just buy the package that includes whatever channels you want.
How else do you expect to tune in digital channels? I have yet to see a TV with a built in digital tuner.
He means they don't have to offer analog versions of premium channels, dimwit.
Can I do this Pay-Per-View style? I'd love to buy per-channel, but can I, in the middle of the month, see something I want to watch//maybe forgot about, and buy that channel for the rest of the month? What about only buying a peice of a channel? I only watch Comedy Central for The Daily Show. If people could buy "season tickets" from their cable provider, instead of from a TiVo, how would that effect the way TV is made?
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
...is to pay a reasonable price for the shows we want to watch, without commercials. Screw the channels and the commercials.
I called and talked to 4 people before anyone knew what I was talking about (supervisor did). But he said that I could only buy ala-cart if I purchased the "Standard" package, which is $37.50/month and already includes the channels I'd want (Sci-Fi and Comedy Central).
He said if I only get the "Basic Basic" package, which is broadcast channels and a bunch of foreign shite ($12.44/mo) then I can't add anything.
Aww well. I guess I'll just keep paying for my broadband and leeching the basic cable for free.
I dunno I laughed pretty hard.
This article was a case of bad reporting. It mentions that this is mandated by a federal ruling, but does not bother to give any good references to the ruling so I can read it myself.
not sure what your point here is. MTV is NOT a major TV network. Major TV networks would be FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC, maybe even UPN, etc. The basic cable package does include these, it's the second teir which includes MTV, CMT, TLC, Discovery, etc. and must be purchased to get HBO, Cinemax, etc. according to cable company's pricing plans. The big deal is that you can get any Premium channel or Pay Per View channel with only basic cable and not having to get the second teir, so you can't have basic cable and call them up and ask for MTV. They won't give it to you. They will, however, give you HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc. if you ask, but only if you know to ask b/c they aren't advertising that option.
MTV is no more a major network than Comedy Central or Animal Planet. Major networks are channels which are in nearly every area on a local level (my fox is different than your fox b/c we have different news and weather, etc.).
I'd like to be able to select a kids package (Nick, Disney, & Cartoon Network maybe?) and an education package (Discovery, TLC, History channel, Animal Planet, etc) but I've yet to live somewhere that this was possible. Typically these channels are spread throughout 3 or 4 packages with mostly channels I don't want. At least most digital systems I've tried elt you block out the channels you don't want to see but it's still really stupid to pay for them. A friend that works for a cable company tells me they only pay $.50/month per subscriber per channel. They need some competition so we could see special pricing for custom packages.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
I was having trouble with my modem (really, I was). I called support and they ran a test. They said my signal was weak and that they would send a guy out.
They next day I went from the 13 channels I was supposed to have to getting all of my channels back (50 of them?). The only trouble is that I can't get HBO or digital cable without paying full price and I'm too cheap for that.
If somebody wants more channels, maybe this will work for them?
That which does not kill me only makes me whinier
Cable companies should be able to sell you whatever they want, and whatever makes them money. There are alternatives, and if you don't like their packages, get a dish.
I can't buy just pages 15 through 24 of Time magazine.
...he said, "Penetration", huh huh...
MTV makes me wanna smoke crack
Fall out of the window
And I'm never comin back
MTV makes me wanna get high
Can't get a ride no matter how I try
And everything's perfect
And everything's bright
And everyone's perky
And everyone's uptight
I watch those videos
I watch 'em all day........
And I plug 'em in my eyeballs--
Hey Hey
And the colors are nice
And the pictures are nice
And the girls are nice
Everything's so nice
MTV makes me wanna smoke crack
Fall out of the window
And I'm never comin back
MTV makes me wanna get high
Can't get a ride, can't get a ride
Can't get a ride, can't get a ride
Well I work at the video store Makin change
And I'm countin out the pennies
Twistin in my brains
Condos in the distance and smog in the air
No one in the streets and no one anywhere
And I drink what I drink
And I eat from a can
And I'm standing by the microwave
'Til I feel special
Now I'm checkin out the furniture,
I wanna buy a sofa
Might buy a wheelchair
And roll out of this town
Yeah, and MTV makes me wanna smoke crack
Fall out of the window
And I'm never comin back
MTV makes me wanna get high
Can't get a ride, can't get a ride
Can't get a ride, can't get a ride
MTV makes me wanna burn flesh!
