Why can't I CHOOSE the channels I receive?

Question

My parents pay far less for DISH and get more channels. The only reason I keep AT&T is because I need reliable internet. I'm frustrated with a lot of channels with NOTHING to watch. This is compounded by the fact that I get multiple Spanish language channels (not just local broadcast) and I don't speak Spanish and I get multiple sports channels and I don't watch sports--well I will watch the Olympics. I also don't watch cartoons and there's lots of those available to me. Most of my TV watching is local broadcast or PBS. I'd love to get BBC or WGN without paying extra. I would gladly drop all the Spanish, sports and cartoons to get some intelligent adult TV that's in a language I speak, that doesn't include men bashing each other's skulls and doesn't make me lose IQ points.  Why can't we choose the type of service we want instead of just getting one the choices we can afford from AT&T's cookie cutter products?

Answer 1

What you are describing is called "a la carte service" and has been debated for years if not decades. The main reason you can't pick and choose channels has to do with how the channels themselves make money.  For the most part, each one cuts a deal with each TV service (e.g. Xfinity, DirecTV, U-Verse, Dish, Time Warner Cable) where the service pays the channel a certain amount for each household capable of viewing it (usually less than 50 cents, but ESPN charges something like $5).  Note two important factors here: (a) it is the TV services that are paying the channels, and not the other way around; (b) it is based on how many people can view a channel, and not how many people actually do. With "packages," a lot of channels that very few people would watch are grouped together with the more popular channels, and the additional cost of carrying these channels is offset somewhat by the fact that the channels do not have to charge as much as they otherwise would because of the number of households that can watch the channel, most of which never will. If you changed this, and made everything a la carte, then most channels - including the popular ones - would have to charge more in order for you to view them.  Want BBC America?  $3/month, thank you very much.  That $5/month for ESPN?  More like $10.  Also remember that the service itself has to add to these costs so it can pay for providing the service (e.g. buying and sending out the cable boxes).