This lawsuit is worth following re: conference realignment

[ConnectiCuse]

Cablevision's argument is that Viacom's bundling of channels is a violation of antitrust law. They want to be able to offer channels a la carte - basically to drop the channels that nobody watches.

As to how this might affect realignment - who in NYC is going to select the B1G network if there is an a la carte option for cable? I would guess very, very few - maybe the hardcore sports fans and the network certainly wouldn't have the millions of NYC eyeballs that it once thought it would have. It would, in fact, completely destroy the B1G's reason for taking NJ State in the first place. Of course, this could also impact the bundling of any ACC network channels with ESPN so I guess I'm not sure which side I'd like to see win.

As an aside, I think cable will be forced to go to an a la carte menu irrespective of the merits of this suit.

 

[TampaLaker]

I know everyone thinks they will save a lot of money through a la carte pricing, but I do not see it. The channels that have high demand (ESPN, Turner, CNN, Fox, etc.) will be priced higher to make up for the loss of income in other places. Supply and demand...

 

[SU2NASA]

I know everyone thinks they will save a lot of money through a la carte pricing, but I do not see it. The channels that have high demand (ESPN, Turner, CNN, Fox, etc.) will be priced higher to make up for the loss of income in other places. Supply and demand...

Completely agree - the only possible saving grace is that networks that get tacked on to be sold in a bundle to the cable providers themselves might die, lowering the prices the cable providers pay.

 

[dollarbill44]

Completely agree - the only possible saving grace is that networks that get tacked on to be sold in a bundle to the cable providers themselves might die, lowering the prices the cable providers pay.

Same here. I think the only people that will benefit from this are people who don't watch live sports. Those of us who watch live sports may end up spending more than we do currently.

 

[RMH44]

I know everyone thinks they will save a lot of money through a la carte pricing, but I do not see it. The channels that have high demand (ESPN, Turner, CNN, Fox, etc.) will be priced higher to make up for the loss of income in other places. Supply and demand...

Slightly OT but I thought I'd share this here.

Recently, I've had some technical trouble with one of my Time Warner cable boxes. I've called them three times over the last four days.

It appears that TW has now farmed-out their technical support to a Philippine group. As hard as they try, they simply can not provide the same level of service as American based call centers.

This could be the last straw for me and TW. I'm currently researching my options.

 

[SU2NASA]

Slightly OT but I thought I'd share this here.

Recently, I've had some technical trouble with one of my Time Warner cable boxes. I've called them three times over the last four days.

It appears that TW has now farmed-out their technical support to a Philippine group. As hard as they try, they simply can not provide the same level of service as American based call centers.

This could be the last straw for me and TW. I'm currently researching my options.

Get DirecTV, without a doubt.

I've had them ever since I hung out the window of my 2nd-floor apartment in our house on Ackerman to put up a dish. Cheaper than cable, better customer service, NFL Sunday Ticket, and with the sports pack I get every single college football game televised on any TV sports network in the country.

 

[RMH44]

Get DirecTV, without a doubt.

I've had them ever since I hung out the window of my 2nd-floor apartment in our house on Ackerman to put up a dish. Cheaper than cable, better customer service, NFL Sunday Ticket, and with the sports pack I get every single college football game televised on any TV sports network in the country.

Thanks for the advice.

My biggest concern is that I have the package deal from TW i.e. cable, phone and internet. I might have to split the services.

 

[Noexcuse]

Slightly OT but I thought I'd share this here.

Recently, I've had some technical trouble with one of my Time Warner cable boxes. I've called them three times over the last four days.

It appears that TW has now farmed-out their technical support to a Philippine group. As hard as they try, they simply can not provide the same level of service as American based call centers.

This could be the last straw for me and TW. I'm currently researching my options.

Must be a bear to schedule service with them. "We will be at your house sometime between 12:00 PM on Wednesday and 4:00 PM on Saturday"

 

[xc84]

sort of a tangent but when SU played a Big 10 school maybe 4-5 years ago, I subscribed to the package that had that channel. It was $4.99 per month. I didn't cancel it after the game and the only time I ever watched the Big 10 channel was the next time SU played an away game at a Big 10 school. I finally cancelled the thing but in the meantime, I wasted some bucks. I am sure that is exactly why they are bundled and the type of behavior that the cable company (and B10 network) are hoping for.

 

[Noexcuse]

Cablevision's argument is that Viacom's bundling of channels is a violation of antitrust law. They want to be able to offer channels a la carte - basically to drop the channels that nobody watches.

As to how this might affect realignment - who in NYC is going to select the B1G network if there is an a la carte option for cable? I would guess very, very few - maybe the hardcore sports fans and the network certainly wouldn't have the millions of NYC eyeballs that it once thought it would have. It would, in fact, completely destroy the B1G's reason for taking NJ State in the first place. Of course, this could also impact the bundling of any ACC network channels with ESPN so I guess I'm not sure which side I'd like to see win.

As an aside, I think cable will be forced to go to an a la carte menu irrespective of the merits of this suit.

Imagine that. The B1G might be forced to increase their revenues the good old fashioned way. You know, provide a better, more compelling product, rather than forcing people to pay for something they do not want.

 

[SU2NASA]

Thanks for the advice.

My biggest concern is that I have the package deal from TW i.e. cable, phone and internet. I might have to split the services.

We only use our cellphones with no landline, and we got Clear internet which has no contract and is only $50/month including tax. http://www.clear.com/

 

[rrlbees]

I hope they win and yes it would hurt the B10 plans but would also hurt the other conferences too.

But if I'm gonna pay, say $2 per month to my cable company, I would rather pay $2 for the channel I want vs $1 for the channel I want and $1 for a channel I don't want

Sent using my Commodore 64

 

[Moontan]

We only use our cellphones with no landline, and we got Clear internet which has no contract and is only $50/month including tax. http://www.clear.com/

Check what stand-alone cable internet service is and check with your phone company for their offering. If you need a land line, check out Ooma (it uses your internet connection). You'll have to buy their equipment ($200-250?) and then either use their free service or upgrade for $125/yr (or so). I've been using Ooma for years.

 

[HtownOrange]

I hope they win and yes it would hurt the B10 plans but would also hurt the other conferences too.

But if I'm gonna pay, say $2 per month to my cable company, I would rather pay $2 for the channel I want vs $1 for the channel I want and $1 for a channel I don't want

Sent using my Commodore 64

Agree. Plus, places like NYC, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and L.A. will NOT be paying for the BTN. Let Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Columbus, etc. pay for the BTN. Why should we support inferior product. I'd rather pay for ACC and SEC games. Maybe once these guys realize what they are really paying for they will improve football or the cost for watching the BTN will go down.

 

[SU2NASA]

Agree. Plus, places like NYC, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and L.A. will NOT be paying for the BTN.

What about Oklahoma City and Norman?

 

[HtownOrange]

What about Oklahoma City and Norman?

You know this is still confidential, both will soon be a major funding source for the BTN. My high level inside source (my daughter's fiance's father's mechanic's brother-in-law who cleans the OU AD's offices) has informed me that they expet Oklahoman's to pay nearly double the going BTN rate if they agree to NOT show any OSU games! Details are being worked out, but it's imminent, unless things change.

 

[zibby]

This is pretty funny considering Cablevision also is a content provider that probably also bundles channels. They took MSG away from Time Warner and when it came back, MSG+ was added to the basic tier. Cablevision also owns a crappy channel nobody wants called Fuse. Considering how many channels Time Warner has dumped, the fact that they haven't dumped Fuse makes me think it has to be bundled with MSG.