Having an orgy down in the satellite dish!!!
-Beck
Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
What are the cable deals like for Slashdot readers outside of the US?
Perhaps the biggest difference is that the dominant pay-tv supplier is satellite, not cable. The satellite system has practically completed the switch to digital, the cable systems are much more recent than the US <10 yo) and pretty much entirely digital. You usually get a free STB, but are committed to a min contract of 1 year and pay for services.
The packages are similar to the older US system as described in the article, but are sorted by content type rather than supplier. i.e. Entertainment, Sport or Movie packages rather than Disney, Vista, etc. These tend to be priced at £10-£20 (15-30 $/) per package per month for ~10 channels. The exception is the premium movie channels with cost about £8-£16 (12-20 $/) each pcm, expensive but good. They do seem to take most new-release movies within a few weeks of DVD release.
Aside from the Premium Movie Channels, the best content is available from the free-to-air BBC which is mainly distributed though both analog and digital terrestrial (UHF) transmission. They are usually also bundled with the other transmission mediums. This medium also support some national and regional advert funded, free-to-air channels of good quality.
The new kid on the block is broadband IP-DTV, this is delivered via broadband xDSL line to a STB. It differs from cable because the network topology is star and not a ring. It supports a real return channel, dedicated bandwidth to each installation. And therfore allows true content on demand (VOD), server side PVR, and real interactive content. I guess you can call it programme level al-a-carte. Each movie is about £1.50-2.50 UKP (2-3.50 $/) for 24hours, this is about the same as a movie rental.
I work on this (www.kitv.co.uk) IP-DTV project. There are a couple of others, Yes, and Homechoice.
The other month I receive my cable bill and it says so happily, "Your next bill will reflect the addition of a $0.25 Federal Copyright Fee Millennium Digital Media pays on your behalf"
WTF is this?? And can I now opt out of the channels that apparently having trouble with me even seeing their copyrighted material, which I thought that I am already paying to see?
Artist will always make art.
Yes, for PETA members.
(People for Eating Tasty Animals)
We wanted HBO and had to upgrade to digital to get it. The classic "full basic cable" channels (below 100) are still analog, you just get them with the digital tuner box, which adds the on-screen guide.
We've had no problems with image degradation on any of the digital channels (> 100, HBO, Showtime). Strangely enough we had pretty awful reception on some of the analog stations, but with the digital tuner box the image quality has improved noticably. I'm not sure I get that, but I can only guess they've added some extra filtering or noise rejection not found in standard TVs.
Overall it's been a pretty good experience. I love the on-screen program guide.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the move towards innane causes of death for the dear Mr King, which is exactly why I lambasted the AC for wussing out and not thinking one up for today. If I have to put up with Mr Dickhead posting the same sh*t joke every day, the least he can do is keep it interesting.
Just in case our dear AC is feeling under the weather today:
"Mr. King was found dead today below a mountain of paper. Apparently, he was working on a new, massive manuscript when the gargantuan pile of paper tipped over onto him, cutting him several thousand times. The pile of paper must have been too large for him to move, for although obvious signs of struggle were seen, he was unable to extricate himself, and bled to death. Ironically, the story was about a mountain climber who gets trapped in an avalanche with an alien, a dog, and a little girl who can set herself on fire at will. No word as to whether the story will be published."
If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
I already get Playboy and ETC Ala Carte. I think these are also premium channels. So, this is of very little interest. I don't reall care to see movies at home. I like going outside for a change. Visit your local theatre and look at all the pretty girls you can shag!!
I called Comcast in Muncie and the person said they did not do that. Does anyone have a link to the law itself or to the FCC implemntation. I tried looking but turned up nothing.
Well for a start I'd need both UHF & VHF antennas as a minimum - there's still some local channels that are not available over the air right now, oh and that there's only 2 - 4 years of over the air broadcast of analog tv that all seems like a waste of time.
Should I even point out that some of my uhf stations come from the opposite direction to the others so a directonal antenna wouldn't work and an omni is almost useless for tv reception.
Tell that to the cigarette companies. They are being forced to advertise the cancer-causing properties of their products -- against their right to free speech!
