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Message: [QUOTE="nzm136, post: 735857, member: 2531"] Have you ever walked into a Subway restaurant with the intent of buying chips and a sandwich and walked out with chips, a sandwich, and a drink because it was "'only' 50 cents more?" If so, you've been the "victim" of fast food bundling. That said, I do agree that fast food and cable are inherently different. For starters, few people nit pick their fast food prices like they do their cable bill, so consumers do not act the same with regards to both purchases. However, my point is that if you're going to seek government regulation of bundling, a process that you seem to view as inherently evil and unfair, then you must be prepared to open Pandora's Box. Yes, but bundling does not happen purely as a result of the middle man. Cutting out the middle man may improve efficiency, but it is not the end of bundling. The same goes for the internet. I have no idea why you care because neither of us will remember this or care in 5 years, but I think that in 5 years, cable and Satellite TV will exist much as they do now, but there will be a significantly stronger internet presence. Some content will remain free. This content will likely usually be general interest content that appeals to a wide array of viewers, but will often lack a passionate and dedicated audience. It will be supported by a mixture of advertising tailored to specific viewers and conventional advertising. The remaining content will be available for prescription purchase from various internet sites. Some of it will come bundled with customers' cable subscriptions, whereas much of the rest will come in the form of a number of sites bundled together. I could see an ABC basic package with "Disney Kids," "ESPN Sports," and possibly other packages as "premium packages" that require access to the basic ABC package. However, I would not be surprised to see bundles that transcend corporate ownership structures. For instance, I would not be surprised to see NBC News, CNN, and the BBC News in a bundle, or the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, National Geographic Channel, and the BBC in a bundle. I doubt rates will decrease in nominal dollars, although rates increases might not beat inflation, especially once one takes mixtures of cable/internet subscriptions into account. Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised to see more content options. [/QUOTE]

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