a section of a story about todays decision re: cablevision-YES
"While the particular circumstances of the Cablevision/Yankees fight make it difficult to extrapolate an industrywide effect from the dispute, the apparent decision hurts one strategy that is occasionally proposed as a way to control cable prices: dividing cable programming into small, a la carte "tiers" for customers to pick and choose from. "The idea of tiering is not lost forever," says Schwab SoundView media analyst Jordan Rohan. "But one might conclude this is a short-term blow to the idea of tiering."
Another media analyst points to the reported arbitration decision as another example of the game of chicken played by cable TV or satellite system operators on the one hand, and programmers on the other. So far, no distributor has refused to carry a major channel because it's too expensive, says the buy-side analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"They haven't collided yet. There have been close calls," says the analyst. The Cablevision-YES conflict has been "another one of these close brushes," he says. "There's no question it shows the value of sports programming."
"
"While the particular circumstances of the Cablevision/Yankees fight make it difficult to extrapolate an industrywide effect from the dispute, the apparent decision hurts one strategy that is occasionally proposed as a way to control cable prices: dividing cable programming into small, a la carte "tiers" for customers to pick and choose from. "The idea of tiering is not lost forever," says Schwab SoundView media analyst Jordan Rohan. "But one might conclude this is a short-term blow to the idea of tiering."
Another media analyst points to the reported arbitration decision as another example of the game of chicken played by cable TV or satellite system operators on the one hand, and programmers on the other. So far, no distributor has refused to carry a major channel because it's too expensive, says the buy-side analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"They haven't collided yet. There have been close calls," says the analyst. The Cablevision-YES conflict has been "another one of these close brushes," he says. "There's no question it shows the value of sports programming."
"