For-profit companies do not have the same right to the freedom of speech as do individuals. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are addressed to human beings, not commercial entities. The Constitution begins with the famous phrase "We the people" and the Bill of Rights amendements all specifically designate people as the recipients of those important freedoms.
This law will be totally ineffective unless the corporations are forced to inform their own customers about their legal rights and options when purchasing services from them. It's not such a radical idea -- there are plently of examples of this already. The FCC should stop its laissez faire approach to regulation and actually try to enforce the law for a change.
Right. He said he had satellite, and wanted to get local channels from CABLE, which is what I was talking about. Since you can't get local channels on satellite in many areas, subscribing to Basic Cable is a common way to get them.
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
Cable TV A La Carte? You mean I can watch the History Channel in French now? I wonder if you get to see Marcel Marcel get his Maginot ass whupped by a blitzkrieg. Sacre bleu!
-nd
Hmm what did you say about my 'on Time Warner' and my 'on BASIC service'? You used "your" which implies posession. Perhaps you meant you're? That would make the bad comma placement a little better.
I called Time Warner in my area and gave them my list of channels. Here's my list.
;)?
ESPN2
MTV2
CNN
Comedy Central
Cartoon Network
TNT
USA
FX
History Channel
The Learning Channel
Discovery
Animal Planet
Sci-Fi
National Geographic Channel
The representative told me that I was 'wrong' and that I would have to pay $50 a month to get these, "along with over 120 additional channels". I told about the Cable Act, and she told me I was mistaken.
So there's non-compliance with the law right there. Should I press charges
Bastard cable companies.
I jsut got off the phone with AT&T digital cable.
These people are criminals.
I signed up for HBO in september - I told them that i didnt want anything but to add HBO to my existing service. I was told that there was now way that I could get HBO unless I signed up for their Silver package - at 62 per month.
I asked what it came with and she listed all this other crap - i said that I didnt want any of that - that i just wanted HBO.
Then I called today about this law - and the fact that I just wanted HBO - and they quoted a range of other packages that are cheaper that had HBO. The girl said that they didnt have these packages in September which is why I wasnt offered. I told her to find out. Low and behold - these packages were available in september, they dont knwo why i was told otherwise - and that no they could not change the package and give me credit back retro-active.
the said that if you want HBo its 13.95/month + plus 12.55 for basic + 5.00 for the digital cable box rental.
this is all bullshit. I wanted to hit them in the face with a shovel.
In the end all i got was 10 off my bill for the next year.
but I think Ill just cancel all together.
It's the only thing that really matters. Your ISP is the one that gives you IP's and routing, period. You can ACCESS other ISP's through it and use their networks and services, like some of my customers do, but your ISP is whomever provides the IP's and routing for your circuit.
I've been called a "Fucking Dick" by better people than you.
I originally had the cable taken out years ago because the value had dropped too low. Because of logos, which I cannot stand, I was effectively paying $49 for five channels, premiums as you might guess.
For the last several years, when the cable marketdroids call, I ask them if I can get an absolute subscription model, that is, pay for only the channels I want, and get just those. They never could offer that, but it was interesting that they reported more people making my same complaint. One interesting thing was that the salesdroids always got confused when I told them I didn't have cable tv. Both sides assumed that I was with the competition, because I had once had TV service with each of them. They just could not grasp that I found logos so annoying that I'd do without tv entirely.
The only reason I have cable tv now is that Comcast recently changed rates in my area so that internet only cost more than internet+minimum basic. This still raised my cost by a couple of $ a month, I think it's time to check out Wide Out West for net service.
Until the logos are gone, TV is useless to me, and the only way I see to apply pressure is if the channels have to sell directly to me, which is what an absolute subscription model would encourage. The article, however, describes something that is just not useful to me. Hmph.
First off, the name of the original act is called the "Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act", and was passed in 1992 - it is more commonly called the "1992 Cable Act".
Here is the FCC FAQ regarding the act...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
They say it is Digital tier only and I have basic cable.
So they are doing this, they are breaking the law... WHAT NOW?????
What action can we take?
You sure the FBI won't come knocking? Not like it hasn't happened before.
"dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"
They depend on the package model. This is why:
Networks make their money by packaging and sometimes producing programming to get eyeballs. The greater the number of eyeballs, the more they can charge for ad placement. Ad placement is directly responsible for their bottom line.
Those same eyeball numbers also give them power over the marketing of their programming as well. Valuable shows make or break many networks. The power of the eyeball gives them leverage when it comes to buying or selling program content or placement on their network.
Right now the Cable and Sat companies basically are selling a fat pipe. Everyone gets in, but everyone also gets out as well. There are basically three tiers. Lame Basic, the basic you should have, and premium. For almost all subscribers, you have to get the first two tiers because of the sick packaging schemes.
These two factors boost the eyeball numbers for all the networks. This plus the fact that the cable companies can localize ad placement keeps ad revenue high. The more bundling they do, the better this really is for them.
Networks compete now on a fairly level playing field. The bundles make sure that all of the networks get their chance for air time. If people are allowed to choose the channels they want, then the barrier for entry becomes a lot higher for those less popular or specialized networks. They must work harder to generate interest. Because they are not part of the default channel line-up.
Nobody involved in the money chain wants this. The cable companies are best served by selling as many channels as they can. The networks want their chance at your attention to come as easily and cheaply as possible and the ad agencies want to be able to target as precisely as possible.
Per channel subscription breaks all of this. Remember the network exists to make money, not serve your interests. Nice Huh?
Bundles help smooth revenue also. The best thing you can do for your entertainment provider is to subscribe at the top tier, get your occasional bonus pay per view and never ever call them. Wall Street likes nice smooth growth and month over month revenue.
This makes their revenue model very simple. Basically all they really care about is the number of subscribers. Their marketing efforts are more or less directed at customer loyalty (Hey we have added more channels!), pay per view and or premium content (Catch the next lame fight @ 49.95 today!), or new subscriptions. (You get your first month free and our installers will make sure your dish and antenna don't work after we are finished!)
The packages build a sense of value for the whole thing and they stay focused on that. Think maga channels for few dollars -vs- sign with us and get program x.
One other very important aspect of this goes back to the eyeball number. If you have more channels than you can use, the best way to get your moneys worth is to spend a lot of time watching. You might miss something right? After all there are so many channels, there has always got to be something on.
Packages encourage casual TV use. There is something to browse and if you browse long enough, there is something interesting.
Per channel subscription takes a lot of that away. People would then become focused on the various networks more than they are now. The result of this would be more focused television use.
With both of these comes less overall use because people would become more aware of the programming and when they get the most value from it. Nobody making money wants this either.
This also would encourage more time based competition from the various networks as well.
Personally, I feel all of these things are good. Too much aimless TV viewing is bad for all of us. The problem really is there is *zero* financial incentive to provide the sort of service that lets users exercise control of their viewing experience. It is far easier to make money when the viewer has limited choices than it is when they have more choice.
BTW this is exactly why I quit using subscription programming. Take that money, and purchase programming on media. You can watch at your leisure, don't have to worry about recording and archiving so many things, and can trade with your friends for big savings. If you are tired of it, you can resell it for an even bigger savings.
Just got the first three seasons of Stargate SG1. Now if I have a free hour, I can watch one of those. In the mood at 3AM and want to share an episode with a friend? Maybe it came up at dinner or work? No problem, do it anywhere you like whenever you like.
Blogging because I can...
Satellite providers have to carry local channels. Call DirecTV or Dish or whoever you have to see how to get them.
You should be able to just add HBO. You wouldn't get the multiplex stations though, just normal HBO. My parents did this with just basic cable and just HBO so they could watch sopranos.
What a F'n joke. I called ATT and all they would give me is the main HBO Channel for $13 a month. I too was hoping that this 1992 Cable act would allow me to order only the 10 channels that I actually watch. I am sick and tired of paying $90 a month for basic digital cable and internet access. I already download most of the shows I watch off the net and use TV as a backup. Maybe one day I can ditch TV entirely.
We didn't have cable in our house until August, when me and my roommates collectively decided to get cable and split the bill. We wanted just the basic package, no digital, no HBO, just the standard channels.
:)
/. crowd, I am talking about the people who drive a loaded $20,000 car when in reality it costs $12,000. Or the people who buy a $2300 Dell computer for their kid to play games. Or the people who must have a cell phone that costs $200 when they can get one for free.
