Like the banannas out of runts
or the red skittles
or the Old Fezziwig out of the sampler pack of Sam Adams

Cable TV should be ala carte rather than offered in "packages" that always include crap nobody wants.

believer;1490765 wrote:Cable TV should be ala carte rather than offered in "packages" that always include crap nobody wants.

I like that.

believer;1490765 wrote:Cable TV should be ala carte rather than offered in "packages" that always include crap nobody wants.

That sounds good, but the average person would spend more than the other way so they would take in the same or more money.

I've seen banana runts sold separately. They are the best

mhs95_06;1490767 wrote:That sounds good, but the average person would spend more than the other way so they would take in the same or more money.

That's fine as long as every channel is one I'm willing to pay for.

For example, the cable companies know that specialized channels like ESPN, the History Channel, etc. have appeal to certain market segments. So they'll package about two dozen shit channels nobody wants and label it the "premium package" forcing you to pay for channels you'll never use.

I'd like to package - say - just the main networks from the local stations (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, Fox) and choose just ESPN, ESPN2, Fox News, CNN, Fox Sports 1, the History Channel, the Military Channel, and BTN and pay a couple of bucks a month for each. That'd be $26 a month not $90 for 144 channels for which I HAVE to pay to get all of the channels I just mentioned.

Cable TV subscription have been declining due to on-line services. I think they could regain market share by offering ala carte channel choices.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2013/07/24/a-closer-look-at-cable-tv-subscriber-defections/

believer;1490765 wrote:Cable TV should be ala carte rather than offered in "packages" that always include crap nobody wants.

And reasonable ala carte instead of "screw you over" ala carte. My mom has Dish Network. She has the 200-station package. There's a ton of them in that one she doesn't ever watch and the only one she really cares about that's there, but not in the next lowest one is the Big 10 Network. So, she calls them and asks about moving down a package and getting B1G ala carte. And found out that would cost more than the 200-package, even though she'd have a lot fewer channels.

So, so, so stupid...

EDIT: And if you mean JUST cable, I personally get that. Of the 60-70 channels I have, I probably hardly ever watch more than 10 or so. I mean, I get my money's worth out of those, but it's just dumb to have all these channels that I don't even know what they are, let alone watch.

believer;1490765 wrote:Cable TV should be ala carte rather than offered in "packages" that always include crap nobody wants.

This is definitely something that should happen. Unfortunately, the media markets own the consumer. You cannot have one without all the other crap and they ensure it happens.

All of the cable/dish stuff should come like colleges get for the dormitories -- which is a la carte. It's not difficult to do it that way either. Charge the consumer PER cable/dish jack and then go that way. I think my college dorms were paying $.30 for channels per jack. Granted, they make their money back because of all the cable jacks throughout a dorm, but it would be GREAT if we could do something similar.

Toothpicks and cutips

Ironman92;1490834 wrote:Toothpicks and cutips

I'm confused. Are these items usually packaged together?

There's been some congressional working over ala carte cable for years. It's not such a simple issue...

Like others, I watch mostly about 10 channels. However, I on occasion find something on any number of other channels. So that means my viewership increases as a result, which leads to more hours/eyeballs for advertising to subsidize my cable.

Basically I think you lose variety and programming options for minimal (if any) value to the consumer. And economics would say if you'll pay $80 for 200 channels that include the 10 you watch, you'll still pay close to $80 for just those 10 channels.

But the internet and places like Netflix and Hulu are changing the whole dynamic. DVR's are really cutting into the bottom line, as well.

Anyway...

NFL Ticket

/thread