Posted by RadioActive on October 25, 2009, 12:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Variety Article On Canada "Local TV" Vs. Cable Battle" Even better, if you find one provider who sells a channel cheaper, you can it from them and get your other stations from different services, creating true competition. (You remember competition? - something Cdn. cable effectively lacks.) Sample Price List In U.S. Funds
65.95.143.3 | Message modified by user RadioActive October 25, 2009, 12:42 pm
There is only one place where you can actually "choose" what you want to watch "a la carte" but for most of us it's unaffordable, not possible because of space or living conditions or simply too much trouble. But for a lucky few, at least, it's an option.
It's called 4DTV and it involves one of those big 10' satellite dishes that seem so passe these days. For those in the States it's easy but in Canada you need a U.S. address.
In essence nearly all the cable channels (including the pays like HBO, Starz and Showtime) have their signals compressed on a number of satellites and you tune into the bird that has the programming you want.
While all program providers have some form of "packages," this system is the only one I know of that allows you to pick and choose exactly what channels you want to pay for and watch without buying ANYTHING else.
So if all you wanted was ESPN, Discovery and HBO for some reason, that's all you'd shell out for. In most cases, you can buy by the year, half a year, 3 months or 30 days. In some instances, you have to buy up to 10 channels, but considering what's available and the prices, that's not much.
The owners who run the cable channels will tell you that this model would force most of their channels off the air, since they'd no longer be able to pay for them.
But isn't that the way the marketplace is supposed to work? If you're not popular enough, you're gone or in the case of a commodity, they stop making the product. Why should cable be any different?
In any event, the a la carte model does exist, although only in this method and only south of the border.
I know someone in the city with a large dish who took this grey market route and he loves getting exactly what he paid for - and nothing else. 
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