The next day Time Warner dispatched a guy who came when I was at school and installed digital cable with the full HBO package, for about double the price of what we had ordered.
When I came home I pointed out to my roommates that the digital box was not what we ordered, and that Time Warner should fix their mistake. Then we spent the whole evening watching movies (all my roommates love The Sopranos), and I realized what was Time Warner's "mistake" all about.
How many people out there had the same experience with your cable provider? Can you tell me a better way to actually bring digital cable into your living room? All the commercials about how great it is won't make the point until you actually see that fancy remote control and the cool menu. It's not a mistake they doubled our bill against our wish. It's the way they do business, people! Believe me, when it comes to these things, I live with 4 average John Doe's, who didn't care that they were lied in the face by the Big Company. They liked it! They could watch TV all day with all the cool movies!
And it's not only the cable providers. Southwestern Bell forced the "premium package" phone service on my girlfriend when she was connecting the phone at her place. Her first month bill was 80 bucks! All she wanted was local service, but the aggressive salesperson wouldn't get off the phone until she had all the perks. She even had insurance that if the phone set ever breaks, SB would come and replace it for free
This is a problem with the whole American consumer culture. For most people, convenience and options are more important than price, and even if some people care about the price, they would rather pay more than confront the people who lied to them. I am not talking about people like most of the
It's a country driven by trust and marketing. Ask anyone who was not born in the US and they would agree.
Does this apply for everything under the sun including the likes of ESPN, TNT, etc? Could I merely order 5 channels and have a $15-20/month bill? It sounded like that businessweek article was only referring to the premium stations like HBO and Showtime.
When I got my cable modem from Knology I also changed my cable subscription from the 72 basic channels to 12 local channels. They couldn't give me just the 12 channels and internet service since cutting off the the other 62 channels would cut off the cable modem.
So now I get 72 channels for 12.95 plus 29.95 for the internet. They don't advertise this but they didn't tell me I couldn't cut my plan back. Finally, something that works to my advantage.
Nope, they say I have to upgrade to digital.
Bastards
Actually RCN (a nearby cable provider) allows you to choose which channels you want! I beleive it costs 2-5 a channel
You can't just pick and choose your channels according to the new govt. regulations. You are only able to get premium channels like HBO, without the most expensive set of other channels. No other system would even make sense for the govt. to force on cable providers unless the govt. started regulating the price per channel as well.
Vote for Pedro
Having worked for a large Canadian cable company for the last two years, I can tell you with 100% certainty that this will NEVER happen until everything is digital. The way land-based analog cable (First 60 or so channels - everything you can get without a box) currently works is through a filtering system that works like this: You order all the channels : no filters You order a bundel with packs 1 and 2 and basic: the reminaing channels (pack 3) are filtered off. You only want basic: You get all four filters. These filters are done AT YOUR HOME (Inside the Grey CSE's on the side of your houses, in a PED, or on a drop line from an antenna. Each of these filters costs about 5 bucks a piece. So that means at 60 channels, if you only choose to watch CBC, Space and MTV, they have put 57 filters costing about $285 (Cdn. Dollars). Not only is it a cost issue, but these things are pretty inaccurate and can only get a range of channels properly. So if you were selling channel by channel, odds are if you bought one channel, they would have to give you 2 or 3 channels free in order to be able to receive that one channel. Another problem is actually installing the things, working with four color coded filters is a breeze. Working with 60 different filters is going to create some problems. Anyways, there's some insite into the cable industry for ya. Until they get a digital box in every home, this will not happen.
It should only cost $2.50 a month total with tax included.
Getting RID of it a la carte is what interests me most. Man, I remember back when they used to have music on that channel. Now if I could only reprogram the damn digital tuner so it only goes to channels I have purchased, and flipping through stuff is going to me so much faster now. I think I'd have like 20 channels tops...get rid of all the damn Spanish stations I don't watch, no more Home Shopping, or weepy women's TV...it'd be heaven.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
We already have this in Canada. Out on the west coast, 31 channels were introduced on digital cable (yes, more if you're on sattelite). You can get one channel a la carte for $2/mo, 5 for $6/mo, 10 for $10/mo, and all of them for $20/mo. No, I can't yet choose to keep the older (still analog) TLC and drop Home and Garden TV, but it's a start.
