Today's washinton post sums it up. The tide is turning on carriage.
In cable, it’s survival of the fittest as channels drop from the bundle
http://wapo.st/1HO68zE
I think it is funny that after the explosion of a lot of new channels in the 90s , we will now be contracting and dropping channels. Because all the various channels are showing the same crap( reruns, informercials, and very little to none original content) spread out over all of them. I hope that they start on DISH with the Viacom channels- I never watch- and work there way down till our prices start dropping. It would be so cool to see the 90s pricing return. So in the future if these various cable channels want to survive they will either come up with original must see tv or they will be dropped . Now if DISH could see that it isn't just the programming prices we are bitching about, it is the outrageous and numerous DISH Fees that have proliferated over the years. How about going back to $5.00 for each additional receiver and a smaller $5.00 dvr fee? Hey, a return to decent prices for both programming and the FEES might be what saves DISH from losing even MORE subs this year. After all they lost over 79,000 subs last year after adding some positive additions the two years previous. DISH might really consider doing some price cuts and re-start the Price wars with the competition. After all it was their low price strategy and NO DVR fees that got them a ton of subs back in the day with the 501/510 Pvrs were in vogue. Charlie might better think about this as an option, if he wants to survive as a tv provider that continues to grow instead of contract.