That 40 mil/year might not be there if this catches on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-cab...3-1?fark=1

I'm sure they have enough lobbyists in their pockets to squash it.

Sign me up! I hear it is testing very well in the EU.

I don't know if it is Intel, Apple or some other manufacturer that is testing in Europe.

Give me the locals, ESPNs, HBOs, A&E and MAYBE H2 and Science...I don't need anything else and won't need all those if shows go ala carte too.

Someone's gotta pay. Right now, the cable and satellite industry make everybody pay for sports, whether they want it or not. If subscribers who aren't sports fans can bypass the current cable/satellite paradigm, the cost of sports channels is going to go through the roof. That will mean that we pay more to get the games we want.

I see a problem with the ala carte model though. We have no idea how much an individual channel will cost. I'm willing to bet that very popular channels like ESPN, A&E, etc. are going to be fairly expensive on their own. If all the non sport people don't pay for ESPN then the price will go up for those that want it.

Basic telephone service was cheaper back when AT&T had a monopoly. That didn't stop it from being broken up. Most people would rather pay a little more for what they WANT rather than being forced to pay for something they DON'T WANT (just human nature).

(01-02-2013 04:50 PM)krux Wrote:  That 40 mil/year might not be there if this catches on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-cab...3-1?fark=1

EVERYBODY is going to make less under à la carte. Those whose athletic departments don't make a profit via ticket sales (pretty much all but the top 40-50) will no longer be a part of a major college sports.

(01-02-2013 05:17 PM)krux Wrote:  Give me the locals, ESPNs, HBOs, A&E and MAYBE H2 and Science...I don't need anything else and won't need all those if shows go ala carte too.

Give me locals OTA (for free), ESPN/2/U/Classic , a couple RSNs, a few channels like History, Military, Weather, and my wife probably would want HGTV and few man hating channels (Lifetime, etc..) and some Food n travel channels. Anything under $100 a month is gravy to me. I would get Netflix for movies.

Gotta love how this will play for the Longhorn network. Nobody will pay significant prices for 1 or 2 lousy OOC games and field hockey. Hope it catches on soon and the PAC offers Texas an offer they cannot refuse, blow up the Big 12 and let the dust settle on conference realignment for a decade or two.

I would love pay-by-channel a la carte television... it would create competition between channels to be attractive, improving programming, and being competitive on price... viewers would really matter and that would BLOW UP conference realignment -- as money would dry up and everyone would be scurrying back to regional conferences limiting expenses and promoting rivalries with traveling fans!

(01-02-2013 09:46 PM)zibby Wrote:  

(01-02-2013 04:50 PM)krux Wrote:  That 40 mil/year might not be there if this catches on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-cab...3-1?fark=1

EVERYBODY is going to make less under à la carte. Those whose athletic departments don't make a profit via ticket sales (pretty much all but the top 40-50) will no longer be a part of a major college sports.

Not necessarily. Being aligned with a channel that a diverse audience wants (ESPN has fans of all sports signing up...not just of a certain conference) could prove to be more valuable in that world.