There's also a lot of selection in PPV. Movies for $5 (a bit pricey I think).
What I'd like to see next is the ability to order specific shows on stations you don't subscribe to, for, say, $0.25 a show. All the TV listings are already there in the Digital cable box. I'd be more interested paying for shows than for channels. Take that marketing data to see if a show should stay on the air or not.
And for the record, I've only ordered one channel from the 31.
Of course, nothing happens out here anyway, so who needs local channels?
Lack of creativity is no excuse for not having a
Yeah, after watching a number of their episodes (with my wife, yes...), both of us came to the conclusion that most of their designers are hacks, and basically suck at what they do.
We're almost always impressed with Frank's work, on the other hand. He tends to make rather "kid friendly" designs, with lots of bright colors and creativity - but for a family, that's often what you're looking for. (Once you have kids, the lava lamps, black lights, posters, and so on don't really seem appropriate anymore.)
That oriental-looking guy seems like he usually has good ideas too, for a more "adult contemporary" look.
There's one guy, in particular, who always seems like he decorates things in brown. It's awful, and he's probably the one who made the lady cry.... As I recall, he seemed to have a bit of an attitude problem too.
I figured the particle board furniture wouldn't last though... If we ever let these people redo *our* place, we'd skip that completely, or just use the particle board stuff as "templates" for real replacement furniture afterwards.
Hey you idiot if you read the article then you would know this only applies to pay channels such as HBO or cinemax.
If this thing pans out, I can cut my cable subscription from 500+ channels to 50! Think of the savings! Awesome! I could finally afford a TV to watch it on! Right Now Im just listening through my stereo, and let me tell you, Leslie Neilson should not be on the air...
| - | - |
And out of all the names from Marathon, why did you have to pick the hardest one to spell?
Actually they are required by law to offer only the local channels aka Basic Cable.
OK, here ya go, straight from the Gov (relevant sections only):
CITE
47 USC Sec.543 01/02/01
EXPCITE
TITLE 47 - TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
CHAPTER 5 - WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
SUBCHAPTER V-A - CABLE COMMUNICATIONS
Part III - Franchising and Regulation
HEAD
Sec. 543. Regulation of rates
STATUTE (Partial Text)
(7) Components of basic tier subject to rate regulation
(A) Minimum contents
Each cable operator of a cable system shall provide its subscribers a separately available basic service tier to which subscription is required for access to any other tier of service. Such basic service tier shall, at a minimum, consist of the following:
(i) All signals carried in fulfillment of the requirements of sections 534 and 535 of this title.
(ii) Any public, educational, and governmental access programming required by the franchise of the cable system to be provided to subscribers.
(iii) Any signal of any television broadcast station that is provided by the cable operator to any subscriber, except a signal which is secondarily transmitted by a satellite carrier beyond the local service area of such station.
(B) Permitted additions to basic tier
A cable operator may add additional video programming signals or services to the basic service tier. Any such additional signals or services provided on the basic service tier shall be provided to subscribers at rates determined under the regulations prescribed by the Commission under this subsection.
(8) Buy-through of other tiers prohibited
(A) Prohibition A cable operator may not require the subscription to any tier other than the basic service tier required by paragraph (7) as a condition of access to video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis. A cable operator may not discriminate between subscribers to the basic service tier and other subscribers with regard to the rates charged for video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis.
(B) Exception; limitation
The prohibition in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a cable system that, by reason of the lack of addressable converter boxes or other technological limitations, does not permit the operator to offer programming on a per channel or per program basis in the same manner required by subparagraph
(A). This subparagraph shall not be available to any cable operator after -
(i) the technology utilized by the cable system is modified or improved in a way that eliminates such technological limitation; or
(ii) 10 years after October 5, 1992, subject to subparagraph (C).
(C) Waiver: If, in any proceeding initiated at the request of any cable operator, the Commission determines that compliance with the requirements of subparagraph (A) would require the cable operator to increase its rates, the Commission may, to the extent consistent with the public interest, grant such cable operator a waiver from such requirements for such specified period as the Commission determines reasonable and appropriate.
