I’m an unabashed fan of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team. Once again, the final game of the season is against the Dallas Cowboys, and the outcome will have a major impact on the playoffs leading to the SuperBowl. And the way things are headed, Time Warner cable subscribers may not get to see the [...]
Unfortunately, OTA reception of radio (first) and television did not make plain the fact the process was paid by the commercials embedded in the content. People got used to the idea they didn't have to pay - period. Along came cable with its fees - which customers could relate to, because cable provided a service that allowed them to receive more channels than they could from local broadcasters. Then those cable systems kept raising their rates (some reasonable, some not - the "cash cow" syndrome), and customers started getting upset. Now that there is competition at the user's home - phone, cable, satellite all with the same offerings - the existing providers are being forced to re-evaluate their costs. But now the broadcast networks want in on the act by charging for their content. Oops! And now, too, the broadcast networks are finding their old standby business model is being warped by the ability of the user to avoid watching commercials.
Gonna get much more complicated before it gets settled!
To quote Yogi Berra, "It's like deja-vu, all over again."
We've been down this path before and it's always the same thing, a fight between the cable company and some network. Maybe the solution is for the FCC or Congress to step in and lay down some standards for what the fees should be.
I get my TV over the air, so I don't care what Time Warner does....
