{"id":5993,"date":"2004-06-10T09:54:02","date_gmt":"2004-06-10T16:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2004\/06\/10\/have-it-our-way.html"},"modified":"2004-06-10T09:54:02","modified_gmt":"2004-06-10T16:54:02","slug":"have_it_our_way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/06\/10\/have_it_our_way.html","title":{"rendered":"Have it our way"},"content":{"rendered":"

The CEO of Time Warner Cable, Genn Britt, explains why you’ll never get a la carte cable channels: because most cable channels are crap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WIRED: You’re already giving us video-on-demand and DVRs. Isn’t \u00e0 la carte cable TV the logical next step?<\/b>
\nBRITT: \u00c0 la carte is really a step backward – you would end up with a lot less choice, less diversity. People like having maximum choice. We carry many channels that appeal just to niche groups and minorities. It’s by no means clear those could survive in an \u00e0 la carte regime.
\nSo those channels aren’t really supported by the marketplace. If I could pay for just the channels I want, I’d be a lot more valuable to advertisers.<\/b>
\nCable isn’t about having a few channels that appeal to everybody, it’s about having a lot of channels that appeal to everybody. You may not watch C-Span every night, but it’s good to know it’s there.<\/p>\n

Which is why I’d probably include C-Span on my monthly order, even if I only watch it once every few months. But I’d give a shiny nickel to not have to pay for (or wade through) about 7\/8 of what I get in my cable package — channels I am forced to pay for\/wade through in order to get the few channels I do <\/i>want.<\/p>\n

Cable and satellite are in cutthroat mode. Couldn’t \u00e0 la carte be an opportunity for you to differentiate Time Warner Cable from its competitors?<\/b>
\nIf that’s what people wanted, yes. But the assumption is wrong. Every time we’ve tried to offer more packages with fewer channels – more toward \u00e0 la carte – consumers always went for the big packages. People actually like this service, which is why 90 percent of the homes in the country buy it.<\/p>\n

No, offering packages with fewer channels isn’t a la carte — it’s offering fewer channels.<\/p>\n

Offer me channels on a by-channel basis, with discounts for buying lots of channels, and I guarantee that I — and zillions of other folks — will leap at the opportunity.<\/p>\n

(via Hit&Run<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CEO of Time Warner Cable, Genn Britt, explains why you’ll never get a la carte cable channels: because most cable channels are crap. WIRED: You’re already giving us video-on-demand…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-moguls"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5414,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/03\/15\/cable_a_la_cart.html","url_meta":{"origin":5993,"position":0},"title":"Cable a la carte","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 15-Mar-04 5:31pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Consumers Union is sponsoring an e-letter-writing campaign to encourage Congress to promote competition in the cable\/satellite TV industry, and to provide better choice from cable companies, e.g., a la carte...","rel":"","context":"In "Media Moguls"","block_context":{"text":"Media Moguls","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-moguls"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":129530,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/01\/21\/espn-is-not-nearly-as-popular-and-essential-as-they-would-like-to-be.html","url_meta":{"origin":5993,"position":1},"title":"ESPN is not nearly as popular and essential as they would like to be","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 21-Jan-16 5:54pm","format":false,"excerpt":"ESPN has largely survived by cutting big deals with cable providers to be part of their normal package, and by painting itself as an essential 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Originally shared by +Jack Seeley: That'll be the end of cable companies being anything but dumb pipes... ESPN reportedly breaking away from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":135613,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/11\/micro-transactions-lose.html","url_meta":{"origin":5993,"position":4},"title":"Micro-Transactions for the Lose","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 11-Dec-17 11:33pm","format":false,"excerpt":"While this is labeled as a parody against EA's Star Wars Battlefront, the fact is it works as an explanation of why micro-transaction games of any title are ... just ... rrrg ... no. I'll pay for a monthly sub if it a game's that engaging. 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