--
Note that this the 1992 "Act" is really only a set of ammendments to the original Title 47 (Telecom act of 1934).
The relevant portion is here:
"A cable operator may not require the subscription to any tier other than the basic service tier required by paragraph (7) as a condition of access to video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis."
This means that it only applies to premium and pay-per-view channels i.e. "offered on a per channel or per program basis."
Paragraph 7 also is vague enough about the "basic" service they have to offer that AT&T (my provider) can use their "Standard" package ($37.50/mo) as the base. I called them and they said "Sure, buy the $37 standard package and we'll sell ya HBO ala carte." But he wouldn't sell me HBO on top of the $12 "Basic" package, which may or may not be legal.
Regardless, this means diddly for me, because I couldn't care less about HBO. I just want Comedy Central and Sci-Fi with my broadcast stations.
We have Direct TV and subscribe to a package they DO NOT ADVERTISE. It is $7.99 a month for DirectTV Limited(World Link, a Health channel, shopping channel, PBSU), then $1.17 for each of the 4 networks, east and west coast feeds. $6.00 for Sundance and Indpendent Film combined. $12.00 for HBO (5 channels). You can add or subtract any channel you want--a la carte.Oh yeah, $10.00 for the box.
I'd gladly pay the extra 5 or 10 a month just for that preview menu thing. Browsing by category is also great. Even a week ahead!! Woot!
Just got the video on the demand thing too so now I never have to leave the house, did Peapod go bankrupt yet?
Frank can be fun...but can also be a little too "feminine" if you know what I mean.
Vern (the orinetal looking guy) does have a contempory look and feel. Usually he does something that is related to the orient or at least Feug Shui or how ever you spell it.
The last guy you are refering is most definitely Doug.
Cable theft costs companies more in the interference it and disruption it costs.
When most people pirate cable out in the pedastal it can be done in an 'unclean' way, causing lots of wierd interferences which causes issues with other peoples video, voice, and data. (I'd also like to mention these unwitting customers just think it's the 'big bad evil cable company neglecting them and purposefully screwing them out of their money.)
Eventually the cable company gets out there and fixes everyones problems by disconnecting illegal hookups.
Also, if some idiot splits the coax to his cable modem, he's going to be calling in and yelling at the customer service rep as to why the fuck his modem is always going offline.
THE CABLE COMPANY CAN NOT CONTROL HOW A MODEM GETS SIGNAL IF YOU SPLIT IT!
"But it worked fine for months!"
It doesn't matter, you WILL have problems with this.
Dear World,
Channel a la carte...I have been waiting for years for this change, and I hope it truly is here. My cable bill is insane and is going up yet again, because they keep adding crap. I will call TWC tomorrow after I decide what channels to ax! All of the shopping channels, the golf network, the hunting channels, and religous channels will certainly have to hit the road. I will probably save $1.50 hah!
Trading Spaces...I am actually a fan of the show and do watch it from time to time. I SUCK at creativeness, and the show has tought me a lot.
I am not just a Slashdot Junky, I have also been a Woodshop Junky since I was young kid. Once the concept is there, I can build most anything. I just have problems with the initial design.
The show is not new, and I don't feel sorry for any of the people who take the risk. With the exceptions of the first season at most, all of the people had probably at least seen a few episodes. I would never risk my own house to a designer.
Interior design is art, and IMHO, art often sucks! Yes it is unfortunate when things turn bad. If these people are willing to gamble, they should be expected to accept the lost.
Later,
-Slashdot Junky
.
Landfill Mining Co.
Managing the (Un)natural Resources of Tomorrow
From the Edmonton Journal last month:
The West's largest telephone company is venturing into the broadcast distribution market.
Telus Communications applied to the CRTC for a broadcast distribution licence in British Columbia and Alberta. Their proposed system would initially carry 200 channels in 16 cities, including Calgary and Edmonton.
Canada's broadcast and communications regulator has set November 18th to hear interventions and applications against the move, but so far neither Shaw, Bell, nor any other major cable companies have spoken against Telus' plan.
The company's proposed distribution system would utilize Telus' extensive telephone network in BC and Alberta. This would enable consumers to pick and choose which channels they want. Currently, satellite lets you do the same thing with more channels, while cable is restricted to a tier system.
