If the cable companies really gave a damn, they would look at changing their business models and forcing the networks to unbundle all the channels we don't want to watch or pay for. Stop forcing those of us with no interest in watching sports to subsidize Disney and ESPN and don't make us pay for stuff like the Golf channel. Let us create our own bundles for a reasonable price.
Cable companies want to ‘re-energize’ TV with new Silicon Valley research center
Cable TV executives are to establish a new research center in the heart of Silicon Valley to try to halt the emerging trend of “cord-cutting,” according to Reuters. CableLabs, a non-profit research……
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I can't even tell you how much I would love an a la carte option! What they really ought to do is let people pick and choose, and then periodically offer free trials of other channels based on their users' tastes. I don't know why every other shopping experience seems to be tailored to the consumer but cable is stuck with pushing packages that don't really fit anybody perfectly.
What I'd like to see is a system where in perhaps $15 increments, I can add any 10 channels from the list. ESPN which charges far more than any other "basic" cable channel should just become a premium channel package like HBO or Showtime. We really only watch about 20-25 channels anyway and I can just set up an antenna to get the local broadcast stations. A setup like that would cut my cable bill by about 2/3 while still giving us the channels we want.
Of course that's not going to happen anytime soon.