Ala carte channels
kimmy0712
Newbie

Why doesn't FIOS allow you to order channels Ala Carte????? I would like to drop down to the cheaper package and I cannot due to there are 3 channels that my husband watches that are only included in the highest package.

I think this is something that they should do!

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Re: Ala carte channels
LizJ58
Enthusiast - Level 2

I don't think any of the "television provider" companies (cable, satellite, FIOS) have a serious interest in offering a la carte programming..

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Re: Ala carte channels
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

... and neither do the content creators.   Many of your favorite "channels" are produced by companies that have a bunch of other "lesser" channels that they want cable/satellite/FiOS to carry on their networks and they make it such that it is financially disadvantageous for the providers not to the take the "extra" channels and even in some cases make agreements with the providers that require them to carry the "lesser" channels on the same tier as the favorite "channel" as a condition of being able to offer their programming.

So, often times the bundling you see (while FiOS certainly is a little less "ala carte" then some) are a result of programming agreements with the content producers themselves.

While it's fair to say that someone who literally only watches one or two channels might make out in a true "ala carte" model, you can bet the a mandated "ala carte" model would ultimately end up making what you pay for TV service today look like peanuts in comparison or would seriously decrease the availability of diverse programming (you can have any car you like -- as long as it's a black 2-door chevy).   

Content producers are struggling with this right now as the push toward internet based delivery is becoming a reality -- cutting out the middleman.  They stand to make more money on individual channels by not having to deal with carriers in the middle, but by the same token stand to lose viewership on "lesser" channels since people would be less inclined to pay money for them.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming years.

Re: Ala carte channels
spacedebris
Master - Level 2

while internet tv sounds like a good idea. And I hope it does go that way. I think its a great Idea. I dont think it will take off. Simply because most companies like Verizon, make nearly all their profit from TV services.

Telephone (landline) service is very unprofitable. Data services, now they do make a little profit here but not a great deal.

TV. Now TV, this is where the money is. This is where Verizon, DTV, TW, and all the others really make their money. With internet TV, your talking about taking a service they find profitable and moving it over onto the internet that has no where near the cash flow. They wont stand for this.

Now even if a miracle happens and internet TV really takes off. Your going to see them start capping the bandwidth. Some companies like Frontier and Comcast are already trying this. The only reason the big companies are not doing this is due to competition and the fact that they still make money from other sources. Take those other sources away, and watch out. Can you imagine your internet running you $150 a month or more? Yeah, you'll have free TV (or very low cost) but then you'll pay through the nose for internet.

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Re: Ala carte channels
kimmy0712
Newbie

We had the ala carte option with DTV, It was nice because there was 1 channel that wasn't proveded in the package we got and we were able to just get that one wihtout having to upgrade.

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