It is expected Telus would start the new service next spring.
So I think the linked article is completely misreading FCC documents (while mixing in some good ol' USC) to the point that the article has next to no basis in reality. I kept thinking "how do these people know that it only lets you opt for premium channels, etc., that doesn't sound like the FCC." Anyhoo, after dillegent searching of the federal register for final rules, the only thing I can find even remotely related to the subject of the linked article is this rule notice which essentially says that big media companies are prohibited from requiring cable operators from having to buy multiple channels. Has nothing to do with a cable operator making a bunch of viewers pay for stuff they don't want
So we've also had some people discussing 47 C.F.R. 76.921 (which I believe is a mis-citation of 47 U.S.C. 543(b)(8)(a) but that's just the perfectionist in me) regarding "Buy through of other tiers prohibited," but that too has nothing to do with the gist of the Business Week article. What that part of the code says is that if I as a cable operator offer anyone a pay-per-view or single premium channel, I must offer it to everyone on the same terms. Meaning if I don't like people getting just HBO, I can make it unavailable without the purchase of the other million HBO's. Or I can offer the pay-per-view channels in bulk without programming as a paid-for feature of digital cable- that way pay-per-view is its own tier. And if I have actual competition, that provision doesn't apply to me anyway.
So, I'm tempted to say the linked article is total bullshit given that we've all been trying to find out just what the hell it's talking about, and the only close things we've found certainly don't support the BusinessWeek article. Certainly nothing in any of this suggests that an individual consumer has the ability to opt out of anything a cable company requires.
is show it on English TV. No one would ever complain about the license fee again, once they'd seen what a crap channel it becomes when they try to be a commercial station. Endless reruns of stupid home decorating and gardening shows, Parkinson and Graham Norton. The occasional reruns of Monty and Coupling don't even begin to make up for it, and even the good shows are interrupted by barrages of inane advertising.
The cocksuckers use a lame little transparent proxy. I wouldnt mind too much if it wasnt just transparent until it fux up a load of sites, spits back errors, or generally just goes doubleplusretarded and spits a stream of useless packets at you. oh and the sysadmin [well, at least she replied] said "those are replys to DNS queries you have made" yeah right. no they cartainly were not! It's usually passable though, i have to admit.
On the upside, if you like your ISO's/w4r3z/DixX's, you can slam them for 20gig+ in a week and they dont give a shit. :)
Ali
Ph33r m3!!!
What are you? lonely or something. I don't give a flying fuck about what you like to watch.
You'll need to read the fine print a little more carefully. Yes, they need to provide local network coverage, but that might mean it's another major market's local networks. I'm a DirecTV subscriber in Minneapolis, and we *do* get our actual local channels through the dish. But I keep seeing regional networks in the program guide even if I can't view them. Since I used to sell this stuff at a retail outlet, I know who to call with specific questions about this stuff. They tell me that regional networks are carried for markets that are too small to carry a dedicated channel. For those out in the boonies of ND, for instance, they'll probably all get Fargo's or Bismarck's local channels or a regional version of NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, PBS, and *maybe* UPN and/or WB. There's just not enough available bandwidth on the sats to broadcast every channel from every podunk town across the country. Since most of these carry network-only programming with only some local news shows for about an hour or two each day, it only makes economical sense to reduce the duplicated efforts.
What I think is a total scam is that you're already capable of receiving the local network channels from New York to L.A. In fact, the same signal that you're getting is the same one everyone else is getting. It's not a two-way system. The only difference is that your access card is not programmed to receive any other channels than those DirecTV says you're allowed. It's something that DirecTV has very little control over, as well. It's an FCC rule about certain local markets. I'm sure DTV or the local cable company would *love* to sell me more local markets (more money for them), but they're reselling those local markets *to* those same local markets. There's restrictions on sales from their supplier stating that the local channels need to stay local to a limited expanded zone beyond the original broadcast areas.
My sources are unreliable, but their information is fascinating. -- Ashleigh Brilliant
You're a good example of why some animals eat their young.
-- Jim Samuels to a heckler
Ah, yes. I remember my first beer.
-- Steve Martin to a heckler
When your IQ rises to 28, sell.
-- Professor Irwin Corey to a heckler
- this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...