DTV Transition ............. a la carte?
11-25-08, 08:57 PM
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DTV Transition ............. a la carte?
I'm hearing that once the DTV transition is over, cable "a la carte" will start to become a reality. We will only pay for the channels we want and not pay for the ones we don't.
I think this can be a good thing because TV channels will need to appease the viewer and not the advertisers like they do now.
Has anyone else heard more information on this?
I think this can be a good thing because TV channels will need to appease the viewer and not the advertisers like they do now.
Has anyone else heard more information on this?
11-25-08, 09:02 PM
#2
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It would be horrible because niche channels like Sci-Fi wouldn't be able to make enough money to stay in business. You'd probably end up paying more then you pay now for less choice.
11-26-08, 09:09 AM
#5
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A la carte cable is one of those utopian ideas that just wouldn't work in the real world. People like to think that under such a system their bill would go way down, but the reality is you would probably be paying $3 a month per channel on average if they ever decided to go to this. The channels would still get packaged, like the only way you could get ESPN is through an ESPN package of all their channels for $15 a month. To get CNN you would probably have to buy a Turner package that also included TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, TruTV, etc.
11-26-08, 09:56 AM
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I'd also like to see an obverse form or pricing explored: make all cable programming available to all subscribers all the time, then charge them by what they really watch.
As such bloggers have note, a la carte in the form of free TV programming on cable is already available. Providers will have to figure out a more equitable payment system or they will likely find themselves in the same situation as record companies in the very near future.
11-26-08, 10:23 AM
#8
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That's my point... the average, smaller niche channels would be $3, while the ESPNs and bigger name channels would be much more. Nobody would save any money, because you would be paying the same or more for your 5-10 favorite channels as you are for 40 or 50 channels now. A channel like ESPN currently makes something like $2.50 per subscriber a month now, while smaller channels make something like 25 cents. But without the base mass cable audience, ALL the channels would have to charge much more to survive, big or small.
11-26-08, 10:27 AM
#9
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How about we go smaller and make every PROGRAM a la carte as pay-per-view? Then we'd only have to pay specifically for what we watch. I'd still get to keep Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone, and we'd probably see the death of Wife Swap. Who'd really pay to watch any reality crap? I'd pay for commercial free programming. Hell I do it for HBO. And Friday Night Lights on the 101 commercial free was heaven!
11-26-08, 10:34 AM
#10
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You really think no body would pay for Wife Swap? Hell I'd pay for Big Brother (and quite a bit of people already do with the live feeds), Survivor, Amazing Race and a few other reality shows. It just boggles my mind that no body thinks reality TV has an audience.
11-26-08, 10:54 AM
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Better package would be say for $30, I get to pick 40 or 50 channels. That way, no more fucking useless home shopping network, religious channels, music channels.
11-27-08, 12:56 AM
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That's my point... the average, smaller niche channels would be $3, while the ESPNs and bigger name channels would be much more. Nobody would save any money, because you would be paying the same or more for your 5-10 favorite channels as you are for 40 or 50 channels now. A channel like ESPN currently makes something like $2.50 per subscriber a month now, while smaller channels make something like 25 cents. But without the base mass cable audience, ALL the channels would have to charge much more to survive, big or small.
11-27-08, 01:03 AM
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11-27-08, 10:21 AM
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What if we still had packages, except there were like 20-25 different packages to choose from (some big, some smaller). Along with that, the viewer could still pick and choose as many, or as little, single channels to purchase a la carte. This would give the customer a lot of choices, keep the prices similar, smaller channels could be included in the packages, people can choose what they don't want to pay for, and single channels would still be able to be purchased seperately.
I think the problem now is the option doesn't exist to purchase channels sperately. Packages are a good thing, so keep them, but also add the a la carte option to supplement the viewers choices.
I think the problem now is the option doesn't exist to purchase channels sperately. Packages are a good thing, so keep them, but also add the a la carte option to supplement the viewers choices.
11-27-08, 09:02 PM
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11-27-08, 10:20 PM
#17
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People's heads would explode from trying to decipher what packages or combination of packages would offer them the best deal for the channels they want. Increasing customer confusion usually isn't a priority for any company.
