Good point. I do however think that the "mass media" channels that apply to the broadest audience would be the most lucrative, but "specialty" channels such as SpaceTV or the Womens channel would still be viable. I think they could be supported through more costly advertising, which would have a more focused audience, and the channel may cost more than your local CBS affiliate. I too have some channels I enjoy that are not "mainstream", but I'd be willing to pay more for the programming that is meaningful to me specifically than I would pay for a general network channel.
Commercial free is exactly the opposite of what they are shooting for. Of course Viacom doesn't want Ala-Carte, that would mean half their "less established" (read boring/worthless) media outlets would not be able to sustain themselves on subscriptions, and thus, they would have half the advertising time to sell. This is the reason they all only offer "packages". They give you one or two things you WANT to watch, and make you pay to keep the other 10 channels alive so they can sell ad-time on 12 channels instead of the one or two that are sustainable.
I agree that the "best" way is to go ahead and let the weak channels die, paying for only what consumers want would weed out the crap and probably start several new highly successful media outlets who learn how to cater to what people want. The chances of this happening are low to none in the current economy and current rules of operation. It would require the big media outlets to lose big in the short term, and then learn how to read and react to customers in the long term.
BTW - C Band sattelite has always been more or less ala-carte, but to switch channels requires waiting for the dish to reposition in most cases, which can take 10 seconds or so, and as digital sattelites are taking over the skies, more and more C band programming is disappearing.
These comments are my own, and come from someone who recently got fed up with paying Comcast a small fortune to watch 3 channels. I subscribed to Netflix for my movies, and put up an antenna for local news. My kids now play with their toys and friends instead of SpongeBob, and none of us seem to mind a bit!:)
OK Carly, I don't have a problem competing for a job. I thought I already did that, that's why I got hired....
I'll use call centers as an example since they are so commonly outsourced. Thousands of call center people are not "competing" for jobs, they're being turned out because someone is willing to do it CHEAPER. The call centers in India and the Phillipines aren't being held to the same levels of quality that the US call centers were 10 years ago, and part of that is that US call centers aren't being held to that either. Performance is based on how many calls are taken, not cases solved. Who cares if no customer gets an answer, we talked to more of them this month than ever before!
I don't mind competing for a job, I think I'm competent enough in the job I do to stay employed. But when you want to pick the low bidder, and find they are performing at a ratio equivalent to the pay difference, don't say I didn't tell you so. How many stories have been posted about companies pulling back operations because of customer complaints? I'm NOT saying that all the Indian call center employees are idiots either. It's very difficult to replace a knowledgable person who understands a product and can support it, with someone who's just learned about it and uses online tools to troubleshoot. It's also difficult for a frustrated consumer to deal with language barriers on top of their problem. My experience with outsourced software projects has been dismal as well. It's hard enough to take code and comments from someone who understands english and our culture, going offshore just amplifies the problem.
Like I said: I don't mind competing for a job, but lets compete based on something I can control, and the cost of living in the US is a little bit beyond my control at this point.
No, when the power went out, the broadband would have gone out, and all the thousands of BPL transmitters would have gone out. Now let's assume the FCC approves the BPL proposal, and jump ahead 5 years. The power and BPL equipment goes out, and suddenly the HF ham bands are clear for the first time in 5 years. Unfortunately all the HF ham radios have been packed into closets, sold to museums, or parted out and modified to be useful elsewhere. Now if you need help, pick up your cell phone and throw it at someone to get their attention, because that's the only way you can communicate.
Slashdot Mirror
Good point. I do however think that the "mass media" channels that apply to the broadest audience would be the most lucrative, but "specialty" channels such as SpaceTV or the Womens channel would still be viable. I think they could be supported through more costly advertising, which would have a more focused audience, and the channel may cost more than your local CBS affiliate. I too have some channels I enjoy that are not "mainstream", but I'd be willing to pay more for the programming that is meaningful to me specifically than I would pay for a general network channel.
Commercial free is exactly the opposite of what they are shooting for. Of course Viacom doesn't want Ala-Carte, that would mean half their "less established" (read boring/worthless) media outlets would not be able to sustain themselves on subscriptions, and thus, they would have half the advertising time to sell. This is the reason they all only offer "packages". They give you one or two things you WANT to watch, and make you pay to keep the other 10 channels alive so they can sell ad-time on 12 channels instead of the one or two that are sustainable. I agree that the "best" way is to go ahead and let the weak channels die, paying for only what consumers want would weed out the crap and probably start several new highly successful media outlets who learn how to cater to what people want. The chances of this happening are low to none in the current economy and current rules of operation. It would require the big media outlets to lose big in the short term, and then learn how to read and react to customers in the long term. BTW - C Band sattelite has always been more or less ala-carte, but to switch channels requires waiting for the dish to reposition in most cases, which can take 10 seconds or so, and as digital sattelites are taking over the skies, more and more C band programming is disappearing. These comments are my own, and come from someone who recently got fed up with paying Comcast a small fortune to watch 3 channels. I subscribed to Netflix for my movies, and put up an antenna for local news. My kids now play with their toys and friends instead of SpongeBob, and none of us seem to mind a bit! :)
OK Carly, I don't have a problem competing for a job. I thought I already did that, that's why I got hired.... I'll use call centers as an example since they are so commonly outsourced. Thousands of call center people are not "competing" for jobs, they're being turned out because someone is willing to do it CHEAPER. The call centers in India and the Phillipines aren't being held to the same levels of quality that the US call centers were 10 years ago, and part of that is that US call centers aren't being held to that either. Performance is based on how many calls are taken, not cases solved. Who cares if no customer gets an answer, we talked to more of them this month than ever before! I don't mind competing for a job, I think I'm competent enough in the job I do to stay employed. But when you want to pick the low bidder, and find they are performing at a ratio equivalent to the pay difference, don't say I didn't tell you so. How many stories have been posted about companies pulling back operations because of customer complaints? I'm NOT saying that all the Indian call center employees are idiots either. It's very difficult to replace a knowledgable person who understands a product and can support it, with someone who's just learned about it and uses online tools to troubleshoot. It's also difficult for a frustrated consumer to deal with language barriers on top of their problem. My experience with outsourced software projects has been dismal as well. It's hard enough to take code and comments from someone who understands english and our culture, going offshore just amplifies the problem. Like I said: I don't mind competing for a job, but lets compete based on something I can control, and the cost of living in the US is a little bit beyond my control at this point.
No, when the power went out, the broadband would have gone out, and all the thousands of BPL transmitters would have gone out. Now let's assume the FCC approves the BPL proposal, and jump ahead 5 years. The power and BPL equipment goes out, and suddenly the HF ham bands are clear for the first time in 5 years. Unfortunately all the HF ham radios have been packed into closets, sold to museums, or parted out and modified to be useful elsewhere. Now if you need help, pick up your cell phone and throw it at someone to get their attention, because that's the only way you can communicate.