Recently, a brand new site was launched to help answer some of the most common questions we get from our customers. Specifically, TVOnMySide.com explains how Cable fees work and how they impact the TV our cutomers see. The site also serves as an area to provide our customers with information about important issues such as retransmission and carriage fees, which can have a direct impact on the price of Cable service.
Here is an example of the types of questions answered by TVOnMySide.com.
Q: Why do I have to pay for channels I never watch?
A: Cable TV providers are often required by contract to carry both the most-popular and least-popular cable networks. In turn, if we ask for a price for just the most-popular networks, a common response from channel owners is to raise their price, effectively eliminating this option from consideration. Here’s a hypothetical scenario to help illustrate the situation: Imagine that, under its current contract, a certain programming channel owner is receiving a total of $4.00 per customer per month for three channels. Only one of those three channels is highly rated.
In negotiating a new contract, the channel owner now wants $6.00 per customer per month for the same three channels. When asked what the price would be for just the one highly rated channel, the owner responds that it will be $6.50. In other words, the channel owner demands $6.00 for three channels (a 50% increase over its current fees) or $6.50 for one channel (a 62.5% increase). That leaves the Cable TV provider with little option but to buckle down and seek a lower rate for all three channels, two of which you may never watch.
We encourage all of our customers to take some time and check out TVOnMySide.com for answers to Cable questions. You can also leave customer feedback on the site and get updates about the latest in programming fees and Cable networks that are trying to dramatically increase rates.