As consumers face ever increasing cable bills and all-or-nothing packages in today's cable and satellite TV market, they are getting fed up and are demanding the right to pick and choose only the channels they want.
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Cable operators argue that rates are increasing due to the rising cost of programming. But it is the cable operators that require consumers to buy tiers of programming that include a large number of channels consumers do not want. And it is the programming giants who use popular channels as leverage to force cable and satellite operators to put less-popular channels into your package.
A February 2006 Federal Communications Commission report (PDF) found cable "a la carte" pricing could lower cable bills by 13 percent.
Read this quick guide on cable "a la carte" to find out the history of this issue, why it is important, and who is working on it.
According to a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll (PDF), more than three in four consumers surveyed prefer "a la carte" option.
More News
The Associated Press has just released a series of articles dedicated to debating the issues surrounding cable "a la carte."
The first article titled "Television you pick and pay" was written by Laurence Frost and published on February 24, 2006. The article looks at European consumers and their experiences with the "a la carte" option.
"French restaurant diners often put the menu aside and order the better-value ''formule du jour.'' But when it comes to television, the same thrifty customers are increasingly doing the opposite: going a la carte.
The broadband revolution, which has shaken traditional media industries from newspapers to music and confronted consumers with an explosion of choice, is making its long-awaited TV debut.
As U.S. cable companies, politicians and regulators debate whether pick-and-pay TV would benefit the public, consumers in parts of Europe and Asia are finding out the easy way — by trying it.
Those subscribers choose their premium channels individually, instead of paying for large, pricey cable packages in order to get the smaller amount of television they actually want.
The new offerings come from phone companies and Internet service providers, not the cable industry. Instead of bundling channels, the new entrants make their profits by bundling voice calls and Internet with cheap TV.
For 30 euros ($35.50) a month, some 1.5 million French subscribers to Iliad SA's Freebox get broadband Internet, unlimited phone calls and more than 80 TV channels — with additional ones billed individually. ESPN's European sports highlights channel is offered for 50 euro cents (60 U.S. cents), CNN for half that price.
''It seems pointless to pay more when I'm only going to watch one channel out of a package of 10,'' said Alexis Casas, a 27-year-old computer programmer who recently switched to Freebox from traditional cable. ''It also means I spend less time channel-surfing. I can really target the stuff I like to watch.''
By the end of 2005, two years after the service launched, some 200,000 Freebox users were paying for extra channels.
''The number of pay-TV subscribers we've acquired in a relatively limited amount of time is significant for the French market,'' Iliad's Chief Financial Officer Olivier Rosenfeld said.
As cable companies diversified into voice calls and broadband, phone and Internet operators have moved defensively into TV."
"Cable industry fiercely opposes unbundled TV," the second article in the series focused on cable companies’ opposition to cable "a la carte."
"It's a question that many cable TV subscribers ask: My cable company keeps adding more channels to my system, but I don't watch many of them. Why can't I just pick the ones I want?
Rupert Murdoch, a titan of TV, has a simple answer: "I think it kills the whole business model."
Murdoch echoed the views of many in the cable business when he told reporters recently that "a la carte" pricing wouldn't work for the industry and would lead to higher cable bills for consumers. Murdoch's News Corp. owns Fox News Channel, FX and other cable channels and controls the satellite TV broadcaster DirecTV Group Inc.
The industry's argument goes like this: If consumers are free to drop less-viewed channels, many of them would go out of business, and others would have to sharply raise their per-customer rates to stay afloat. "Bundling" them together helps spread costs around and supports a variety of programming.
However, pressure is building on the industry to change.
In early February, the Federal Communications Commission released a report challenging the industry's long-held position that a la carte would be undesirable for consumers.
A wave of technology breakthroughs including digital video recorders, video iPods, video "on demand" from cable and satellite providers and the increasing availability of video over the Internet have gotten people accustomed to picking and choosing what they watch, when and even where they watch it.
Those changes are "making the point that a la carte is not only possible, but desirable," said Gene Kimmelman, senior director of public policy at Consumers Union and a big supporter of a la carte pricing.
Those concerned about sexual and violent programming on television also favor a la carte TV pricing, calling it a good way to give parents greater control.
Consumers, not surprisingly, would love the chance to pick and choose their channels.
A recent AP-Ipsos poll taken in mid-December found that 78 percent of American adults prefer the a la carte option. Two-thirds of those surveyed said there was too much sex on television, and about the same number said there was too much violence.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican party loyalist and a longtime advocate of curbing sexual and violent programming, put the cable industry on notice last fall about raunchy programming, saying that one option to address parental concerns was to sell cable channels a la carte. Soon thereafter, several big cable companies said they would offer new "tiers" of family-friendly programming.
Many analysts believe the FCC likely won't force the industry to adopt a complete a la carte pricing model, but the agency's reversal of its previous opposition to the idea could embolden others to challenge the status quo."
Stay tuned to HearUsNow.org for more news and information about cable "a la carte."
