Do men drive up the cost of cable (with their huge appetite for sports)?

[ecstatic]

I wonder how much cheaper my cable bill might be were it not for the 20 or so sports channels included.

[wtmusic]

1. No it's Nazis and sharks n/t

[Deja Q]

2. I would never blatantly copycat in a non-lounge forum, so:

"Do men drive up the cost of hookcers escorts (with their huge appetite for company)?"

I wonder how much cheaper it'd be for me to get a life if it were not for every other man being so desperate. :evilgrin:

[aeolian]

16. I'm sorry I cornered the market., Toad

I know it was a violation of SEC regs, but I was soooo bored.

[slor]

3. Good question!

I do not watch sports at all, I would prefer to have a package without all of that, it would probably reduce the bill considerably, if the cable co. were honest about it.

[stopbush]

4. Yep. Cox Communications here in Vegas keeps raising the basic

cable charge because ESPN keeps raising their rates. I never watch ESPN. I asked if I could drop ESPN off my service and the answer was no.

That sucks. They should make ESPN a premium channel. Let those who want to watch it pay for it.

[seriousstan]

6. Did you just say Cox are raising??

[stopbush]

8. They raised the rates earlier this year. They even ran commercials

with their spokeman (Steve Shore) saying that they were raising the rates BECAUSE ESPN had raised their rates yet again.

[Jesus H. Christ]

5. I thought it was women

with their home shopping channels.

[democracyindanger]

7. It's that damn Lifetime channel

[RoeBear]

9. Per SNL-

"the Lifetime Channel : for women... and gay men"

[tx_dem41]

11. Don't forget Oxygen. n/t

[JohnnyRingo]

10. Soon sports will be "pay per view" anyway

NASCAR is flirting with the concept.
The NFL has been talking for a couple years about "sign on for every game" plans.
The NBA already has their own "pay for" channel.

As for your cable bill....Corporate greed will assure that you will pay more and get less in the future.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. It's the companies' fault

They make us subscribe to channels in bulk instead of letting us pick individual channels.

I probably watch 10 channels in an entire year, but I have to pay for over a hundred in order to get the 10 that I actually watch.

The technology for individualizing channel choices does exist (you can do it in Japan, at least on satellite systems, where they sell each individual channel above the basic package for about $3-$5 per month per channel), but our cable companies don't offer that option.

[zmdem]

13. No, lack of competition does

Cable TV and internet access are government granted monopolies. Dial-up internet access has gotten cheaper or remained the same over the years because of competition amongst providers. Cable goes up in price because there is little or no competition. That's why I refuse to have it.

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Cell phones and service have also gotten cheaper

Ever since you've been allowed to take your number to another cell phone carrier, they now have to keep their prices low to compete. Granted, they always try to make up for this by selling you a bunch of features that you don't need, but basic cell phone service can be as cheap as local phone service if you don't use too many minutes.

[shanti]

14. women too!

i'm a big lakers fan, but unfortunately, i live in sacramento, so can't see the games. that is UNTIL dish trotted out NBA LEAGUE PASS! yes, you too can have ALL the nba games for only $179~! :eyes: since i don't get out too much, teevee is my major entertainment, so i sprang for it.

however, it would be one of the first things to go if times got tough.

[aeolian]

17. And some of us men haven't watched a sports game in 15 years!

Except women's beach vollyball at the olympics this past summer.

I don't know what it was, but there was something very compelling about that sport... :wow:

[aeolian]

18. I, for one, would like to pay for individual channels.

Any markets out there trying anything like that?

[Ladyhawk]

19. Cable is way too expensive and they force "packages" on you.

There should be a more customized way to do things, otherwise you end up paying for fifty channels you'll never watch.

Of course, the cable company will never make things that easy or affordable. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever have TV again. I'm boycotting for now, but I'm trying to talk the new apartment owners into placing a DISH NETWORK satellite on every module and wiring the attics.

Dish is much less expensive and offers more channels and more versatility. I have all the equipment left over from the old place, but I'm not sure I could even afford it now.