11-27-08, 10:31 PM
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My sister has MTV on a lot and I've seen previews for the Paris show; I didn't have any hope or optimism for the progression of society, anyways. That's all I can say.
11-27-08, 10:33 PM
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You are absolutely right. It'd be very hard to pull that off, from a marketing standpoint.
11-27-08, 10:34 PM
#20
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Having just watched the Star Wars Holiday Special, and the vintage commercials for other TV shows it contained, I can say with some certainty that stupid shows have always existed. There's just more of them now because there's more channels. There's also more good TV as well.
11-28-08, 12:07 PM
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It's actually really easy. No more than a brochure of choices. If someones "head explodes" from a simple brochure then TV is the least of their problems.
Many of the channels would be on more than one package, and you would be picking from types, of channels basically.
11-28-08, 09:11 PM
#22
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Offering multiple packages would make picking a cable package about as fun as doing taxes.
11-28-08, 09:54 PM
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It's not supposed to be fun, and no, you wouldn't be charged twice for a channel. Basically, the packages are insentives to order many channels at a group discount.
I'm telling you, only having packages, or only having "a la carte" won't work as well as combining the two. I've never heard of people complaing because they have too many choices.
I'm telling you, only having packages, or only having "a la carte" won't work as well as combining the two. I've never heard of people complaing because they have too many choices.
11-28-08, 10:48 PM
#24
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http://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1005
Consumer Overload: Why Too Many Choices Can Chase Away Customers
"...Consumers, faced with so many choices, are bailing out because the process is too complex for them.”
"...Consumers, faced with so many choices, are bailing out because the process is too complex for them.”
Consumer research shows that providing too much choice will reduce sales.
Procter & Gamble’s decision to kill its mass customization experiment, Reflect, a highly touted pilot in mass customization of beauty productsn caught my attention because of one , I thought, ridiculous number.
The business offered more than 10,000 shades of lip gloss..
Consumers, it seems to me, want choices, but also simplicity and clarity. We don’t have time, or interest, in perusing 10,000 shades of lip gloss.
The business offered more than 10,000 shades of lip gloss..
Consumers, it seems to me, want choices, but also simplicity and clarity. We don’t have time, or interest, in perusing 10,000 shades of lip gloss.
Study: Too Many 401(k) Choices Can Lead to More Risky Investments
..the "menu effect," as the researchers are calling it, may be causing inexperienced investors to take on more risk than they are comfortable with or meant to without their being aware of it.
..the "menu effect," as the researchers are calling it, may be causing inexperienced investors to take on more risk than they are comfortable with or meant to without their being aware of it.
http://seniors-site.com/index/Articl...rams+Confusing
..Lester quotes Marlene Brantley, a pharmacist from Arnaudville, La., who notes that it was easier to handle problems caused by Hurricane Katrina than to understand the new Medicare system.
Brantley notes that there are “too many plans and too many lists of available drugs, forcing pharmacists to spend a lot of time trying to determine if people are eligible for a particular plan.”
... Six in 10 people who took part in the poll said they have noticed no significant savings.
Brantley notes that there are “too many plans and too many lists of available drugs, forcing pharmacists to spend a lot of time trying to determine if people are eligible for a particular plan.”
... Six in 10 people who took part in the poll said they have noticed no significant savings.
Too many choices -- good or bad -- can be mentally exhausting
“There is a significant shift in the mental programming that is made at the time of choosing, whether the person acts on it at that time or sometime in the future. Therefore, simply the act of choosing can cause mental fatigue,” says Vohs. “Making choices can be difficult and taxing, and there is a personal price to choosing.”
“There is a significant shift in the mental programming that is made at the time of choosing, whether the person acts on it at that time or sometime in the future. Therefore, simply the act of choosing can cause mental fatigue,” says Vohs. “Making choices can be difficult and taxing, and there is a personal price to choosing.”
The more choices people get, the less consistent they are in making those choices
11-29-08, 05:19 AM
#25
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Freedom of choice is what you've got, freedom from choice is what you want.