response 71 of 290:

Jan 24 17:37 UTC 2006

Yup, the power of a brand.  Consumers don't just want any music channel,
they want MTV (wait, do they still play music?)

Can't Stephens and Young get you some more pork in the form of a federal
"Rural Cableification Act" or something to help provide this vital
infrastructure?  I don't think the city of Ketchikan is going to be able
to grow and prosper without Bravo and TvLand, and it hardly seems fair
for your cruise ship passengers to have better entertainment options
than the people on land.

Digital technology does allow, at least in principle, a more grainular
pricing model where channels are served a la carte instead of in a
handful of tiered packages.  This seems like a better arrangement -- the
content providers set the prices, the consumers pick what they're
willing to pay for, and the service provider is just a common carrier
who enables the transaction.  But DBS providers haven't exactly rushed
to embrace that model, and cable companies look like they'll only do it
if forced.

Lately I've kind of surprised myself by wishing that I lived in Verizon
country, so I that their fiber-optic service (FiOS) was an option.  I
have my doubts as to whether Comcast will ever offer something like
this, and Qwest's idea of TV service is offering price bundling
discounts with DirecTV.